If you have a brick paver patio...

[rooster222]

Can you tell me what you have on it? How do you use it?

We have a table and 4 chairs but we never really use it. The sun always seems to be in our eyes at mealtime. We have a screened porch so we'd rather eat in there. I want to ditch that set and have dh build some Adirondacks possibly. Also thinking of adding a brick fireplace.

Do any of you have an outdoor rug on your patio? Our patio already gets a bit mossy so I wonder if a rug would get too gross and never dry.

[libbygrl109]

We started out with a table and chairs, but never used it. A few years ago we sold it to get a sectional, side tables and a firepit that can also be used as a coffee table. We have a cantilever umbrella that covers most of the sofa when needed. We've found we use our patio much more now.

[rooster222]

Jul 5, 2020 14:50:53 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

We started out with a table and chairs, but never used it. A few years ago we sold it to get a sectional, side tables and a firepit that can also be used as a coffee table. We have a cantilever umbrella that covers most of the sofa when needed. We've found we use our patio much more now.

Thought sounds really nice! How do you store the umbrella when not using it?

[libbygrl109]

rooster222 The umbrella retracts down and you can strap it to the base. For the winter, my husband pulls the main section from the base and stores it in the shed. We cover the hole in the base with grocery bags to keep the snow out. We got it at Hone Depot. I think they still carry it. It has the lights inside the umbrella.

[dove]

We put our hot tub on it.

[rooster222]

Jul 5, 2020 19:32:03 GMT -5 dove said:

We put our hot tub on it.

My kids keep asking for this but I'm just not a hot tub person.

[boiler717]

We have 2 patios at our house and 2 at our old. One is a dining patio (grill, table and chairs, bar cart). The other is a conversation patio. We had a sofa sectional and large ottoman at our old house and we have a conversation set with a solo stove here.

[rooster222]

Jul 6, 2020 6:35:58 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

We have 2 patios at our house and 2 at our old. One is a dining patio (grill, table and chairs, bar cart). The other is a conversation patio. We had a sofa sectional and large ottoman at our old house and we have a conversation set with a solo stove here.

I just looked up the solo stove, I've been hearing about them but now that I've looked it up, I really want one!

Do you have any kind of shade cover on your patios?

[simpsongal]

rooster222, we have a screened porch and a patio on opposite sides of the yard. We tend to use the patio at the non-peak of the day b/c there's no shade. But we like it for hanging at the grass line when the kids are playing. It's also particularly nice in March/April and October/Nov when the bugs start going away and the peak of the day isn't as hot.

We have a solo stove there and Edison bulbs as well as a padded lounging set that dries out quickly and coffee table. I like having light weight seating that you can easily reconfigure and move around - we'll also carry out set into the grass if there's adjacent shade (our patio has a nicer very of the gardens and plants too, so another reason we like being at grass level).

[hamster]

We have a covered concrete patio. It has a picnic table for eating, comfy chairs around a propane fire, and a cooking station with barbecues and cookstove.

[froggy76]

We have a very large brick patio and we have a dining table with umbrella, and a couch and a few chairs on it. We eat out there quite a bit and positioned the table where it would get shade in the evening when we eat dinner (mostly due to a large tree nearby that provides shade in the afternoon/evening). Previously, we put the table right in the middle of the patio and it was too sunny and we never ate out there. We also have a big cantilever umbrella by the couch so I can sit out there in the middle of the day in the shade.

It's impossible to find solutions that provide shade all day long, so we focused on when we would be out there and came up with shade solutions for that.

[orval]

rooster222, for the moss issue, try Wet and Forget. It really works and keeps the green stuff from growing back for a while. I use it on my deck and the side of my shed. It takes a week or two to work but then it's clean and no more work.

www.amazon.com/Forget-Mildew-Algae-Remover-Gallon/dp/B003KINC86/ref=asc_df_B003KINC86/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416808699331&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15879094329335499234&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009978&hvtargid=pla-881712764626&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=90729932821&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416808699331&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15879094329335499234&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009978&hvtargid=pla-881712764626

[k3am]

We have two patio areas.. the closest to the house is the larger of the two and covered by our pergola for a comfortable amount of shade, but the setting sun makes that table useless for eating evening meals at, so we ended up investing in a ton of curtains, which have worked really well and made the area much more usable.

