Autumn has come and gone; the winter has set in. The chill that had set in the air has intensified even more. Yet, the air is warm with festive spirit. The Christmas is round the corner… Therefore, everywhere you look, people are busy buying all kinds of sundry items. Your small eatery is always full. You have to turn away quite a few customers everyday… Only if you could utilize the patio you have in front.

We don’t find any excuses for the veranda not being utilized. One can make up, with couple of dining tables and chairs provided commercial patio umbrellas are set up for each one of the dining table. Provision of outdoor heaters will generate enough heat radiance such that it makes oneself physically more comfortable. By this, one need not worry of turning down the customers due to space constraint. But care should be taken in setting up the patio slowly as there are lot of steps involved in it. And they are as follows.

1. Identify your need.
2. Do enough market research.
3. Choose the things that are suitable to your patio

Decide your need first. For your commercial space, always opt for commercial patio umbrellas. They have solid poles without any joint. This makes them more stable and less susceptible to breakage. In addition, such umbrellas do not generally tilt and are devoid of user-friendly mechanisms such as cranks and pulleys. If you live in high wind areas, make sure the umbrella ribs are made from fiberglass because such ribs can withstand gusts of winds better than wood or metal.

Let us talk about the canopy next. The umbrella fabric for any patio umbrella should be thick enough to reflect the heat back into the space. It should also be UV resistant, fade resistant and waterproof. Be careful about the shade length too. These umbrellas come with different shade length. A 30″ bistro table with only two chairs will need an umbrella with 6′ shade diameter while a 72″ rectangle bistro table with 8 chairs will require 11′ shade length. As I said, it is essential to determine your need first.

Resorts or a big hotel usually have large outdoor space, where offset umbrellas can be installed. These umbrellas do not come under the commercial umbrella category; however it serves their purpose. When one needs big and continuous shade, they can always opt for offset umbrella’s with side post provision. These offset umbrella are the best option in situations where there is a big dining table or children’s play cover which needs to be covered.

Apart from patio umbrellas, the next important furniture that one must have is outdoor heaters. There are various types of outdoor heaters. Some of the heaters run on electricity, propane, LPG and wood. Heaters like chimney run basically on wood. Though chimney provides an ethnic ambience, one must rule out its usage for commercial purpose. Finally, we will end up using the LPG or propane heaters. Almost all people prefer electric outdoor heater as they are simple, elegant and user friendly. Moreover they do not produce any flame, it is environmentally green. With the usage of electric heater, one can get a clearance from the local authorities easily as they do not cause any fire hazard.

The main advantage of electric outdoor heater is that they are capable of producing radiant heat 24 hours a day without any stoppage. Natural gas heaters too can make available round the clock heat provided you can have the gas line extended into the patio. Propane heaters on the other hand require you to keep check on the fuel tank and to replace it whenever it is required. Another advantage of an electric outdoor heater is that although it is an outdoor heater, you can also have it installed in an enclosed spaced too. That is not possible in case of heaters that run on gas. It may just be too dangerous.

There are also demerits attached to the electric outdoor heater. The disadvantage is that we cannot move it easily as and when required as it needs an electric outlet to operate. These heaters needs to mounted on wall or ceiling. In addition to wall mounting or ceiling models; One can find pole mounted models. The best thing that one can do is to search the internet and can have an idea about the models; available in the market. According to one’s need, they can choose the best suited one which blends with their decor.

Author Bio: Article by Kenny Leichester of PatioShoppers.com, a website with the best market umbrella and electric outdoor heaters information on the web.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: patio umbrella, commercial patio umbrellas, electric outdoor heater