Contentious..... No More

One of the most debated over sections to the house has been the patio area. Clive first suggested an aluminum louvre system. At first I was all for this idea and Chris was dead against it. But as time went on, with more debate, I decided that I was anti and Chris became keen. So ... more time, more debate and it became an area we were both avoiding. Researching the louvre system I learnt that no sofa would be able to stay out there permanantly as they are only 95% waterproof. I wanted a "proper" undercover patio with nice sof furniture. The guys were more concerned we would loose too much light and esp warmth in winter. Naturally you would then suggest a skylight option. Not a chance there either - I was keen and Chris NOT! I tried to explain the windows/skylight that Brett & Lara have in their kitchen but merely using "skylight" in the explanation killed my suggestion. So, what to do........? Thank goodness for Brian's birthday and our trip to London, Chris got to see first hand what I meant and was eventually persuaded. With this option, we can close the blinds in the window to shade the entire patio/open the window to let trapped heat out/let in warmth & light during the winter months. However, our next hurdle was to find the product locally. This is where I need to thank "google", within a few searches we had located the Velux supplier in Cape Town who put us in contact with a Joburg agent. After a bit of to & fro & haggling all is well that ends well and the Velux skylight windows are in the process of being installed. As you can see this has turned into a mamoth task. The windows need a min 15 degree pitch. This has meant building special boxing with flashing etc. In the end, though, we have the working patio we both wanted.