Detroit News – Summertime in Michigan finds us enjoying the outdoors as much as we possibly can. And how wonderful it is if we have a backyard where we can create an outdoor space to unwind after a long day, to spend time with our family and to entertain our friends.

Nowadays many backyards are being transformed into what are now referred to as “outdoor rooms,” luxurious extensions of the house.

Yes, an increasing number of homeowners are going all out with elaborate outdoor kitchens that have sinks, refrigerators, cabinets and countertops, sitting areas with comfy cushioned furniture, real fireplaces and elaborate water features. Of course, without all of those additions, we can still enjoy our backyard.

Typically the backyard hardscape begins with a patio, or what some might call the outdoor living and dining room. Decorative concrete patios are emerging as a new and exciting material for today’s patio or outdoor room. But the days of plain gray concrete are long gone.

Stamped, decorative concrete offers a vast selection of choices for color, texture, pattern and design, giving each installation the look of individuality. Concrete is a warm, natural material that can be made to resemble brick, slate, flagstone, stone, tile, and even wood.

It can be lightly smoothed or heavily brushed; surfaced with attractive pebbles; swirled or scored; tinted or painted; molded and patterned.

Patterns could be a herringbone design for the brick look, weathered slats for the wood look, squares or cobblestone patterns for clay or slate tile, or hand-scored to look like natural flagstone.

Colors and patterns can blend with other existing stone or tile elements at your home. Although color possibilities are vast, I prefer the natural browns, tans, charcoals and terra cottas.

The same colored concrete can be made to look different, just by using different finishing techniques: For example, brooming the concrete in opposite directions creates shadow effects. Swirl or fan patterns create a different look. For an even more dramatic effect, the colored concrete can be lightly sandblasted or heavily sandblasted, or a retarder can be used and then the aggregate exposed.

My husband and I selected decorative concrete for our new patio. I don’t always like one material made to look like another, but this works. Our concrete is stamped into a cobblestone pattern and finished in a mottled bronze to coppery tone to match the colors in our slate top dining table. It looks great.

Maintenance is easy. Sealers can be applied for water-and-stain resistance, and clean-up can be as simple as hosing down the area. Every two or three years, re-apply a sealer.

Contractors tell me that concrete patios cost less than patios made of real stone, brick or tile. The lower price tag is one of the main draws for choosing a concrete patio, combined with the wide array of patterns and colors available

A couple of fun concrete ideas that I gleaned on the Internet are: concrete patterned and colored to look like an area rug, and a concrete sofa and chair.

I also discovered an interesting piece of information that opens up my mind to all kinds of exciting possibilities: resurfacing. Apparently there are concrete coatings systems that can be placed over existing cement and then the look of brick, stone, tile, slate, etc. can be simulated. I can’t help but think that not only can you transform an existing cement patio, but what about the potential to make our ordinary gray cement walkways and driveways look like cobblestone or brick?

A patio can be just like another room in your house. Effective patio design can mean that your increase the floor space of your home, by adding an outside room that allows you to entertain like never before.

A patio can just be a rectangular slab of concrete with some plastic chairs and griller, but it can also be so much more. Check Out These Friendly Sites for Some Cool  Patio Design Ideas

MyLandscapes - I design contemporary gardens, landscapes and roof terraces throughout London and beyond. Projects include City, Courtyard, Patio and larger Family gardens with a major speciality in Roof gardens and terraces. In town, I have always been asked for low maintenance and this has evolved into an important element of all my gardens. I offer a complete design and build service with a particular interest in all aspects of project management. http://www.mylandscapes.co.uk 

Landscape Design By Lee - A landscape designer serving the local Suffolk County and Nassau County areas of Long Island, New York. Specializing in Custom Design, Residential Entrance Gardens, Poolscapes, Berms and Walls, Sun/Shade Gardens, Cottage Gardens, Patio, Walkway & Driveway Design and more. http://www.landscapedesignbylee.com

Raleigh Landscape  – Down to Earth provides a wide range of landscape installation services including ponds, patios, retaining walls, lawns and more. Over the years, we have grown as a team of professionals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. http://www.raleighlandscape.com

Abloom Landscape Contractor – Abloom has been providing professional residential landscaping experience and expertise in the Ottawa-Carleton and surrounding areas for more than 30 years. We offer all types of landscaping services. http://www.abloomlandscape.com  

Getting Your Gas Barbecue Grill Ready Be sure to clean spider webs out of the venturi tubes as described below. You may open your grill in the spring and find remnants of the meal you cooked on it last season.

Don’t worry, cleaning the grill is actually easier than most people realize, and you can usually forego the brushes, dirty sink and elbow grease if you start the day before you need the grill. However, use the following method only after checking with your owner’s manual. Some manufacturers warn against using oven cleaner on any part of their grill.

Lay a plastic bag on the ground, followed by a newspaper, then lay your grill on top of the newspaper. Spray liberally with an oven cleaner, and cover with another layer of moist newspaper.

Follow this with another plastic bag and weigh down the edges so the whole mess doesn’t end up in your neighbors yard. Now instead of scrubbing and scouring, just let the oven cleaner do the work for you overnight.

The next day, remove the grill and place all the saturated newspaper into one of the garbage bags. Wear gloves and follow all of the manufacturers safety precautions whenever working with caustic cleaners, such as oven cleaner. Rinse the grill thoroughly, and then wash off any remaining oven cleaner residue with some soapy water. Rinse again, coat with a light brushing of vegetable oil, and you’re ready to go! 
 
