Wood Patio Covers in Santa Clarita, CA

Wood patio covers give you design freedom that factory panels cannot: exposed beams, gable or hip roofs that match the house, rafter tails cut to a profile, and a roof finished with the same tile or shingles as the main house. In Santa Clarita, a wood cover also has to be planned around strong sun, low humidity and, on many lots, fire hazard zone rules that limit which lumber can be used. Done right, it is the most custom-looking cover you can put on a patio.

Open shade bar or solid roof

The City of Santa Clarita has separate standard drawings for the two kinds of wood cover. A shade bar cover uses rafters topped with smaller bars spaced so the top is at least 50 percent open; the city's sheet says those bars may not be covered with roofing later. A roofed cover uses sheathing and a roof covering, needs a Class B or better roof covering under the standard, and is inspected three times: after footing excavation, after framing, and at final. Designs outside the standard tables need full engineered plans.

Lumber and fire zones

The city's standard drawings call for grade-marked Douglas fir-larch No. 2 or better. In fire hazard zones, Los Angeles County's rules treat patio covers as structures that need ignition-resistant or noncombustible construction near the house, and they say paint, stain and coatings do not count as protection. Wood can still be used in many cases: heavy timber construction, with large beams and posts, and factory fire-retardant-treated lumber are both recognized options. As one example of how agencies apply this, Ventura County's policy for accessory structures lists 6-inch nominal beams and columns and 4-inch ledgers and shade bars. We confirm the requirements for your parcel before drawing the cover.

Gable and hip roofs

A gable or hip roof over the patio can be tied into the main roof so the cover looks like part of the house. That takes more framing, flashing and roofing than a flat cover and raises the cost: Bob Vila lists gable patio covers at $3,000 to $18,000. In fire zones, Los Angeles County's notes call for Class A roofs on accessory structures near the house, and wood shakes and shingles are not allowed. Tile or composition shingle that matches the house is usually the answer.

Sun, dry air and finishes

With summer highs often above 110 degrees and humidity that can drop below 10 percent during Santa Ana conditions, unprotected wood dries, checks and grays quickly. We prime and paint or stain all exposed wood, including the ends of rafters and the tops of beams where water and sun hit hardest. Plan on recoating every few years; Fixr lists staining at about $5 to $7 per square foot.

Footings and posts

Wood covers are heavier than aluminum, so footings matter. The city's roofed-cover standard (revised 2008; we confirm the current version) sizes footings by roof area: 12 by 12 inches for up to 40 square feet, 18 by 18 for up to 85, and 24 by 24 for up to 150, with 4 by 6 posts and knee braces at each post. On hillside lots, the plot plan has to show any slope steeper than 3 to 1 near the cover. We draw post locations around those limits before anything is dug.

Replacing an old wood cover

Older homes in neighborhoods such as Saugus and Canyon Country, some dating from the 1960s or earlier, may still have aging wood covers. If the posts are rotted at the base, the ledger is pulling away or the roof sags, a new cover is often simpler than repair. We can remove the old one and build new on the same footprint, or switch to aluminum if upkeep is the issue.