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Material Girl Fabrics’ Tips for Your Backyard Enclosure Outdoor Living Weather is changing all over, and the most notable change on PEI is the wind. Every year, I get more calls for ways to stop wind from interfering with outdoor patio fun.
By Christine Zareck
T he great thing about patio benefit is that they can be left up during the winter, and you can store outdoor items on the patio. Sunbrella® is my favourite material to use to complement clear vinyl windows, since the sun can’t hurt it, and it’s easy to clean. Sunbrella® doesn’t fade, so you can use any colour you wish; there are 59 colours to enclosures is that they give you a longer patio season. A second choose from. The most recent project I designed using Sunbrella® material matched the customer’s siding, which created a seamless look from house to patio. A common misconception about Sunbrella® is that it’s completely waterproof. Some types are, but those are typically for boat covers and outdoor kitchens. However, I sell a product to waterproof outdoor fabric
that you can spray on your Sunbrella® cushions.
Typically, we add several windows to a patio enclosure, so that you can open and close parts of the enclosure depending on the weather and wind. We install the windows with snaps, making them very easy to remove if you choose to store them. When you want to open them, they roll up. Keep in mind that clear vinyl expands and contracts with the temperature, so putting the windows up when it’s cold can be a challenge. It’s a good idea to leave the windows in a warm place for a day, then install them quickly. We have installed patio windows in freezing weather, but the best time of year to order them is during warm weather. That gives the windows the best fit and allows the clear vinyl to relax and look like glass.
Christine Zareck, owner of Material Girl Fabrics (Photo: Sara Bakker)
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www.pei-living.ca SPRING 2021
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