It is a good plan to fire up your barbeque for 30 to 45 minutes on High temperature to sanitize everything before the first use of the season.

Planning a summer barbeque…reading a great book out on your new or remodeled deck, creating a new season tan have gotten easier and classier with the New Age materials available for building deck stairs that deliver a design statement plus create value for your home and property.

Cool Contemporary Trends In Materials For Building Deck Stairs. When is a step not merely a step? Answer? When it’s designed into a larger deck and entertainment area for every day use along with entertaining friends. No longer a "tag-along after thought" for a deck, deck stairs and deck stair railing systems create robust design statements…materials include traditional wooden deck steps such as pressure treated lumbers or more expensive but durable Western cedar…eco-friendly long lasting composite decking in subtle earth tones…and even high density vinyl.

 How To Build Deck Stairs. All good, and all great deck step designs…especially when the "finished look" will be architect inspired with a textured composite and color-balanced material…rely exclusively on the quality of the support structure. Here, you and your builder are thinking about how to build deck steps supported by concrete support pads, structural timbers such as 2 in. X 12 in. pressure treated "stringers", anchor bolts, hangar and joist support hardware brackets, 16 in. center tread support studs, and of course laser-sighted layouts to determine pitch and angles so that each stair is level and "true".

Deck Stair Plans. Do-it-yourselfers can obtain remarkable and detailed deck stair plans online…from "big box" hardware and building supply retailers or local builders and architects. To design deck stairs, you’ll need some form of PC-based cad program, in order to model different design iterations…adjusting width, height or rise or considering graduated width or even spiral deck staircase layouts. Look for programs, or service providers who can input your raw dimensional data…work up a complete bill of materials, from lumber lengths to deck screws…and then create a number of design "looks" for you to consider. Take your time. Decide slowly.

Deck Spiral Staircase. When building deck stairs and you want to make a huge visual impact, here’s where the unusual wrap-around effect of spiral deck stairs becomes a design option. The positive argument says you’ll create the same deck access, long life and load carrying capability plus you’re adding seriously cool looks which may translate into improved home values. The less sanguine argument states that you’ll find someone who has a physical difficulty or even a certain mental hang-up about approaching a deck spiral staircase, and of course seriously large objects (think huge grills, furniture, pianos, a team of Sumo wrestlers) generate difficult access-use problems.

Deck Stair Railing Systems – A World of Choice. No longer rough milled logs strung up outside Lincoln’s Illinois cabin, modern decks get incredible finishing treatment options including metal deck railings (think steel, alloys)…cable deck railings (think thin-profile high strength steel safety cables held taut between upright posts)…or ultra-modernist see-through safety glass deck railings. Safety tip: check with your town’s building code to learn about deck stair railing "code" requirements…spacing and layout which reduces risk of accident to you or guests or delivery guys.

A common summer complaint is: It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. Too much moisture in the hot summer air can turn your home into a steam bath.

Beyond leaving you feeling hot, sticky and generally uncomfortable, high humidity can be bad for your home’s health as well. It can cause warped wood floors, furniture and trim; chipped and peeling paint and wallpaper; wet stains on walls and ceilings; and musty, foul smelling odors.

It also can encourage the growth of dust mites, fungi, bacteria, mold and mildew. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the ideal relative humidity range for the home is between 35 and 50 percent. At this range you are comfortable, healthy and your home is protected.

The big question is how to effectively and efficiently accomplish this. Most people try to remove humidity by running their air conditioner. But air-quality experts say homeowners should never lower the thermostat temperature in an attempt to control humidity in their home.

Setting the thermostat temperature lower does two things that are counter to your goal of reducing the moisture content in your home. It increases the indoor relative humidity and it decreases the temperature of the materials in the walls, floors and ceilings of your home, thereby significantly increasing the potential for condensation on these elements.

Secondly, with today’s super energy-efficient homes, a typical air conditioning unit will cycle on and off too quickly to eliminate excess moisture in the air.

As a result, homeowners resort to overcooling the living space while attempting to remove moisture, which leads to uncomfortable air temperatures, high energy bills and excess wear on the cooling system.

Portable dehumidifiers address only one area of the home, but a high-quality whole-home dehumidifier works in conjunction with the cooling system and can remove up to 90 pints of moisture from the home’s environment each day.

Whole-home dehumidifiers are designed to remove moisture while the thermostat is designed to maintain temperature. A whole-house dehumidifier automatically senses moisture levels and maintains the optimum humidity level in the home. In addition, these systems can switch between whole home and localized areas – such as a steamy master bathroom – offering the best of both worlds.

One of the most appealing aspects of having dehumidified air is that it feels cooler to the skin, thus allowing homeowners to raise the thermostat. This can result in significant energy savings and less wear and tear on the cooling system without sacrificing comfort.

And when it comes to maintenance, a whole house dehumidifier contains a pump and drain line that will discharge the collected water into a sump or drainage system, in contrast to a portable system with a collection system that must be regularly emptied. Better whole-house systems have a high-efficiency filter that will usually need to be cleaned once annually.

Other preventive steps you can take to reduce indoor humidity include:

- Clean and repair roof gutters regularly; use covers to keep leaves and sticks from building up in the gutters.

- Vent appliances that produce moisture, such as clothes dryers and stoves, to the outside where possible. Do not vent them into the attic, which would simply move the humidity and its problems.

- Make sure the ground slopes away from the foundation so that water does not enter or collect around the foundation.

- Use down-spout extenders that carry water at least 6 feet away from the foundation.

- Seal unwanted air leaks, such as around holes for plumbing and wiring, where humid outside air sneaks into the home.