At Altec we pride ourselves on being the most professional and innovative patio designers and builders in Australia. We pay close attention to detail to ensure you are delighted with the results and offer the following tips to help you choose the product that best suits your needs and lifestyle.

Our most popular designs
Conventional	Opening Roof	Flyover

Here are some tips for choosing the right patio cover brand:

• To ensure your new Patio Cover exceeds your expectations in both style and useability, avoid the 'she'll be right, mate' approach to design and engineering. Not all Patio Covers brands are suitable for all designs & conditions, so discuss your needs with an Altec Patio Design Consultant before making a decision.
• It is important to remember that every legitimate Patio Manufacturer has specifications that the builders must adhere to in order to ensure your project is correctly constructed, long lasting and suited to it's intended purpose.
• Have an Altec Patio Design Consultant look at the site and discuss your options. Consider things like winds and storms, as certain designs and materials are more suitable than others in high wind areas.
• Some less experienced operators will 'over-span' (allow the Patio Cover to project out too far), which can eventually cause the roof to sag, leak and reduce the life of the Patio Cover. At Altec, we strictly adhere to the manufacturer's specifications. With our extensive experience and over 42000 structures built, you can rest assured of receiving the best Patio Cover for your needs.
• Avoid using plastics. These get extremely hot in summer, have a short life-span and are highly susceptible to hail damage.
• If you are considering purchasing from another Patio builder, call us anyway. A second opinion may just save you spending a lot of money on a patio cover you cannot use.
• Remember you get what you pay for. This is true of any product, but especially true of Patio Covers. The cheaper the brand, the more light-weight and less usable it tends to be

The most important thing to remember is that there are over thirty brands of different Patio Covers on the market. Your success and value for money depends on the right design, correctly engineered, with high quality long term materials.

Thanks to our terrific weather Queenslanders tend to spend up to three times as long living outside their houses than the average Australian. However, the intensity of our Queensland sun demands better performance from our Patio Covers, so that we can stay cooler and generally more comfortable under them. Due to a higher standard wind rating (w33, w41, w50) the structural integrity of Patio Covers also needs to be upgraded. Though most Patio Cover brands target the needs of the majority of Australia’s population in the southern states, some brands are more suited to Queensland and northern NSW conditions. Avoid using see through plastic and polycarbonates. It is very hot under these when our Queensland sun is shining. They are also easily damaged by hail.

Whilst some brands are truly heat deflective and will have a better engineered profile (shape), join and spanning ability, all brands will claim to be the best.

There are around 30 different types of Patio Covers available, at a variety of costs. Be assured that Patio Covers are like everything else… 'You get what you pay for!!!'.

So, before you build, think about how you intend to use (and live) under your new Patio Cover. And ask your qualified Altec Patio Design Consultant plenty of questions.