The smaller patio currently has a bistro set on it and a chase lounge for relaxing. The end goal is to get a conversation set and fire pit, just need the desire to spend the money.

If you already have a place to eat, I like your idea for setting up a more relaxing/hang out area.

[ssmjlm]

We have a big patio with built in fire pit and a screened porch.

The patio has a dining table and chairs on one side, adirondack chairs around the fire pit on the other side.

The screened porch has a loveseat and 2 chairs, but we just ordered a huge sectional for it instead. I want to be able to lay down out there.

This is a terrible photo, but this is the patio.

[boiler717]

Jul 6, 2020 9:33:55 GMT -5 rooster222 said:

Jul 6, 2020 6:35:58 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

We have 2 patios at our house and 2 at our old. One is a dining patio (grill, table and chairs, bar cart). The other is a conversation patio. We had a sofa sectional and large ottoman at our old house and we have a conversation set with a solo stove here.

I just looked up the solo stove, I've been hearing about them but now that I've looked it up, I really want one!

Do you have any kind of shade cover on your patios?

It’s great! We have the bonfire size and it’s perfect for 2 families to enjoy. It really does burn mostly smokeless!
We do not have covering at this house. One patio is on the east and one is on the west side with lots of trees. The east side patio (dining) gets sun in the AM and goes into shade starting at 2 pm. The west patio is shaded most of the day with bursts of sun the afternoon / evening when the sun passes through the tree canopy. We pretty much always have a shaded or sunny spot to enjoy!
At our old house our patios were on the east side but they stayed sunny most of the day. On the larger dining patio we had a pergola with a ceiling fan to help keep it cool.

[wildrice]

Jul 6, 2020 10:32:56 GMT -5 hamster said:

We have a covered concrete patio. It has a picnic table for eating, comfy chairs around a propane fire, and a cooking station with barbecues and cookstove.

Dumb question, but does your propane fire pit have very big flames/high heat? I am guessing not since you have it in a covered area?

I have no idea what to do with our (small) yard. I thought about a fire pit, but we have a tree that covers most of the yard and branches hang probably no higher than 10-15 feet off the ground. I'd be a little nervous about a traditional fire pit being a fire hazard. Our small yard is surrounded by wooden fence and we have a wooden deck so the whole setup makes me a little nervous to introduce fire. 

OP we don't have much of a patio but we do have a decent sized deck. We are not really "sit at the table to eat dinner" types so we have a conversation set with a coffee table, and we also have some plants, string lights, and a smoker on the deck. It's been a great setup for us so far- before it got miserably hot, I often sat out there to read, talk on the phone, drink coffee, etc. The informality of the cushioned seats made it a comfortable place to just sit and get some fresh air. 

[rooster222]

Jul 6, 2020 12:27:19 GMT -5 orval said:

rooster222, for the moss issue, try Wet and Forget. It really works and keeps the green stuff from growing back for a while. I use it on my deck and the side of my shed. It takes a week or two to work but then it's clean and no more work.

www.amazon.com/Forget-Mildew-Algae-Remover-Gallon/dp/B003KINC86/ref=asc_df_B003KINC86/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416808699331&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15879094329335499234&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009978&hvtargid=pla-881712764626&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=90729932821&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416808699331&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15879094329335499234&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009978&hvtargid=pla-881712764626

We have some of this in our garage. I had no idea it could be used for patio miss but I'm going to try it. Thanks for the suggestion!

[rooster222]

Jul 6, 2020 20:52:10 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

We have a big patio with built in fire pit and a screened porch.

The patio has a dining table and chairs on one side, adirondack chairs around the fire pit on the other side.

The screened porch has a loveseat and 2 chairs, but we just ordered a huge sectional for it instead. I want to be able to lay down out there.

This is a terrible photo, but this is the patio.

Your patio is huge! I think ours is about 12 x 20 ft. I'm not sure that we'd have room for a seating & eating area unless we get a smaller dining table. And I'm with you on comfortable furniture in the screened porch. I love napping out there but need something to better stretch out on.

[ssmjlm]

orval, it is pretty big, but we really do use the whole thing. I think it's 25 x 35? I'm not 100% because we had to make some modifications during construction due to the grade of our yard.