Thursday, July 22, 2010

Awning!

So far this summer has been a scorcher! If you weren't convinced climate change is happening, it must be hard to be a skeptic these days!So with all this heat and clear blue skies, our south facing completely unshaded deck was like a grill. We couldn't go and sit outside until at least 6 pm or we would burn our feet on the hot wood and our skin in the unforgiving sun! Our umbrella just wasn't cutting it.
Photo from :http://www.aquasuperstore.com/outdoor-living-and-deck-accessories.aspx

It is very similar to the one pictured above and the shade provided was only enough to barely cover us sitting at our bistro set. So we bit the bullet and bought the awning we have been talking about for years. When we went to the store to check it out, the dimensions were a perfect fit for our deck...it was meant to be!
It is about 5pm in this photo so the sun is lower in the sky and starting to be shaded by trees.

We installed it ourselves on Sunday which in and of itself was an adventure! It took us a while to find the roof rafters, 3 hours to be exact. They decided to put aluminum siding over the cedar shingles, likely in the 1950s which meant they had to put another faceboard (with a small gap behind) to make it flush. So imagine our confusion when everywhere we drilled (4 holes) we found rafters...which was in fact the other faceboard. Lucky for us, Diego figured it out. So with a longer drill bit in hand we did in fact find the rafters and properly secured our awning!
Our celebratory beer after a long day of hard work in the hot sun!

We love it! Now we can use our patio in the rain too and not get a drop of water on us! I love sitting out in the rain! It also helps to keep our kitchen cool since it shades the window and door which is definitely a bonus in helping to keep our fishies below 30C!

4 comments:

  1. I love it. Such a perfect fit. Even us here in a rural area with the ocean breeze we've been having some heavy duty heat from that nice sun. We've also been having our fare share of fog so far this year, which is not as pretty as the sun might I add but I guess we need all sorts of weather conditions.

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  2. This is incredible Allie! Congrats on the new purchase! Maybe Jon and I can bring a bottle of wine over soon to share with you and Diego and enjoy this gorgeous deck! I agree, sitting out in the rain and staying dry is down right theraputic!

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  3. VERY cool. I know exactly what you're talking about- our friends had some. :) it looks perfect, Andrew would def need something like this for his pink, non-tanning skin!

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  4. Wow...it is a PERFECT awning! Now I want one for our deck. :) Great job, guys!

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