Howdy all. Was looking for some advice and guidance regarding a covered patio.

Our backyard has a small "courtyard" that is surrounded by breezeway/detached garage, master bedroom and living room. Based on what my little brain can imagine I don't think we have many options. I think the best option would be for us to have a lean-to off of the detached garage. In my opinion this would be the cheapest option and give us the best view of the backyard when the kiddos are playing. However, I feel this would be tight considering there is only a 15'8" gap between the garage and master bedroom.

The other option that I came up with was to extend the roof line of the ridge above the living room and take it all the way across the courtyard to the garage roof.

Any thoughts?

That's some harsh angles to deal with but I wouldn't squeeze in that tight space.

I would likely try to soften the look and build a free standing gazebo closer to the pine with a curving garden pathway from the patio to it. The gazebo roof could be similar to the kitchen/back door roof or you could go artistic. I'd push it closer to the pine tree but not too close as they can be finicky and build a wooden floor and not a concrete slab, which can hurt the roots.

I would also bring in a water feature like a large tri-level running fountain between it and the living room windows and promote an outdoor social area with gardens and open up all those window shades. You could put some trellis ivy on the back wall of the garage and include an outdoor wall art fixture. You could also introduce a herb garden in pots and some indirect lighting.

You also need some comfortable chairs - adirondack or metal rockers. The idea is to make it welcoming, useful, and a nice view from inside the house.

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I think the best option would be for us to have a lean-to off of the detached garage.

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I don't guess I know what this means.

Just looking at it, the grass is bare or scarce there by the garage so I'd consider a deck the entire width of the yard down to where you drew that line in the first pic. You don't have any flower/shrub beds there now, and you can then ignore lawn maintenance in that area and make it usable.

Forgive me if I'm using the wrong terminology. When I say lean-to I mean a simple, low pitch, covering that ties into the existing structure. I guess It's just a simple patio covering.

The idea of a deck has crossed our mind. That our just putting down pavers or a concrete pad.

I think I would put down a slab and call it a day. It's probably the best option. Maybe add your lean to if you want to keep a grill out there.

You should do pavers with some large planting pots. Not much is going to grow back there. Regarding a structure, a lean to is going to look terrible, Something freestanding like a pergola type structure will be your best bet down the center. With all of those jacked up angles you have, I wouldn't attach anything to the house.

Looks like a great space to make into an outdoor living/dining area. Hardscape the ground tot the back edge of the master bedroom (or even a little further). Either pavers, concrete or a wood deck. Then use the front section around the house as the seating area with a small gas firepit since you'd just have a lot of smoke otherwise. Then put a dining table past that. It'll fill the space nicely but not crowd it. Then get a good umbrella for the summer. Leave it open to the sky or add a small pergola but skip the lean-to - especially with that column in the middle. As mentioned above, the pergola further out towards the pine tree would create a nice shady area to sit and watch the kids as well or if you wrapped it further in it would create a nice place for that dining table idea.

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I think I would put down a slab and call it a day.

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I'd put a wooden deck over that area. I'm not a construction guy but I can only imagine the foundation problems and water run off issues with a slab. Maybe even run the deck out a bit into the backyard so you can keep an eye on the kiddos.

So just some food for thought, how do you plan to use the space? What seasons do you like being outside the most? Would you be outside more if you had x,y or z? Are you ever going to entertain the idea of a pool or hot tub?

It sounds like you just want a nice area to sit on the back patio and enjoy watching your kids be outside. I would paver that area off and put a couple nice outdoor chairs and a small table underneath a large patio umbrella.

Clean the side of the house, put some potted plants, maybe a garden trellis up against the brick to break up the outside facade.

Going with a permanent covered patio reduces your options and will probably limit your lighting in your living room more than you want.

one MEEN Ag said:

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So just some food for thought, how do you plan to use the space? What seasons do you like being outside the most? Would you be outside more if you had x,y or z? Are you ever going to entertain the idea of a pool or hot tub?

It sounds like you just want a nice area to sit on the back patio and enjoy watching your kids be outside. I would paver that area off and put a couple nice outdoor chairs and a small table underneath a large patio umbrella.

Clean the side of the house, put some potted plants, maybe a garden trellis up against the brick to break up the outside facade.

Going with a permanent covered patio reduces your options and will probably limit your lighting in your living room more than you want.

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I'm looking for an area that can be used year round and shielded from the elements. I want to be able to cook on my blackstone and pellet grill even when it's raining. Since I was originally thinking covered patio I was hoping for a fan and maybe some recessed lights as well as a seating area to watch kids and maybe mount a TV.

No plans for a pool. What's not pictured is the play ground that is just behind the master bedroom. Here's a snip from the Nest cam mounted on the detached garage. It's not the preferred spot as we can't see it from the kitchen/living rooms.



It's a very strange backyard and I need all the help coming up with ideas. All of these are much appreciated!

Since you look like you have good gutter coverage, maybe something like this with a clear plastic roof to keep the area dry, allow smoke out, and still let all those windows have some daylight. Visibility to the playset is an issue. Since you already have a camera and a TV on this wishlist, I'd mount two smaller tvs so I could have one on the game and one on junior. Seems like a better option than one of those parking garage mirrors to see around the corner.

TX_AG_10 said:

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one MEEN Ag said:

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So just some food for thought, how do you plan to use the space? What seasons do you like being outside the most? Would you be outside more if you had x,y or z? Are you ever going to entertain the idea of a pool or hot tub?

