Lifestyle

Are you looking to transform your custom outdoor patio into an intimate space for you and guests?

Balancing function with style can be challenging with so many ideas and options available today, that is why we have put together some helpful tips and tricks that will give you the outdoor space that fits your lifestyle and enhances the appearance of your custom outdoor patio.

It’s Time to Accessorize with Patio Plants

A patio without plants is like a kool-aid without sugar, bread without butter, one without the other is just not as enjoyable. At Affordable Shade Patio Covers, we want you to get the most out of your patio.  Adding life to your outdoor space in the form of plants will enhance the aesthetics and invite relaxation if done correctly while softening the hardscape qualities of your patio.

There are many ways to add greenery and color to your covered outside space, but we have found the easiest way to integrate plants without breaking the bank is the use of pots and containers.

Container gardens are portable and easy to maintain with many different colors and style options available to fit your needs. Additionally, potted plants make it easy to move inside in the event a freeze happens in Houston (yes, we know – a freeze is a rare event!).

Additionally, if placed in the right areas, plants can help establish parameters and pathways along your custom outdoor patio.

It’s Tree Time!

More significant, more permanent plants, like trees, can be a great way to add character and shade but there are a few things to consider before planting trees near your custom outdoor patio:

If the goal is shade, the height of the tree selection when it is fully matured is essential. Choosing a tree that grows too tall, may cause problems with your patio cover if not trimmed consistently.

All trees have roots, but some trees have root systems that are more aggressive than others. Those with root systems that branch out far may disturb your patio foundation in future years.

Trees that are evergreen and are easy to maintain are your best bet for your patio. After all, you want to enjoy your outdoor space, not have to clean up leaves and branches from an overburdensome tree continually.

It is best to talk to your local nursery about the best kinds of trees for a patio.  But, here are a few of our favorite; Japanese Maple and Sunburst Honey Locust.

Decorative Water Features

In cultures all around the globe, water has been linked to relaxation.  So, it only natural that water feature options be considered when landscaping your custom outdoor patio.

Decorative garden fountains come in all shapes and sizes, from small to elaborate.  You can purchase different designs and styles from home improvement stores and nurseries or try your skill at a DIY project.  Either way, incorporating a water element into your custom outdoor patio is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

If you are currently looking for patio builders in your area to make your outdoor dreams come true, you might be wondering how to pick the right contractor for the project.

Having apprehension when choosing a contractor is common (we have all heard horror stories), but it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. There are plenty of great commercial general contractors out there who could help you out. You only have to take a little effort to look for them.

Here are a few things you want to do when choosing patio builders (or any other contractor that you might need for that matter) before having them get to work on your construction or remodeling project.

Reviews and Online Reputation

A little research on a particular contractor before hiring them can go a long way toward being sure they are the right one before you sign a contract.

Make sure to read customer reviews from multiple sources whenever possible. One thing to make a note of when doing this is to pay attention to how the contractor responded to any negative reviews (if they reacted publicly, many do respond but not for all to see).

The main thing you need to do is look at an overall ratio of the number of reviews combined with the ratings they received.

For example, patio builders who have a 4.3-star rating and have more than 30 reviews is a good ratio, whereas a company that has a 3.7-star rating and only has eight reviews might be one you want to avoid.

View Our Reviews

Warranties and References

A legible and legal warranty on all work performed should always be standard, and any contractor worth working with should not only present you with one before you sign an agreement but be able to answer any questions about it.

A contractor who offers a vague warranty contract or one who trips and stumbles over trying to explain terms or answers regarding their warranty is almost always one you want to avoid!

Likewise, asking the contractor for a minimum of 5 local references and contacting them about their experience is an excellent way to avoid the nightmare of having someone rip you off.

View our Warranty Information

Get Everything in Writing

Make your desire to have everything in writing known early on, and tell the contractor what your expectations are upfront regarding material costs, labor costs, the estimated time the project will take, and any other details you want in writing.

One significant thing to add to any signed agreement like this is to make sure the contractor knows they must inform you of any changes or additions to what is agreed upon as the project begins. This step can save you from extra charges and possible litigation fees down the road.

Never Pre-pay for Labor, Ask for Material Receipts

While having patio builders ask you for money to purchase materials before beginning a construction project is very common, you should be concerned if they ask you to pay for any labor costs before work begins.

One way to ensure that everything is on the up and up is to ask for copies of all material receipts.

This small and simple request can ensure that everything the contract states is being followed, protecting you from inflated costs and keeping everyone honest from start to finish.

Thanksgiving is around the corner and you sure want to impress guests with some finger-licking Thanksgiving Dinner. If you have done your research well, you probably are in favor of deep-fried turkey. There are safer infra-red fryers on the market, but those big enough for a turkey are hard to find.

Furthermore, the crunchy texture and juicy meat of the deep-fried turkey hard to ignore. However, your safety during the frying process is not to be exchanged for anything. Not only do we outline safety procedures, but there is also some useful information on the right ingredients. There is also a procedural guide on safely frying the turkey.

