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Best Outdoor Projects to Consider When Buying a Home

Published: Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Everyone knows that the home buying process in Portland can be long and arduous. Whether it’s selecting the home with the features that best match your wants/needs, or finding a home that needs some work that you can make your own. Either way, this article should help you to understand what types of options you have to increase the value of your home, increase the functionality of your patio space/backyard, or simply just to create a space for you to drink your morning coffee in peace. Whatever the case is, here are some of the best outdoor projects to consider when buying a home.

Outdoor Kitchen

One of the most popular and rapidly trending projects is the Outdoor Kitchen. While this space isn’t as popular in Oregon for reasons unknown (you mean it rains here?), the Outdoor Kitchen is a great space to add to your home if you’re a fan of family cookouts, summer soiree’s, or just love the peaceful feeling of cooking outside. The beauty of having an outdoor kitchen, is that you are able to create a “vibe” for the space, which can not only increase the value of your home, but also creates a safe haven for avid chefs and sock & sandal wearing BBQ dads alike. While this space is limited in functionality during the Oregon Winter/Fall, there’s another project you may consider to extend this time of functionality.

Patio Cover

When planning for an outdoor space in Oregon, it’s almost a requirement to keep in mind that it rains here… a lot. Enter: the all-powerful patio cover. If you love being outside, and don’t want the rain to ruin all of your fun, you should highly consider building a patio cover. There are many different styles and options to look at when building a patio cover, allowing you to create the space that works best for you and your lifestyle. Some of these options include can-lighting, fans, heaters, perimeter lighting, electrical outlets, and pretty much anything else you can think of! As for the styles of cover, it all depends on the creativity of your builder and/or engineer, but the main types of covers are the shed-style/lean-to cover, the gable cover, the flat roof cover, and the hybrid cover.

The shed-style/lean-to covers are the most simple, typically attached to the framing on a wall or tied-into the roof, this cover has a steady, flat slope that comes down off the wall.

The gable cover is a more aesthetically pleasing cover, either coming off a wall or freestanding, it comes to a peak in the middle and slopes down both sides of the cover. These covers are best for creating a more open-feeling space, providing you with cover and visibility. These are more expensive than the shed-style/lean-to covers, but look exponentially better overall.

The flat roof cover is exactly as it sounds. It’s a flat roof either freestanding or attached to a wall, and is actually more complex to build properly than the former 2 covers. This is because a special type of roofing needs to be applied to the roof, preventing it from holding water and leaking. This is a more difficult and more expensive cover to execute, but it does have its’ modern visual appeal, and clean precise angles/lines for a beautiful appeal.

The Hybrid cover is a combination of any one of these covers. depending on the plans and scope of the project, this can be the most expensive type of cover. These covers are best utilized as larger covers that create multiple sections/areas of use. They can also be used as a way to create a large cover when there isn’t proper clearance for a gable because of a window or vent, allowing you to get the best of both worlds.

With all of that being said, a patio cover can completely change your outdoor/patio space. Not only will it add value and functionality to your home, it will also allow you to spend more time outside, give you a DRY space for your outdoor kitchen, or just create a beautiful visual to add to your home.

The Deck

While the other options are great in their own right, we can’t forget about the deck. For years, people have been adding decks for a nice outdoor dining space, a garden attached to the home, a swimming pool, or any other number of reasons. The deck is a classic outdoor space option, and gives you an enhanced visual to contrast your home with, allowing you to create a dynamic space to relax your mind with. When considering a deck for your home, the most important thing to keep in mind is how you would like to use it. If you’re working with a limited budget, you may get more practical use from a patio cover if you live in a 1-story home. The best way to take advantage of a deck space, is to utilize it as a way to enhance your view of things around you. Do you have a park nearby that you’d like to have in your daily view? Are you living near a wooded area or in the hills? A deck is perfect for you! While decks can be made with multiple styles and options, there’s something for everyone! You can install railing (required for safety on decks over 3′ in the Portland metro area), low-voltage LED lights, picture framing (contrasting color of boards either stained or a darker color of composite, that borders the deck to create a more dynamic visual), outlets, as well as many other options. When looking at building a deck, be sure to speak with your contractor to determine the best visuals for your money, they may know how to do something wonderful that you never knew was an option!

All in all, there are a ton of options for an outdoor space, regardless of the rain or poor weather we have here in the NW. With so many options, you are bound to find the right project for your home. Of course, if you have any questions about the construction of any of these projects, or if you just want to know more about how they’re built, feel free to email me here.
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