It sounds like you just want a nice area to sit on the back patio and enjoy watching your kids be outside. I would paver that area off and put a couple nice outdoor chairs and a small table underneath a large patio umbrella.

Clean the side of the house, put some potted plants, maybe a garden trellis up against the brick to break up the outside facade.

Going with a permanent covered patio reduces your options and will probably limit your lighting in your living room more than you want.

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I'm looking for an area that can be used year round and shielded from the elements. I want to be able to cook on my blackstone and pellet grill even when it's raining. Since I was originally thinking covered patio I was hoping for a fan and maybe some recessed lights as well as a seating area to watch kids and maybe mount a TV.

No plans for a pool. What's not pictured is the play ground that is just behind the master bedroom. Here's a snip from the Nest cam mounted on the detached garage. It's not the preferred spot as we can't see it from the kitchen/living rooms.



It's a very strange backyard and I need all the help coming up with ideas. All of these are much appreciated!

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If you know you're not going to do a pool, but you're serious about making an outdoor living space, I would build your pergola attached to the house where the swing set is, move the swing set on the close side of that closest tree, and then put gravel or a flag stone walkway from the original area. You could still do a paver patio to make it 'nice' all the way out there.

For what you want to do, you're going to feel cramped up unnecessarily trying to jam it all in between the garage and your house.

You might need to chop down a tree to make the room for it all.

Or do this:



Put your patio/pergola here. Put a path in from where that yellow bench is to this area. Do something to dress up the rest of that grassy area up by the house. You could even do a nice covered pergola walkway out to your pergola in the backyard.

This way you're still in the middle of 'everything' in your backyard. Don't tie into the house by the master bedroom. I think this is your best bet.

A laminated roof panel patio cover would be your best bet attached to the fascia in my opinion.

Everyone is wrong but me. Of course, I know what I see in my head. It's great.

I'm joking, but not really.

Builder93 said:

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Everyone is wrong but me. Of course, I know what I see in my head. It's great.

I'm joking, but not really.

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Damn, sounds just like my wife...

Fountain, pavers and chairs in the area by the house. Open up the garage to make a bar top all along the side shown and some sort of cover over it. Put a hot tub between the pine tree and the bedroom with pavers or slab all around. TV on either side of the bar so you can watch the game from the hot tub.

PlanoAg98 said:

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I think I would put down a slab and call it a day.

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I'd put a wooden deck over that area. I'm not a construction guy but I can only imagine the foundation problems and water run off issues with a slab. Maybe even run the deck out a bit into the backyard so you can keep an eye on the kiddos.

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Patio (if done right) wouldn't hinder as much as a deck. You have to pour it with slope to the middle and to the backyard and put expansion joints next to the foundation. If you can't get slope to the backyard then channel drain or inlet would be good to install in the concrete.

I would make the whole thing a patio and embed a firepit where ever you want

I don't like pergolas so I'd never recommend them. Plus, in this case, I just don't think they'd look right anyway. Too much structure near where it is and whether you like one or think its useful or not, it would just look off. After looking at this and thinking about it a bit, here are just some random thoughts (including questions).

First, is there a way to the backyard other than what's seen from the garage? I ask because if not, you'll want a way for mowers (your's or contractors) to get through. If so, that's irrelevant.

Second, I'm thinking a partially covered deck might work with the deck itself covering virtually all of the area that is surrounded by the 3 sides. Assuming you don't need a pass through for lawn mowers, etc., people wanting to get to the grass area just easily walk over the deck and if you extend it out, you could probably have an angle to sit and watch the kids play on the equipment back there. Plus, you've then removed the need to mow or landscape the area -- just deck maintenance. You SHOULD have the ability to easily attach a ledger board to the house (I haven't looked at the garage closely enough) for support.

Third, I'd be real careful about pavers. You have to be concerned about water coming back to the house. I know your gutters look pretty good but water will accumulate so check the grade in the area. If you choose to go that route, make sure you add a french drain of sorts if possible -- and the closer to the house the better. Keep in mind that standing water (even very small amounts) will degrade the pavers in addition to posing a risk to the house and sun coverage in the area in certain months might be near zero.

Fourth, is there a way to use the current breezeway as your "covered" kitchen area and the deck I described above (or anything similar to it) as what you want? This would be the cheapest route. It may not be something that ends up on the DIY channel but if its functional, who cares? I guess I'm talking about room to add some built ins.

I appreciate all the thoughts/scenarios. Yes, there is another entrance to the backyard on the opposite side of the house. After a lot of consideration I think we are going to explore the option of decking the entire area. Regarding the covered breezeway, I don't think there is enough room or cover for all of the cooking. Currently, that's where I do my outdoor cooking. My main issues with that space is it's high traffic (kids running back and forth) and it still get's a little wet when it rains.

I think we are ready to at least start getting some contractors out to start giving us quotes/ideas.

TX_AG_10 said:

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I appreciate all the thoughts/scenarios. Yes, there is another entrance to the backyard on the opposite side of the house. After a lot of consideration I think we are going to explore the option of decking the entire area. Regarding the covered breezeway, I don't think there is enough room or cover for all of the cooking. Currently, that's where I do my outdoor cooking. My main issues with that space is it's high traffic (kids running back and forth) and it still get's a little wet when it rains.

I think we are ready to at least start getting some contractors out to start giving us quotes/ideas.

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First rule of setting a budget is doubling it to get what you wanted when you initially set the budget.

Source: Am married, bought a home after being married.