Planning your outdoor entertainment area

Planning your outdoor

entertainment area

One of the things you will be hoping to do this summer is to get some serious R&R at the pool or in the garden, without having to jump into the car to travel kilometers to an outside venue in the traffic and burning lots of fuel.

Robin Schultz and Gareth Griffiths Gareth Griffiths

So, with our array of friendly experts, Sounds we’ve made it easy for you to plan right? your place for some serious home R&R time, without the hassle of travel. Some suggestions you can implement right away and others, such as hardscaping and minor construction work, might need a little time to get ready for 2023. Timber construction and timber fixtures are a vital part of any outdoor recreational plans. We’ve got plenty of sunshine aplenty, but we also have weather, which means seasonal rain showers and wind! This suggests that screens, timber walls and pergolas, possibly covered, are going to feature in your plans at some point.

High-rise apartment, Green Point Cape Town; timber decking, cladding and tiles complement each other at the plunge pool.

Here’s what you can do

Given the range of different climates across South Africa, outdoor feature expert Robin Schultz (www. contourdecks.co.za) , suggests that you consider these most important things before site work begins:

• Decide on your floor levels required. A level area is better than a stepped or sloped level, almost always. • Only apply decking to the areas that you will use regularly. • Think of the traffic flow that you would like to create. • If the area is small, allow for movable furnishings. • Watch out for large pot plants; never place them in direct contact with decking. • Only deal with contractors with a proven reputation. Ask around and ask the right questions! • Privacy screens • Windbreak screens • Covers for unsightly pool filtration equipment • Bench style perimeter boxed seating

Trends to watch

High-rise apartment buildings or hotels with green roofs are a growing trend, as architects strive towards cool roofs and developers seek to improve their value proposition for guests or investors.

Instead of using the rooftop for the placement of “ugly” building machinery and other equipment, forward thinking developers are making that space – which generally contains much cleaner air quality than the lower levels – available to building residents. Rooftop gardens, rooftop patio areas, swimming pools and outdoor cooking areas are all among the exciting mix of features planned for city dwellers.

The most popular outdoor features commissioned by property owners:

The advantages of timber fixtures vs concrete and paving?

1. Timber is lightweight in comparison to steel or concrete based elements and can be dismantled and moved. 2. Timber is a circular economy material. Most timber used enters its lifecycle in use as a building material with a negative embodied carbon content. 3. Avoid using heavy concrete type furnishings in direct contact with decking as moisture accumulation invites bacterial degradation of the hardwood 4. Hardwood timber is a scarce commodity and is largely dictated by availability and quality. The cost is determined largely by the demand. Garapa is the most sought after at this time, says Schultz.

Composites: An option to timber

Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) is an engineered building product made up of a mix of wood fibre, plastics, bonding agents and colourants. The composite is formulated to combat harsh weather environments to last a long time with very little hassle or upkeep, although routine cleaning is still required.

Natural pools WATER WISE

A new and exciting lifestyle trend in home gardens and other landscapes is the installation of natural pools or ponds. A natural pool is a type of constructed wetland that is implemented to purify and store water safely and effectively. Natural pools and ponds have also been placed in gardens and landscapes to provide beautiful and sustainable natural swimming pools.

South Africans are fortunate to have lovely hot summers that are perfect for lazy days in the pool. However, we also live in a semi-arid, water scarce country. A typical residential swimming pool can hold anything from 20 000 to 80 000 litres of water. On the Highveld, a pool can lose up to 2m of water a year from evaporation, while in hotter, more arid regions up to 3.5m of water can be lost. So, how can you enjoy the luxury of a swimming pool while remaining water wise?

Natural pools are eco-friendly and do not require the use of chemicals. Integrated into the surrounding environment, natural pools act as mini-ecosystems and can provide a habitat to a number of aquatic plants and animals. Besides providing an opportunity for the swimmer to indulge in pure, chemical-free dips, the natural pool can become a beautiful feature of any contemporary garden. Natural ponds provide a number of benefits, such as: • Providing a habitat for aquatic birds and animals. • Extended storage of water for irrigation. • Low cost due to low maintenance and operational costs. • Removal of chemicals and heavy metals from water.

Maintenance of natural pools is easy - simply clearing the filter of leaves and other debris and pruning the natural vegetation once a month is enough to successfully maintain a functioning natural pool.

To reduce the costs of filling the pool with potable water, as one does with conventional pools, the efficient filtering and cleansing that occurs in a natural pool means that rainwater can be harvested to supply the pool. By using harvested water and solar-powered filter systems a natural pool can literally be taken ‘off the grid’!

Natural pools use the concept of wetland or river ecosystems. Indigenous aquatic vegetation and simple filtration systems are used to clean the water. Beneficial micro-organisms are inoculated into the filter system to break down waste, which is then absorbed by the roots of the aquatic plants. As a result, there are no food sources to facilitate the growth of algae.