FAQ’s & Info
It can be rinsed with a water hose since it is made of aluminum and therefore will not rust. Opening the shutters and rinsing with a water hose will clean the upper part.
The opening and closing of the shutters enables you to choose and control the shade desired.
The patio cover protects your patio and outdoor furniture from rain.
On a sunny winter day, your house can benefit from direct and natural sunlight (enabling energy saving and efficiency when heating and lighting your home).
Protection from humidity
During the summer you can control the amount of light desired (from 98% direct sunlight to 100% shade), enabling energy saving when air conditioning your home.
The patio cover enables circulation of air throughout the year, while during the hot summer you enjoy air circulation and 100% shade at the same time.
No maintenance is necessary.
All the profiles of the patio cover are made of aluminum and therefore may be cleaned with soap and water.
The standard colors are white, cream and wood, however it is possible to paint the patio cover especially for you according to your requirements in any color.
It is also possible to combine colors, such as white posts with light blue shutters.
No, Solara’s exclusive patent and advanced manufacturing methods allow you to construct the patio cover in any size with no limitations.
No. Solara’s Patio Covers are custom made according to the requirements of each project allowing you to fulfill your dream as desired.
Yes, it is possible to adapt the patio cover to any existing structure, whether built of wood, metal, concrete, etc.
The shutters are designed in such a way that the raindrops slide rather than forcefully hit the patio cover. According to our tests, there is less noise from rainfall on our aluminum shutters than on plastic.
Yes we do and yes you can! Our patio covers are easy to install. We will supply you with the installation instructions and the engineering package to do it yourself. No special tools or equipment. For more information on a DIY Kit email us today at diy@patiocover.us.
Solara patio covers are made out of the highest grade premium aluminum that can be RECYCLED for other purposes.
Solara Smart Shading Systems also allow you to reduce your dependency on electricity by helping to heat or cool your home or office. Want to cool your home, simply close the patio cover, open the roof back up to add heat and sunlight.
Watch your lighting, cooling and heating bills drop!!
Snow load means how many pounds of snow you have per square foot. Building departments will calculate the snow load area as the heaviest winter that location has received. We add a cushion of 30% and add weight of rain as well. The term used is psf (pounds per square foot) For example, if your building codes require 30 psf and your patio cover is 20×15 (300 square foot) we would have to design the louvered roof system to carry 9,000 lbs load. Solara has generic engineering up to 30 psf and we can always calculate a site specific engineering for your needs. The generic engineering is approved for roll formed or extruded louvered roof systems.
Wind load is how fast the wind is in your area. The building codes will require to design the louvered roof system for the fastest wind load that has ever occurred in your area. They will usually add 30% and calculate wind gusts as well. For example, the slowest wind load that you can design your patio cover is 90 miles per hour and it can go up to 120 miles per hour. Our louvered roof system’s generic engineering will cover up to 115 miles per hour and will be approved for roll formed and extruded louvered roof systems. We can always make site specific engineering for your louvered roof system.
You can have different exposures in the same city. Building departments will calculate the span by different exposures for the same wind even if it’s in the same wind and snow load area. For example, a louvered roof system that will be installed in a 90 mph with 10 psf snow load in an urban area will have less exposure than the same patio cover with the same load in a rural area. The exposure can also address the height of the louvered roof system. There will be different exposure for a louvered roof system that is installed on a ground floor than at the penthouse 4 or 5 stories high. Commercial and residential louvered roof systems will also have different exposure, although they’re in the same exact location. Our louvered roof system’s generic engineering will cover exposure A and B and in most building departments you will just need to increase the loads to permit your louvered roof system in exposure C.
Solara louvered roof system can be designed and permitted all across the United States with any wind load or snow load. As a matter of fact, Solara louvered roof systems are being permitted not only in the US but they’re being permitted internationally however, a louvered roof system that has been designed for Phoenix Arizona will need less rafters and support beams than a same size louvered roof system in Buffalo New York due to different snow load requirements. A louvered roof system in Miami Florida will be designed differently than the same louvered roof system in Fresno California due to different wind loads. The same goes for different exposures, a louvered roof system designed for a 70th floor sky scraper in Manhattan New York will be a different design than a louvered roof system in a residential backyard in New Jersey. The bigger the load is the less the span will be. This means more material, such as posts, rafters and support beams. At the end of the day, that means it will cost more for the same louvered roof system in a location with lower loads. Also, the loads can affect your design limitations. For the same size louvered roof system in different loads and exposures, you will need more or less posts.
Yes. We do offer a gutter system, however since our cut edge technology does not force us to have support on the edges of the cover, we don’t force you to buy the gutter system and keep your louvered roof system affordable. After thousands of louvered roof systems installed all over the world, we know that most people spend their time when it’s raining either indoors or underneath our cover. Most of the louvered roof systems are installed on first level on the yard and you can let the water run to your garden so there isn’t any need for an expensive gutter system. Gutter systems also require maintenance keeping it clean and properly working can be a hassle that will require ladders, tools, etc. If the gutter system is clogged, your louvered roof system can leak. We feel that less maintenance and less labor is a better system. We do recommend to install the gutter system on our patio cover when it’s being installed on the 2nd level or higher and the water drainage is directly to your downstairs neighbor’s porch. With the Solara louvered roof system you can always add the gutter later on.
For more information about Patio Covers, Awnings, Gazebos or Pergolas write to: design@patiocover.us