If you are looking for a way to spruce up your home, consider adding a porch. A porch is a comfortable space where you and your family can appreciate the great outdoors. Having a porch is like adding a new living space to your home situated outside. Whether it is a small or large porch, installing one can create a space perfect for entertaining one or two people or a large crowd.
Continue reading “Get a Screened Porch as Part of Your Next Home Remodeling Project!”
Like the deck of a ship, your backyard deck is likely the scene of plenty of activity. Maybe your deck is next to a swimming pool. Maybe part of it is roofed over to provide protection from the sun and rain. Being a prime place where outdoor family fun and relaxation is enjoyed, your deck may need a lot of maintenance, especially if its surface is made of wood. Annual cleaning and application of stains and sealants are only part of the work. Natural wood decking has a tendency to warp, split and crack even if it is pressure treated. The floor surface of your deck needs to hold up to all the precipitation, foot traffic and sun damage. The frame infrastructure underneath likely looks brand new even when the deck surface is in poor shape. Here is how composite decking can refurbish your worn out deck and save you money.
Decks are a wonderful area to barbecue, host parties, and enjoy spending time outside. Unfortunately, they can also be dangerous and as decks age they become increasingly likely to fail. Spring is a great time of year to have an annual deck inspection performed to make sure your deck is in good, stable condition. Continue reading “Why Every Deck Needs an Annual Inspection”
An outdoor living space is a valuable addition to any home as it increases equity and significantly boosts visual appeal. However, there are many things to consider before beginning construction on the outdoor living space of your dreams. Aside from budget, size and design you’ll also want to take into account equally as important items like building permits, safety, functionality, and how much time you’ll be spending in your room, in order to obtain a broader vision of your project and minimize potential future frustrations. Whether you’re taking on the project yourself or hiring contractors, consider the following:
Continue reading “Things to Consider Before Constructing an Outdoor Living Space”
Winter is often the last season anyone would consider installing a new fence. As the temperature drops, and the air gets colder, the focus is no longer on the outdoors. People spend a lot less time in their yards and aren’t thinking about outside home projects. These important tasks tend to linger. Most homeowners wait until the warmer months to tackle fence work and this isn’t the only option. It’s not even the best option. Continue reading “6 Reasons Why Winter is a Great Time to Think About Your Fence”
The fencing options are nearly limitless for homeowners throughout Northern Virginia, sometimes making it hard to choose between a vinyl fence, a composite fence or even a wooden privacy fence. Vinyl fencing offers some advantages over the other types of fencing, making it a wise choice for many Fairfax, VA homeowners.
Washington, DC and Northern Virginia area homeowners looking for a privacy fence can take assurance from the vinyl privacy fence, which has locking tone and groove pickets. The privacy you seek from a traditional wood privacy fence is achieved seamlessly with a vinyl fence.
Available in white or tan, vinyl privacy fences also utilized vinyl gates for easy access to your home and lawn when needed. The type of vinyl fence gates offered varies by manufacturer, but all are sturdy and strong with supportive hinges for dependability. When purchasing a vinyl fence gate, inspect the hinges to ensure they can align both vertically and horizontally, in addition to offering self-closing through tension adjusting.
The traditional style of picket fencing is available in vinyl fencing as well, with a six-inch tongue and groove vinyl picket the industry standard. The six-inch width is the most commonly selected width because of its stability in high winds and when subjected to great force (or even force from rowdy kids). Next comes the “webbing” in the pickets; many companies use two-webbed picket rather than three-wedded picket simply to reduce costs. The term “webbing” or “webbed” refers to the vinyl reinforcement content inside each picket; the higher the number, the more “webbing” was used in its construction.
For more information on how to best choose the vinyl fencing for your Northern Virginia home, contact the area’s premier vinyl fencing company, Armor Fence. Serving all of the Washington DC metro area, Armor Fence’s professionally trained installation experts provide the highest quality service and nothing but superior products.
The hectic day-to-day life that many struggle with in the Washington DC area makes coming home for peace and quiet even that much more important. Turning your patio into a plush, garden paradise is one way to take your evening escape a bit further.
Even though you may not have the desire to plant a full blown vegetable garden, turning your patio into a garden paradise can be as easy as you want it to be. Whether you choose to plant a plethora of vegetables to make even the best farmer’s market jealous, or simply want enough tomatoes and cucumbers to compliment a dinner salad, it can be achieved without ever stepping off your patio.
Planning and imagination are all it takes to make the most of your patio paradise. Using a combination of height-gathering plants, such as tomatoes, and everyday normal house plants you can use the foliage to add privacy to your patio while also producing fresh fruits and vegetables.
