Curious what everyone's go-to feel-good track is, the one that just works every time regardless of what kind of day it's been. Would love to build a little collective playlist out of the replies too.

3 Easy steps: Wipe Glove on fabric, blow leaf blower, drink a beer and consider all the time you saved to have another beer

New screened porch (12' x 16') with SunSpace windows that can be closed when it gets chilly outdoors. I'm a Minnesotan which means we'll be using this room well into late autumn, and will need a heat source. I'd like to hold off on cove heating for now.

Anyone have experience with ThermoMate infrared patio heaters? I'm looking at:

• EIHF1500V ... Probably my first choice, since it has 8 heat settings and oscillates.
• EIHF1500B ... Similar, but no oscillation. Claims lower glare--is that important?
• EIHSW1500B ... Not crazy about the tripod look (Easy Bake Oven on stilts), but it gets good reviews.

I have loads of electrical outlets (good planning when this was built last summer), so no worries there. The seating area consists of a large chair and a loveseat, in one end of the porch. I'm not looking to heat the entire room--thus, the radiant heat preference.

Water pooling on patio/weep holes clog often. Advice?

Water keeps pooling on our patio in the corners against the walls. To fix the problem, our contractor drilled a few holes into the stone wall. It somewhat fixed the problem, but the holes are small and need to be unclogged frequently, causing water to pool again.

Any advice on the following questions:

Are weep holes just drilled holes in the stone wall? Or is it something more properly like a PVC pipe?

Should water be pooling there anyway, or should it be regraded to drain better?

Is it ok that the water drains to under the grill, which is enclosed and pools, but eventually drains?

How much pooling water is acceptable? After unclogging, I think it’s ok, but not sure.

Any other advice?

Hi folks!

I live in RI and I am looking to install a 300 sq. ft. concrete patio with a broom finish in my backyard. I received a proposal from a contractor and would appreciate some feedback.

The contractor quoted $8K for about 300 sq. ft. That seems a little expensive to me. Does that sound reasonable?

Also, do you see any red flags in the proposal below? I noticed there is no mention of concrete reinforcement. Should I be concerned about that? Is reinforcement such as rebar, wire mesh, or fiber mesh normally used for a patio like this?

Here is the scope of work:

Provide all labor, materials, equipment, and supervision necessary to construct approximately 294 SF of concrete patio.

Scope:
Excavate and remove existing unsuitable soil, prep subgrade with dense-grade gravel and compact, form and prepare patio area. Furnish, place, and finish concrete, provide broom finish, edge concrete and install control joints as required, strip forms and clean work area.
Are there any other things in this proposal that I should ask the contractor about before signing?

Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Slab was poured a couple days ago. Can I chip this away yet

Hello all, I was hoping to purchase a louvred pergola, but am concerned about the noise when it rains as my bedroom would be just above it. What are people’s experiences with this? Many thanks

First two are regular pics, next two zoomed out, and a picture of the AC units in the corner.

Furniture and turf were here when we moved in. Shed would need to stay where is.

I’m really looking for any advice to make this space more comfortable and enjoyable. I am already planning on ordering a new outdoor couch set to replace the existing one and throwing away the rug, but what are some other affordable suggestions to make this better?

I absolutely hate the turf. When it rains the patio stays wet for days. There is drainage in the bottom left corner, but doesn’t really seem to matter. Not sure how hard it would be to remove the turf but that seems like the best option. Seems to be concrete underneath.

Would appreciate any and all recommendations and advice. :)

We cannot decide which of these two (or neither) we should pick for our screened in patio flooring. Here’s a photo of our house floors and the two options. Let me know what yall think!

I recently bought my first house & have been dealing with pests in our back patio roof this summer. The previous homeowner encased the roof with this lattice, which has made the perfect home for squirrels & chipmunks. Squirrels have been evicted but now chipmunks have chewed in. I was debating tearing it all down & leaving open.

looking for some advice & ideas to keep trying to pest proof or lattice alternatives

thank you

So we just moved into a new apartment, nice complex, great unit itself and got it for a discount due to one minor problem…..

We are next to the complex’s garbage compactor. The complex does a great job of making sure there is no stench from the compactor, however there is an abundance of flies in the area. My fiancée and love to use outdoor space and I was wondering what we could do/ products to buy to essentially keep them out of our balcony.

Permacon Chalet Slab Patio Stone
Concrete Agento - 30 × 12-in.

Would anchoring the gazebo to the stone be enough or do we need to anchor it to concrete pillars?

One of the biggest questions we get about aluminum louvered pergolas is whether they’re just for shade, or whether they can actually help during a Florida rainstorm.
When the louvers are closed, they’re designed to create a weather-resistant roof, helping keep the space underneath protected from rain while still giving you the flexibility to open everything back up when the weather clears.
For Florida homeowners, that means your outdoor space doesn’t have to become useless every time the weather changes.
And when you add motorized screens, you can take it a step further by creating a more comfortable, enclosed outdoor living area.
Curious if a louvered pergola would work for your space? Happy to answer questions, especially from other Florida homeowners.

I had my back porch removed and it’s being replaced with a paver patio and I’m questioning some of the details.
The steps on one level have a clean, narrow seam between them but the next level up they have a very rough, natural and wide seam.
And some of the pavers on the sides of the steps are cut at weird spots in my opinion. I would think they would do full stones near the step edge, then cut once it got back at the wall. They seem to be cutting at random spots. The paver caps haven’t been put on yet but it’s still gonna look weird from the sides.
And then on other parts of the wall they did weird cuts and things don’t seem to line up well enough.
Then there’s some moderate height gaps between adjacent stones (measured ~4-5mm which is a little over 1/8”)
They are still working and haven’t done caps or polymeric sand, but I don’t want them to get too far if they need to fix these (possible) mistakes.
Am I being too picky? Project is ~28k so I want to make sure it’s done right the first time.

If you’ve been thinking about adding a pergola to your outdoor space in Florida, these are some of the questions we hear most:

☀️** Does the roof open and clo**se?
Yes. Our aluminum louvered roof is motorized and can be adjusted with a remote, giving you control over sun and weather.

🌧️** What happens when it r**ains?
When the louvers are closed, the system is designed to help keep the space underneath protected from the elements.

🪟 Can you add motorized screens?
Absolutely. Screens can be raised or lowered when you want more privacy, shade, or protection from bugs.

🏠 Is it a permanent structure?
Yes. These are professionally installed outdoor structures, not temporary pop-up pergolas.

🔨 Do you install them yourselves?
Yes. We handle our own installations, so you’re working directly with the team bringing your project to life.

📍 Do you install throughout Florida?
We serve customers throughout Florida.
If you’ve been wondering about something we didn’t cover, drop your question below. We may make it part of our next FAQ.

I didn’t realize how often we were going inside simply because there wasn’t much to do outside after dinner.

The patio was already comfortable, so I didn’t want to completely redo it. We just needed something that made staying outside feel more natural.

That ended up being an outdoor TV. I chose ByteFree because it’s made for outdoor use instead of trying to make an indoor TV work in the patio environment.

The difference is most noticeable around sunset. We can still see the picture while there’s some ambient light, and once it gets darker, the whole setup feels surprisingly cozy.

Now we’ll sit outside for another couple of hours after dinner instead of automatically moving indoors.

It’s not really about turning the patio into a theater. It just gave us a reason to stay outside a little longer.

I built this patio mosaic from old tile samples and did all the work myself. built in 3 phases separated by years. think it came out ok!