Summer is a season unlike any other. It has an inherent vivacity and vibrance that makes us feel young again as we soak up the sun. A patio in summer can be the perfect place to unwind after a day out, or it can be a place to extend the fun by hosting Independence Day barbecues or late nights around the fire. Here are seven suggestions for getting your patio ready for summer this year.

Cover the Patio

Decorating a patio in summer is a fun way to invite the season to begin. However, before you can start adding extras, make sure your patio is ready to handle the heat. Covering the patio in epoxy or polyaspartic will provide protection against the elements for your concrete. Water and other weather can sneak into the nooks and crannies of a concrete patio, breaking it down gradually. Coating your patio will stop this process before it can begin by keeping the elements out. 

This will help your patio last longer. It will also improve your patio’s durability. Covering your patio will add a layer of protection that helps it hold up better under foot traffic and food stains. Do you plan on hosting parties or barbecues on your patio in summer? A good coating will prevent grease and ketchup from compromising your concrete, and it will make the space much easier to clean. 

Last but not least, coating a patio improves the appearance of the space. Covered concrete has a sense of luxury, a finished look that is sure to wow. The process is also highly customizable, so you can choose the colors and designs that will best suit your tastes. To enjoy the benefits of a covered patio for the entire summer season, don’t delay in having it coated.

Furniture

No patio in summer is complete without the right furniture. Outdoor furniture makes a patio a welcoming place, inviting people to stay a while. You can display cushions that you can change out depending on the season or upcoming holiday, adding festivity to your space. Add a table to bring meals outside, or try a porch swing for some elevated seating. If you want to bring the great outdoors a little closer to home, you might consider adding a hammock.

Add Shade

If you want your patio to be a haven from the heat, you probably want to make shade a priority. Patio covers and solar shades can make the patio a comfortable place even when the sun is at its highest point. You have a wide selection of colors and designs, and you can even automate your shades on treads to give you the option of using them or not.

Lights

No updates to a patio in summer are complete without lights. Lights allow homeowners to add a bit of magic in addition to the more practical benefit of being able to see better. They also extend the time you can spend out on your patio. There is an almost unlimited supply of patio lighting available, including string lights, fairy lights, sconces, lanterns. Have you considered mood lighting? Tiki torches add a creative flair. If you tend to get chilly, even on summer nights, you might try adding a heat lamp.

Include a Fire Feature

A fire feature, such as a fire pit or a fireplace, allows homeowners to extend the amount of time in the year they can spend outside. It creates a cozy or trendy environment, and depending on the kind of feature you choose, might be able to have smores on your very own patio.

Before installing a fire feature on your patio, check the regulations in your area. Sometimes open flames are not allowed or a permit is required to have them. A gas-powered outdoor fireplace may be a handy workaround.

Add a Water Feature

A water feature is an excellent addition to any patio in summer. The soothing sounds of cascading water from a fountain are sure to make the patio a more inviting place during the warmer months. You can also take a more practical route and install an outdoor shower for cleaning off sandy or muddy feet.

Plants

Plants are a great addition to any patio. They add color and visual interest, and they can really cool down the patio in summer. They also help make a patio a more calming place. You can choose to grow herbs and plants that can be added to meals or eaten right out, making for more sustainable living. Consider adding plants in pots or wall planters.

Garage floor coatings are an excellent way to preserve your concrete and protect your investment, but is there a better time of year to install a garage floor coat? Does the weather or ambient temperature make a difference? As a matter of fact, there are many different factors to consider, all of which we discuss below.

Pros of Garage Floor Coatings

Garage floor coatings really are the best way to protect your floor from damage, both of the elements and general traffic. Coating your floor can extend its lifespan significantly, making it resistant to cracking, peeling, and UV radiation. 

Floor coatings look beautiful the day they are applied and for years afterward. They are 100% customizable and come in a broad range of colors. They prevent the natural yellowing of time and keep out both precipitation and chemical spills. 

Additionally, a good floor coating will make surfaces smooth and easier to clean without making them too slippery. Materials like epoxy and chip-and-flake are great under impact, abrasion, and the pressure of large vehicles. They really don’t have any downsides except perhaps a little upfront installation money and time.

Can You Install a Garage Floor Coating in Winter?

Whether or not you can install a garage floor coating in the winter depends entirely on which kind of coating you work with. With the right material, winter may actually get you a garage floor coating more quickly because lead times in the colder months are shorter.

When Can You Coat a Garage Floor?

Installing a floor coating takes quite a bit of preparation. All previous coats of paint or epoxy coating will need to be removed first, and the area will need to be completely cleared of debris, vehicles, and stored belongings. 

The best time to install a garage floor depends heavily on the kind of flooring you want installed. However, there are some consistencies across the board. You cannot install your garage floor coating when there is a lot of moisture in the air or in the concrete. Too much moisture spoils the curing process and results in ineffective coatings. 

Short of watching for rain or monitoring humidity levels, how can you tell if the ambient moisture will be too much? Here’s a simple experiment: tape a plastic bag to your garage floor overnight. If, after 24 hours, you check under the bag and find moisture or dampness, there is too much water in the air or concrete to coat it. Wait to install or take steps to dry out the area, otherwise the water pressure will break the bond between coating and floor.

Epoxy Floors

Epoxy floor coatings are enduring and tough and are certainly a good addition to any garage floor. If you want to install a garage floor made of epoxy, however, there are several things to take into consideration. You cannot simply slop down a layer of epoxy at any time of year or even any time of day. The curing process for such floors is nuanced, and there are many factors to consider before starting. 

The first is temperature. Epoxy floor coatings require specific temperature ranges for optimal installation. Epoxy doesn’t cure properly in temperatures below 55°F. This applies to ambient air temperatures and the temperature of the concrete itself. Typically, when installing epoxy floors, you want weather conditions to be around 60°F and 80°F for best results. This pretty effectively rules out winter as a good time to install an epoxy garage floor. 

Epoxy, even in good weather, also takes quite a while to cure. Three days is the recommended minimum, meaning that you have to really plan for when you want to manage the installation. You may want to keep a weekend open for the process or handle it right before leaving on vacation. 

While the epoxy cures, you should not put weight on the surface, so you’ll have to store your car somewhere else. This is another reason why winter isn’t ideal. On the other hand, if you don’t want your vehicle sitting out in the hot sun, you’ll install during the milder months anyway.

Polyaspartic Floors 

Unlike epoxy floors, polyaspartic floors are much more forgiving in their installation. The material performs properly in both blazingly hot conditions and in temperatures as low as -40°F. This temperature tolerance means that you have a lot of flexibility when you want to install a garage floor of polyaspartic, even if you plan to install in the winter. 

If you are not set on a floor coating material but do have a stringent schedule to keep to, polyaspartic is the way to go. Even if you need your floor installed in the winter, polyaspartic will cure properly in a way that epoxy cannot in the cold. 

Polyaspartic floors also cure much more quickly than epoxy coatings. Unlike an epoxy floor, when you install a garage floor made of polyaspartic, it will harden very quickly, even being available in as little as four hours. This means that the hassle of installation and the degree to which it disrupts a household is significantly reduced.