Your home’s patio or sun porch provides a place to gather with friends, enjoy a cool drink, or enjoy a moment. However, when winter comes, you need to do a few things to protect your patio and maintain its longevity. It’s typical to cover your lounge chairs, tables, and take care of the fire pit or grill. But you also should consider using specific window products for your winterized patio or sun porch too. Continue reading to learn helpful tips to winterize your patio like a pro.
Get Your Outdoor Patio Ready For The Season
Winter in Florida brings strong winds, cooler temperatures, and hurricane season from November to April. If you love your patio and want to keep it in good condition for more than a few years, you must prep it for winter. Depending on your lifestyle, you might still find moments to enjoy your patio. But if you choose to limit outdoor activities in the winter, it’s a smart move to protect your patio for the winter season.
Be Energy Efficient
If your patio is adjacent to a family room, kitchen, or living room, you might want to think about energy loss. When you run your HVAC to stay warm and toasty inside, hot air might escape through windows leading to your patio.
Consider adding solar screens as a window treatment to better absorb and redistribute natural heat from the sun while adding a slight tint to your home’s windows. During winter, it’s also an excellent time to take advantage of sales on window products and installation procedures for your home. You might scoop up some fantastic deals on new windows for your cozy winter patio or porch that are more resistant to hurricanes or improve the energy efficiency of your residence.
Ready For Stormy Weather
Hurricane season lasts a significant chunk of the year in Florida. So, you must prepare your home to withstand battering winds, flying debris, and torrential levels of rain. As an added precaution, consider installing Barcelona windows, fixed or casement windows with a double pane and protective coatings. Impact-resistant windows are a highly desirable window treatment because they won’t easily shatter and have insulation properties that lock in heat or cold and reduce energy loss.
Enjoy A Custom Fit
Ensure the windows surrounding your patio are in good condition and replace old or poorly fitting windows with new ones. Choose energy-efficient windows that help you enjoy your space, open it up to the light, and allow for improved air circulation. Don’t forget to add vinyl screens or a protective enclosure to protect your winterized patio and recreational furniture from the cold, strong winds, and heavy storms. Invest in adding weather stripping, and have a professional execute window product installations to ensure it’s done right the first time.
Improve Security
Install vinyl patio or porch enclosures to keep out high winds, excess moisture, and protect against the sun and flying insects. You may want to add locking mechanisms, or a swinging door with a lock to control access to your patio. When your porch or patio is adjacent to your home, you want to protect it as much as the rest of your property. Improve your security and privacy when you are away on vacation or when you aren’t using your patio as much during the winter.
Adding impact or hurricane windows will increase your sense of security, as they won’t shatter easily. You can add locking mechanisms to windows to deter entry by unwanted persons and keep your home safe.
Additional Tips
If you plan on using your patio during the winter, find ways to keep it warmer, more inviting, and more secure. Consider an enclosure that is fireproof and high enough if you want to continue using your fire pit or grill. If you choose to extend your sun porch or patio, consider adding an awning and shatter-resistant windows that are energy efficient and stylish.
You may enjoy having hinged or awning windows to allow fresh air to circulate in an enclosed winterized patio. Or, you might prefer crank or sliding windows as a window treatment because they open up your patio to the great outdoors. Don’t forget to ensure you use vinyl or aluminum frames for durability and style.
Best Windows For Cold Weather
Your HVAC system works hard to keep your home warm and comfortable, but how do you maintain a warm and cozy winter patio? Take advantage of the wintertime to renovate your patio and upgrade your property with new window products. Patios surrounded by screens might look and feel better if replaced by open windows.
Combat the elements that threaten to make your patio a chilly place and install windows that are double pane over a single pane. Look for energy-efficient windows with the highest R-value to insulate your cozy winter patio and reduce your energy use to keep it warm. Also, don’t discount investing in windows with a Low-E rating and protective coating that better redistributes energy, locking in warmth or cold, depending on the season.
Adding tints or screens to windows may also be desirable for your property. You might want to rely more on the natural heat and light from the sun during daylight hours. A solar screen might prove beneficial, or use winter-ready windows with specific features and insulated vinyl frames. If standard sizes don’t fit, don’t be afraid to use a custom solution to ensure your patio is ready for winter.
Ensure Your Patio Is Ready For Winter
Depending on your lifestyle and how you feel about winter weather in Florida, you may want to reduce your use of the patio or continue to enjoy outdoor living. Use porch or patio enclosures to keep your patio more secure from the elements, keep flying bugs out, and create a more insulated, cozy feel. When you need quality window products and accessories to beautify and increase the value of your home, you need a supplier you can trust. Visit American Window Products for the best patio and porch products and windows serving Florida.