March 22, 2023 - The new owners of a new home being built in Austin, Texas, made one very special request from the builders: create an enclosed patio effect without losing the outdoor connection to beautiful views and sounds of nature.

"They wanted to be able to use this outdoor space as a much more comfortable space," said Matt Pierce, owner, Shading Texas. "To be able to enjoy dinners, have the barbeque out here without having to worry about the bugs. [We were] able to take this space and basically make it an additional living space by using the shades to enclose it."

The outdoor patio area includes several larger bays and a couple of entry points. These are all separated by steel posts that also serve as mounting points. Pierce and Shading Texas used various sizes of Draper FlexShade ZIP with Phifer TuffScreen fabric to enclose the space.

A combination of unique side channels and a ZIP feature welded to the sides of the shade fabric protects the patio from sun, wind, rain, and pesky insects. Each unit is custom, so separate smaller sizes are used to cover entry points. People can enter and exit without going back through the house, and without opening a large area and losing the enclosure effect.

Pierce says he likes using the Draper FlexShade ZIP because it is a quality-first product.

"This is someone we're going to have a relationship with for a long time, so we need to make sure the product actually lasts the length of that relationship," said Pierce. "A lot of other systems … are just meant for a couple of seasons, they're just meant for a few years. They don't have that lifespan that you get with a Draper product."