June 7, 2011. Paul Hixon
A covered patio added to your home can increase its value up to 25%. In some cases this will amount to a great deal of money.
Putting a patio cover up will increase the value of your home however only if it is both durable and looks great on your home. There are three materials used in building patio covers; Vinyl, wood and metal. We can start out by eliminating vinyl from the start. If your intention is to increase the value of your home, no matter how good vinyl covers look when they are new, these covers will wear quickly, crack and fray at the edges and become very unattractive. They are very low priced however and many people buy them. They are not a good investment and even new will not increase the value of your much, if at all.
Metal patio covers can be either aluminum or steel. Steel is a bit more expensive however and does not last that much longer than aluminum (about 10 years), and has problems with rust. If you have a stone or brick home a metal patio cover is the best choice. The solid stone will give you a secure place to attach the cover and steel covers on wooden homes might have safety issues, especially if you live in an area with high winds or heavy snows.
If you live in a wooden or wood framed house however you need wood patio covers. These types of patio covers come in many different woods and make the entire home look much more harmonious. This will increase the value of your house significantly. The better the wood, the more the value of the house will increase. For instance, if your cover is made of pine, you would just mention the fact that you have a beautiful wooden patio cover. If you use oak or cherry however you would mention that you have a beautiful oak or cherry patio cover. These are all selling points.
Updated June 7, 2011. Published April 11, 2011. Paul Hixon
