A roof outsideis still a roof.Snow does not care.
Covered patios attach to your house, carry Colorado snow load, and need footings below frost depth. Built properly they extend the house. Built as a deck with a lid, they fail.
This is a structure, not a garden feature.
A covered patio is usually sold as an outdoor-living upgrade. Structurally it is a small building attached to a large one, and on the Front Range it has to carry a snow load that a pergola or a shade sail never does.
Three things decide whether it lasts. The footings have to reach below frost depth, or the posts heave and the roof racks over a few winters. The connection to the house — the ledger — has to be attached to structure and flashed properly, because a badly flashed ledger is the most reliable way to rot the wall behind it. And the roof has to shed water somewhere deliberate rather than into the ground at the foundation.
Get those right and a covered patio genuinely extends the house. Get them wrong and it becomes a maintenance problem that is expensive to unpick, because half of it is now attached to your exterior wall.
Six things a covered patio has to get right.
Footings below frost
Colorado frost depth is not optional. Shallow footings heave, and a heaved post twists the whole roof.
Snow load
The roof is designed for the weight of accumulated snow, not just its own. This is a calculated number.
The ledger
Where it attaches to the house. Must land on structure and be flashed properly, or the wall behind it rots quietly.
Drainage
Where the roof throws water. Straight into the ground beside your foundation is the default failure.
Permits
An attached roofed structure is generally permitted work, and it counts toward lot coverage in most jurisdictions.
Matching the house
Roof pitch, fascia line and column proportion. A covered patio that reads as an afterthought devalues the elevation.
If all you want is shade, say so. A pergola or a shade structure is a much cheaper answer and does not carry snow, attach to your wall or count toward lot coverage. We will tell you when that is the better project.
Six steps, and the first one is a phone call.
Discovery call
A short call to understand the project, the property and whether we are the right fit.
Job walk
We look at what is actually standing — structure, services, access.
Design
Drawings worked through with you, so you approve a plan rather than imagine one.
Engineering & permitting
Structural engineering and the permit set, handled by us.
Construction
One project manager, and a job site kept clean because you usually still live here.
Walkthrough
We finish the list you write, not the one we think is left.
Want it usable in February?
That is a different structure from a summer shade cover. Tell us how you actually want to use it and we will tell you what it takes to build.
Prefer to talk now? Call (720) 637-2060
Get your free project estimate
A few quick questions on our secure estimate page — about 2 minutes. We call you back the same business day to talk it through.
Start My Free Estimate →