How to Weatherproof Your Patio
During the last days of summer and the early days of autumn, it’s important to begin preparing your garden and patio for the snowy days ahead. It may seem like ages before you will need to be worrying about shovelling snow and putting salt on the driveway, but those days are closer than you think.
When it comes to your patio, it may take a bit of time to ensure you have everything ready to withstand the cold arctic blasts and all that ice and snow that can wreak havoc on everything from your garden furniture to the wooden deck you just had built this year. Let’s take a look at what it will take to weatherproof all those lovely things you’ve enjoyed all summer long so that they are ready to be enjoyed again next year.
Pull In Everything That Isn’t Weatherproof
If you have a garden shed or a garage large enough to store some of that patio furniture in, watch the weather carefully. At the first forecast of snow, pull everything that isn’t weatherproof inside. The wisest investment you made this past spring was that lovely 4 seater garden furniture set with an umbrella.
It is weatherproof so that it will not rust when subjected to snow and melting ice, but you will probably want to let down the umbrella or pull it out and tuck it away to prevent winds from toppling the entire table during a gusty storm. You probably won’t need that Lazy Susan recliner until late next spring, so even if it is weatherproof, you may want to tuck that away as well. The fewer things you leave out, the easier it will be to dust the snow off the patio.
Ensure the Deck Drainage Is Unclogged
Just as the gutters on your home prevent rainwater and melting snow from infiltrating the roofing structure and getting down into the walls and loft, you also have a drainage system on your patio deck. Make sure all those fallen leaves and other bits of debris are cleared out so that water can drain away as it should. Even if you applied a good topcoat of sealant when that wood deck was built this past spring, the normal wear and tear over a busy summer could have worn it off in spots.
Patio furniture being moved about could have put scratches in a few spots. Remove everything on the floor, sand the surface, and give it another coat of UV-resistant sealant. Let it dry thoroughly as per the manufacturer’s instructions before replacing furniture and any potted plants that can weather the winter.
Caring for Those Potted Plants
If you chose wisely from a list of potted plants that do well in the winter months, you can probably safely leave them out to brighten your patio throughout the winter. This home advice blog offers tips on the kinds of plants that will survive well throughout the coldest of months. If you’ve any hanging plants, they should probably be taken down so they aren’t blown down in a blizzard and any plants that don’t do well in the cold can be brought inside until the weather permits taking them back outside.
Not every day all through the winter will be too cold to enjoy a hot cup of tea in the afternoon sun, so do enjoy that garden furniture you’ve left outside. Everything else can be brought out again in just a few months, so until then, enjoy all the love and labour you’ve put into creating a lovely and peaceful garden oasis.