While this idea started with apartments and condos, the idea has blossomed into homeowners gardening and creating privacy in their backyard. Choosing to garden in pots or containers eliminates the necessity of digging up a portion of your lawn, while also providing a controlled environment for less work.
Some naysayers may content that container gardening prevents plants from reaching their full potential, but others will say it’s managing your crop to what you can handle. Let’s face it, most people don’t want hours of gardening chores, after a long day of work. Instead, by planting your patio paradise in containers, you reap the benefits (fresh produce and privacy) without the headache of maintenance (no need to weed a potted plant).
Consult with local landscaping experts if you need assistance choosing the right combination of plants and flowers to compliment your patio paradise. Choosing a combination of potted vegetable plants, flowering plants and even shrubs and foliage can create a patio like you ever expected.
For more information on how to best use your patio, for repairs or construction, contact the patio experts at Armor Fence. Serving all of Northern Virginia, we build patios that last for memories to build on.
You spend hours designing the perfect patio for your Northern Virginia home, but what about the patio furniture you will spend hours using? Use these patio furniture tips to find the perfect patio furniture for your outdoor use and never again have to think “I wish I had known” after you make a patio furniture purchase.
Think about how many people you need to comfortably seat outside on your patio. Do you need a table and chair set, an umbrella, chaise lounges or even a freestanding hammock? Plan ahead and all of these items are easily incorporated into your patio furniture design. You may not choose to buy all pieces at once, but leaving room for them for future use is a good idea.
For more information on creating the outdoor patio of your dreams, contact Northern Virginia’s patio experts at Armor Fence. Serving all of the Washington DC metropolitan area, our team of professionals can assist in your every outdoor dream.
With so many quality maintenance-free fence options available to Northern Virginia homeowners, many are left somewhat confused about what type of fence is best for their needs. Choosing the right fence can be the difference between aesthetically pleasing and simply “it’s a fence.” If you just want “a fence” then you probably are not concerned about choosing the right type of fence, but if you want more than that, continue reading for tips on choosing the right type of fence.
Consider first the design of your home and yard, and then begin considering the type of fence you invest in. The fence you choose should complement your home’s exterior rather than stand out like a misplaced sock in a pantyhose drawer. Choosing the material and color are the biggest factors when basing your choice on the look of the fence, and many homeowners also consider the expense of the materials as well.
Many homeowners in the Leesburg, VA area prefer the look of wrought iron look for areas surrounding the pool or garden. And because most metal tubing is galvanized, there is no better material for durability and resistance to corrosion. Wrought iron fences are also great as security fences at businesses, often with an automatic sliding gate if desired.
A wood picket fence is often appropriate for a Heritage style home. For homeowners who want to achieve a fence look that is modern and contemporary, consider a stained wood and concrete combination for your fence.
Look to your home’s exterior for inspiration when choosing a color for your fence. Whatever type of fence material you choose should match the gutters, roof and window trim for the best curb appeal. However, if you are not concerned about those aspects of the fence, then base your color choice on whatever you personally like better.
Contact Northern Virginia’s leading fence builders at Armor Fence for the latest trends and information on available fence materials. Serving all of Northern Virginia, our professional and experienced fence builders will keep your property and your lawn safe from unwanted visitors.
Chain link fences provide the essential needs of a fence for your Aldie, VA home, but they are not always the most aesthetically pleasing fence option. But with a little work and some green thumb action, your chain link fence can serve as a beautiful surround, rather than a utilitarian piece of hardware on your property.
Using a selection of plants known as “fence eaters” you can cover the fence and improve the look of your landscape at the same time. Use a variety of many different vines – starting from seeds – to increase the texture, colors and shapes of your chain link fence. Vines are typically some of the easiest plants to start from seeds, as both germination and growth are quick and simple. Starting from seeds also saves you money and the ability to accomplish the growth from beginning to end.
If your goal is to quickly cover your chain link fence, choosing to use a vine may be a better option for you. Vine plants like Clematis and Wisteria may take years to bloom when planted from a seed, so in this situation starting with a vine is always the best choice. Perennial vines also are best started from vines rather than seeds, especially if blooms are you overriding goal – in addition to covering your chain link fence of course.
Annual vines nearly always grow faster than their perennial counterparts, but the tradeoff is less full foliage. Consider using a combination of both annuals and perennials for the best results. The combination is likely to produce a mix of large leaves with early and profuse blooms. As you wait for the perennials to fill in, which may take several years, you can get coverage with multiple annuals in the meantime.
Armor Fence, serving all of the Washington DC metro area including the Northern Virginia region, is the area’s leading fence experts. Call today to learn more about how to create the barrier and privacy you want, no matter what type of fence you have in mind.