Add a veranda or lean on pergola

[Gilmoregirly]

Hi, we currently have a patio that gets baked from Sun during summer. We want to have an enclosed veranda or pergola like in American houses. I am not sure what the correct name it. Please do you know the correct name and why the houses in UK don’t have them? Also would it make my kitchen and dining room darker? Please see the photo attached.

We don't have verandas because we don't have the summers to warrant them I suppose. I came back from a US holiday a few years ago really wanting one for our (then) SW facing house. Definitely don't need one in current E facing house - and yes, I think it would make the rooms darker - but watching with interest.

yes it will it some light, no escaping that. We have a polycarbonate roof on our catio, (wire mesh fronted) and in a previous house had a safety glass roof on a lean too, both cut out some light getting to your home.

I think it would make your house darker if attached.

We are planning one on our shed! We inky have a small yard, a large section is taken up by a work shed. I want a shaded veranda/porch so we can use it in the summer and when the weather is a bit grim. I'm planning on putting outdoor heating there, in the hope we can sit outside more.

I really liked The use if camo nets whilst away this summer, great if you want something more temporary, and far, far cheaper.

I guess the light issue is a big one but it will be usable during summer and winter when the weather is rubbish. I would love an attached veranda but not sure if we need planning permission?

You can get a freestanding aluminium pergola with a retractable roof which wouldn't need planning permission

@Gilmoregirly Useable in summer yes, don’t underestimate just how cold it will be in winter. Not pleasant to sit out.

parents had a summer house shed with a sheltered veranda. Intended to use to sit out on - didn’t really use it that much and never used the interior of the house summer or winter.

would a cloth sail or a windable sun cloth be better? Neither need planning, and cheaper. Or a wooded pergola
with some climbers, so you get shade in summer and the light in winter. ?

I love this look. We had a really old Victorian style wooden conservatory attached to the back of the house and were getting rid of it but the roof was fine so DH kept the roof and the tiled flooring and replaced the side panels with wooden beams so we now have a little sheltered veranda thing. I put two rocking chairs outside and it is lovely in the spring and summer. Especially first thing in the morning. Only the cat uses it in the winter.

In the US that is classed as a porch lots of them go around the house so are classed as a wrap around porch. Some are open like the one you attached a photo of some are closed in with fly screens.

We have been looking into this sort of covering for an outdoor kitchen as we have a pizza oven and a flat top grill rather than a BBQ. Depending on budget there are things this (have a look in their product drop down for shading stuff) https://www.amandasverandas.co.uk/

Also car ports are the cheaper version but are to cover a car so are usually a set depth.

Or self build like this one and this chap is great for this sort of thing, or get someone to build one for you to your specifications. This chap has also built a catio.

We have a veranda, it creates a covered courtyard outside our back door, its great as a sheltered spot to sit in during summer but comes into its own in winter because I can walk to the garage and the bins completely undercover. Workmen can cut wood or whatever outside even if it's raining. I can even hang washing out when it's raining . It's just nice to have a covered area outdoors.

@AutumnBride it is exactly what I am after. Our garden is south facing and our lovely patio is baked in sun. It is too hot to sit outside. So not getting used. @bowtop thank you.

Australian here. Don’t just throw one up. Get an architect or building engineer type to do the measurements to get full sun into the house when it’s low in winter. A floor to ceiling window helps with this.

You want it so the sun hits the ground just outside the verandah on the longest day and gets into the house the most on the shortest day.

My sunshine gets in to the depth of 2.7m on the winter equinox and my latitude is low 30’s.

We have a zinc-alum roof with a couple of opaque plastic panels to allow a bit of light through as we have a very deep verandah. But its usefulness outweighs the shade the house is in.

This is one of my favourite books https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=865130627&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3DPleasures%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bporch%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet--srp1--title2.

Thank you @TheSandgroper

We have a lean to pergola attached to the house outside the bifold doors, then a shade sail that attaches underneath it. We put that up in the summer months, then store it in the shed during the winter when we'd rather have more light.

We are having a veranda built, not an aluminium/glass one but one which uses the same tiles as on the roof so it blends in.
Apart from providing shade from the strong summer sun, it will mean we can open the back door, walk along the rear of the house, dry off Ddog etc sheltered from the rain.

DM has something similar to this.

@Cotswoldbee please May I see some photos? This is exactly the sort of thing I am after.

Whatever you do don't put it adjacent to any windows, as it would lose almost all the light from them! To get light in, the window needs to have a view of the sky, the higher the better. Sky directly overhead is the brightest (hence rooflights are so efficient)
Even our old grotty conservatory with a clear roof and fully glazed lost a tonne of light from the dining room.
If you can arrange it beside a blank wall or a new door then you wouldn't lose any light.

If you go for a permanent covering I would see if you can have a patio slightly away from the house and cover that with something instead