Wood Patio Covers - Design Your Own
Start your project by choosing a wood that will compliment your the look of your home. If you want to paint it, pinewood is a good choice because it keeps paint nicely. The problem with pinewood is that it is not available with an anti-rotting agent. Other hardwoods however do, including cedar, redwood and cyprus. If you want to stain the wood, get a long grained wood. This will give you a continuous design that will not be hindered by knots in the wood.
Now let's get creative. Add decorative accents and designs to your patio cover. It's a little extra work but well worth it because you'll be making your patio cover more stylish, and more valuable. You can use arbors and lattice. These are ornate, intricate and beautiful. Use them in combination to make something truly unique.
When you begin your project, you may be tempted to buy into one of those pre-made patio kits. Know up front that most are made with artificial wood. They are not durable and in fact, in many cases, you'll need to add real wood for support. Why not do it right and use real wood for the whole thing.
You'll also find the same companies putting out wood patio kits for the do it yourselfer. These kits use wood tiles that interlock, in much the same way they are used for wood floors. They're good because you can easily take them apart, easily clean them, and even move them somewhere else if that's something you may need to do.
Just understand that a solid wood patio cover will make the best and most beautiful cover for your patio.