A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In
Australia the term is expanded to include roofed structures such as a
veranda
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure.
Although the form ''vera ...
, which provides protection from
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
and
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
.
Construction
Patios are most commonly paved with
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
or stone slabs (also known as paving flags). They can also be created using
bricks,
block paving
Block paving, also known as brick paving, is a commonly used decorative method of creating a pavement or hardstanding. The main benefit of bricks over other materials is that individual bricks can later be lifted up and replaced. This allows for r ...
,
tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
s,
cobbles, or
gravel. Other kinds of patio materials these days include alumawood,
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
,
acrylic, and glass.
Patio options include
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
,
stamped concrete
Stamped concrete is concrete that has been imprinted, or that is patterned, textured, or embossed to resemble brick, slate, flagstone, stone, tile, wood, or various other patterns and textures. The practice of stamping concrete for various purpose ...
, and
aggregate concrete. Stamped concrete costs more, is known to be slippery, requires being resealed, and
dyes typically fade in time. Aggregate concrete uses stones exposed giving its own style.
Other common patio features include additional of reinforcement for
hot tubs and additional steps from the home.
Restaurant patio
''Patio'' is also a general term used for outdoor seating at restaurants, especially in
Canadian English. While common in Europe even before 1900, eating outdoors at restaurants in North America was exotic until the 1940s. The
Hotel St. Moritz in New York in the 1950s advertised itself as having the first true continental cafe with outdoor seating. The ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'' welcomed that city's first patio in the 1960s. In the United States, having a warmer and sunnier climate than Northern Europe, outdoor dining grew rapidly in the 1960s and today is a popular dining experience in the warmer parts of the mainland.
[Chris Bateman.]
How Toronto learned to love the patio
" ''Spacing.'' APRIL 29, 2015
See also
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Andalusian patio
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Arizona room
An Arizona room is a semi-outdoor recreational room found frequently in homes in Arizona, based on similar concepts as the Florida room. The room is often a patio that has been covered and screened-in, creating an outdoor feeling while preventin ...
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Deck
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Porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
*
Terrace garden
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hardscape and the softscape.
History
;Persia
Since a level si ...
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Veranda
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure.
Although the form ''vera ...
Notes
References
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External links
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{{Authority control
Architectural elements
Outdoor structures
Garden features