Ingredients you will need to fry a turkey

Obviously, you a turkey. Next, you need some oil with a smoke point higher than 425F. Refined corn, safflower, or peanut oil will do just fine.

After that, you need to determine the exact amount of oil required, as follows.

• Place your thawed turkey in the fryer pot you intend to use
• Pour water until the turkey is fully covered
• Remove the thawed turkey
• Take note of the water level

That is the exact amount of oil you will need to safely deep fry your turkey.

Setting up your turkey and deep fryer

After that, you will need to dry rub and apply seasoning to your turkey. If doing it outdoors, double check you have gathered several things. You will need gloves, long-sleeved clothing, and goggles for safety. You could get cut-resistant gloves online, from websites such as Unigloves (unigloves.co.uk) and others. Similarly, you can find safety equipment from chemical supply stores. Kitchen shears help in slicing, and you might need paper towels. You will also need an oil thermometer to keep temperatures in check. A fire extinguisher also comes in handy in case a fire starts. As for the turkey fryer, make sure it has a stable stand, rack, stock pot, probe thermometer, as well as an injector for your propane tank.

How to maintain safety during the frying process

It is imperative that everything goes as outlined. Oil spillages and fires are an imminent risk. Thus, everything that is manageable should be taken care of. That way, only unforeseen occurrences could cause minimal issues.

• First, ensure your turkey is completely thawed before getting into contact with oil. Ice or sludge could lead to oil spillage. 4-5 pounds of turkey require 24 hours of thawing.
• The smaller the turkey, the better
• Turkey should not be stuffed before frying
• Before frying, make sure the fryer is stable, and not within reach of flammable objects. That includes garages, trees, among other farm structures like patio covers.
• Internal turkey temperature should be maintained at or above 165F
• Do not let oil temperatures go beyond 350F
• Always wear protective clothing
• Keep abreast with weather updates, at no time should you operate a fryer when it is raining or in the presence of snow
• Observe a space of at least 2 feet between the fryer and the tank. For cases where one is using a propane tank
• Keep pets and children away from the fryer at all times
• Never leave your fryer unattended
• It is always wise to read instructions if your fryer comes with such a booklet
• Lastly, cautiously remove the pot from the deep fryer once through. The oil should cool down for about 12hrs before disposing of it.

Step-by-step frying procedures

Now that you have the safety tips at the back of your mind let the action begin!

1. Keep the flame low before placing your pot. Once the oil is in the pot and put on the burner, increase the burner intensity.
2. Attach your oil thermometer to the pot’s side with thermometer’s tip submerged in the oil. Keep checking until you get to the desired levels, 325-350oF.
3. Use paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture.
4. Use the shears to get rid of excess fat, and slit every leg at the front.
5. Using a marinade, dry rub, or both apply your seasoning of choice. Avoid water-based marinades.
6. Hook your turkey to the lifter and remove the thermometer.
7. Reduce the flame and lower the turkey slowly into the oil. It should take about a minute.
8. For every pound, the turkey should cook for an average of 3.5 – 4 minutes.
9. Once cooked, gradually remove the turkey from the pot letting excess oil drip off.
10. Check the turkey’s internal temperature with the help of a probe thermometer. It should be at least 165oF.

Conclusion

Once done, place the turkey on a pan or paper towels. After around 15-20 minutes, it should be ready for serving.

This is Affordable Shade Patio Covers wishing you a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. And enjoy lots of turkey and pumpkin pie!

There are a lot of great things about the living in southeast Texas, like great year around weather. However one of the big problems that we always have are swarms of pesky mosquitos.

In fact, Texas is one of the top states when it comes to being bitten by mosquitoes and acquiring diseases. Spending your days outside in Southeast Texas area is a surefire way to wind up at home with red bumps on your arms and legs, and maybe even dangerous illness like the Zika and West Nile viruses.

Prevent you and your family from being exposed to harmful diseases and painful bites by following these six ways to avoid mosquitos and keep them away from your house.

1. Remove standing water on your property.

Mosquitos tend to cluster around stagnant puddles and pools of water. These pests only need about a half inch of water to lay eggs and multiply. If you can, ensure you standing water get cleaned up after it rains and makes sure that other water features like fountains and water features are turned on and running. This will prevent mosquitos from laying eggs on the water and gathering in the area.

2. Keep a bottle of bug spray in your car and in your house.

You never know when a massive mosquito outbreak will occur, so it is excellent always to be prepared by having bug spray close by. Bug spray with feet tends work best against the pesky bloodsuckers.

3. Wear loose, light-colored clothes while you’re outside.

Mosquitoes, for some reason, are more attracted to dark colors than they are to light colors. Also wearing loose baggy clothing may leave your skin more protected, which adds an additional barrier of protection against the bugs.

