We were contacted by Mr and Mrs Barrow in Sunninghill who were very keen on transforming their unusable outside patio area into a modern, covered patio with all the necessary amenities to fulfill their entertainment needs. They were unsure of how to visualize their ideas for the patio but we were able to conceptualize their vision for them to create a truly exceptional covered patio and entertainment area. Their key requirements for the new patio was to be able to keep a continuous flow from the main house into the patio and then out to the swimming pool and garden area. They love entertaining guests by having braais and potjies while watching their children swim in the pool.

In order to do the job properly, we first started off by breaking away the existing patio screed as it had many settlement cracks and was not 100% level. We also wanted to extend the patio area out towards the boundary wall to create a much bigger area to make use of.

Once we had jack hammered the existing floor out and removed all of the rubble, we dug new foundations for the extension of the new patio floor. All drainage for rain water was taken care of by placing several 75mm pvc pipes underneath the new screed for the patio and it was channeled out towards the garden beds.

Once the new screed has been laid, we began to fit four 300mm cylinder pillars which would form the base support for the new proposed roof.

We wanted to create a very open and free flowing area so we decided to create a very wide opening facing the swimming pool as this would give us the open feel we required. The fitment of 2x 9 inch reinforced concrete lintels were fitted on top of the concreted pillars and these would then comfortably carry the weight of the new roof over the very large 6m open span.

All the brickwork was then carried out and we were then ready to start on the construction of the roof for the patio, we decided to make use of some nice pine beams which would later be stained dark to create a feature of their own against the ice white ceilings.

We joined the new roof structure to the existing exterior walls of the house by chopping the new beams in 300mm for maximum strength of the new beams. All necessary roofing plastic was then fitted prior to the new double roman roof tiles being fitted complete with ridging.

We then made provisions for the electrical side of things as we knew the clients wanted several light fittings to light up the entire area in the evenings.

All the necessary plaster work was then carried out to ensure the new brickwork would be plastered to match the existing plaster finish of the rest of the house.

We were then able to start with all of the painting for the patio which included plaster priming the newly plastered walls as well as top coating with a fully washable exterior pva, painting of the ceilings and staining of the pine timber beams.

We then advised the clients to look for some light coloured, non skid tiles which we would then lay on our newly screeded floor to really complete the entire look of the patio area and the light colour of the tiles would create a neat, clean look for the whole area.

Mr Barrow is really passionate about braaing and also enjoys making all types of potjies over the fire so he decided to spoil himself and gave us a design drawing of his ultimate braai area which would be complete with a separate potjie station, bar fridge and ample storage units. He also wanted a nice big open serving area so we took his design on paper and we created a separate braai/bar area for him and all of his requirements. The sides of the braai area were then cladded with a natural stone cladding which tied in with the floor tiles very nicely. To keep with the theme and colour of the area we then screeded the entire top serving section of the braai with a cement screed which makes for a neat, easy to clean surface.

The clients then chose several very modern light fittings in different colours which we then fitted to the ceilings to really finish the area off.

The patio area was completely transformed from a dull, exposed non usable patio to a completely modern, covered entertainment area where the family now spends all of their quality time with friends and family throughout the year.