4. Turn on a fan

If sitting outside and enjoying the weather is important to you, keep a fan on your patio so that the air is continuously circulating. This could help deter bugs from landing on your skin.

5. Wear long pants and sleeves when walking around at dusk.

Mosquitos are most active when the sun goes down because exposure dehydrates them. 85 different species of mosquitos call Texas home, and almost all of them will bite at dawn, dusk, and during the night. Therefore, when you are walking outside as the sun sets, the mosquitos are likely looking for blood to drink. If you want to reduce your chances of being a bug dinner, be sure to take extra protective measures during the worst parts of the day.

6. Protect your patio cover with screen room.

If you want the ultimate protection from those pesky blood-sucking mosquitos, you might consider a screened patio cover. A screened patio cover will prevent these bugs from biting you, and you don’t have to worry about adding layers of clothes or exposing your skin to chemical bug sprays.

If you need are considering screened patio that you can enjoy year around give Affordable Shade Patio Cover a call at 713-574-4969.

As summer draws to a close (summer officially ends on September 22) it is important to prepare your yard for the next growing season. Maybe your yard didn’t do so well this last year and you are promising yourself that you will do better next year, in this article we will teach you how to prepare your yard for it’s best year ever (2019)!

Having the lush, green lawn you aspire to have isn’t a matter of having a green thumb: it’s all in the prep work!

Towards the end of the winter months (though it is Houston, so winter means something different than it does in other places that actually get snow and heavy freezes) your grass is likely to look brown and spotty.

Here are 4 things you can do to get your lawn spring ready to ensure maximum green!

Aerating Your Soil

While we don’t get the snow, the cold that we do get in the Houston winter months does compact the soil of your lawn, making it harder for your grass to take in moisture and breathe (yes, grass needs air!).

A grass aerator is a spiky tool that will poke holes in your lawn down to the roots of your grass, which will help to deposit water into the lawn to eventually be reabsorbed.

This gives your grass roots a chance to breathe and absorb water to stay healthier during the mostly dormant months, helping it to revive in the spring and have less brown dead spots to deal with later on.

Keep Old Winter Grass Low

Make sure to mow the grass you have during the winter as low as possible and keep it that way (because given our climate your grass will continue to grow a little bit over time during the fall and even winter months). If you have a larger yard, consider hiring a landscaping firm to mow the grass. These companies tend to have advanced mowers (like these Bobcat lawn mowers) that can help them quickly complete the mowing project. That way, you won’t have to worry about taking time out of your busy schedule for yard work.

That said, the warmer grasses common to Houston become brittle during the colder times of the year, with the tips of fully mature grass turning to a lighter brown, which can be an eyesore.

When you do mow your winter time grass low ( an inch is a good length) disconnect your clippings bag and leave them on the lawn to be reabsorbed which will act as a natural fertilizer.

Fertilizer and Weed Prevention

When temperatures start to reach around 70 degrees, you will know that is your cue to begin fertilizing and take anti-weed efforts to help your lawn looking perfect when things warm up further during spring.

Note: It is very important to wait until it is warmer to apply fertilizer (we recommend 1 pound of slow-release nitrogen fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of yard), as doing so during colder temperatures can actually damage your grass.

To target weeds that seem to be growing on your lawn, you should spray herbicides at the time they are germinating. These undesirable plants usually start to sprout in the spring and mature during the winter. But, since prevention is the best weed control, applying anti-weed herbicide during the January and February months will go a long way in avoiding a battle with them midsummer.

There are different ways to remove these ‘pest’ plants. Chemical options might be the most effective as they will kill most grasses or weeds with one application only. But people are weary of using them because they can damage the other plants too. An example would be Round-up which uses Glyphosate, which kills most of the vegetation that it comes in contact with.

But, an alternative to roundup would be natural herbicides. Here are some of the safer options:

Vinegar weed killer

Borax-based weed killer

Pulling the weeds by hand, especially when it rains or after irrigation, etc.

Whatever your choice of eliminating weeds, as mentioned above make sure you do it as soon as your see some of them sprouting. This would ensure your lawn looks luscious, green, and weed-free.

The presence of wildlife in the garden may also need to be considered in addition to removing pests. Generally, these creatures eat the roots and leaves of plants, so it seems necessary to remove them to keep the plants healthy and flourishing. In that case, you can consider hiring a professional to handle raccoon, mouse, mold, and Squirrel Removal.

Reseed, Treat Spotty Areas

As spring time rolls around you will begin to see area that need a little TLC.

Treat brown spots with a little extra love, reseed areas of your lawn that may have died out completely, and treat tough weed infested areas with high quality herbicide as needed.

Having a green thumb isn’t what it takes to have an amazing spring time yard that continues to be a pleasing sight for months afterwards; proper prep is!

You deserve a beautiful lawn. You’ve got this!

Hey, Do you know what goes great with a lush green yard? A pergola! Contact Affordable Shade Patio Covers for a free design consultation to make your backyard dreams a reality. Our phone number is 713-574-4969!