Our Company Blog

Protect Your Outdoor Space from Winter Weather

When you’ve invested time and money into your perfect outdoor space, you want to maintain it properly. Protecting your appliances, surfaces, and furniture is very important not only during the wet Spring season, but also during the cold and sometimes wet Winter season.

Winterizing Your Outdoor Space

• Shut off the water to your space. Letting water sit in the pipes and appliances can cause them to freeze and bust, causing damaged pipes, and sometimes affecting other parts of your outdoor kitchen. If your outdoor plumbing has its own shutoff valve, you can easily access it. Otherwise, you can disconnect the hoses on each appliance, draining them of water while you’re at it.
• Switch off the circuit breaker to your outdoor kitchen or unplug individual appliances to conserve resources during the winter months. When you disconnect the cords you can inspect them and be sure they are in proper working order for their next use.
• Clean your surfaces and appliances thoroughly. This includes refrigerators, sinks, counters, furniture, stoves, grills, and more. When your appliances are clean it decreases the risk of wild animals searching for food and shelter in your space. Wild animals can cause more damage than you think to your appliances and furniture.
• Don’t cover refrigerators and ice makers. Covering these appliances can cause moisture to be trapped inside the tarp or cover, causing damage to the working parts. The appliances sold for outdoor use are designed to withstand the elements without being covered.
• Remove faucets and store inside. This keeps the faucets from rusting and clogging. It is also a good idea to cover the sinks so that debris doesn’t settle into the basin, fall into the drain, and cause clogs and damage.
• Apply an industrial sealant to stone counter-tops to avoid stains, chips, cracks, and other damage caused by winter weather. You can find a sealant at local home improvement stores or hire a professional to winterize your counter-tops.
• Call a professional to inspect and winterize your gas appliance. You should also call a professional to install the appliance before use in the spring to insure it is in proper working order and safely connected to the gas source.
• Clean out and cover your fire pit. If your fire pit is mobile, you might consider storing it inside, or purchasing a custom fire pit cover. Avoid a cracked and damaged fire pit by covering it completely. If water is allowed to fill the basin and freeze, even durable metal will crack.

Preserve Your Space

This is by no means an exhaustive list of winter tips for your outdoor space. In addition, depending on your appliances, space, furniture, and more, you may need more or less preparation. The important thing is to preserve your space! This means preserving your investments, and maintaining the operation of your space. At IBD Outdoor Rooms we turn fantasy into reality, and we want your dream space to be your dream space next year too!

Safety Tips for Your Fire Pit

If you’ve been waiting for cooler weather and love to spend time outside entertaining and enjoying the weather, a fire pit may be just what you need.

Your Fire Pit

When choosing your fire pit, you want to choose something that works for your needs. This includes size, depth, design, and more.
Factors to consider:

• Wind—If you live in a high-wind area, you probably need to choose a fire pit that is on the ground instead of raised, and it should have a deeper “pit” in order to be unaffected by the wind.
• Location—Your fire pit should be installed on a flat surface and never directly onto the grass. Stone or patio surfaces are ideal, and you should avoid putting the fire pit under a porch, carport, or trees.
• Size—Even if you regularly entertain a large crowd, keeping a large fire in a large fire pit can be a recipe for disaster. A fire pit should be no larger than the size of a manageable fire.
• Insurance and Codes—Before making your purchase you should check with your homeowners insurance provider. They may have detailed requirements for fire pit use on the property.
• Likewise, your city or county may have certain requirements for fire pits in residential areas. These things are very important to follow in order to protect yourself and your investment.

One you choose your fire pit, decide where it will go to perfect your outdoor space, and check with your city government and insurance provider, it’s time for the fun.

Installation

Make sure you have a certified contractor to do your installation. A professional will pay attention to the smallest details that will enhance your fireside experience and keep you and your guests safe. You will also want to seek out a NFI certified chimney and fireplace technician to install any fireplace. This protects you in two ways: these techs know what they are doing and guarantee their work, and many of the manufactures warranties are void if you do not use a certified technician to install the appliance. You can visit the NFI website or CSIA to find a certified tech near you.

Final Tips

1.  Check for burn bans and wind advisories. A quick change in wind can quickly turn a party or casual gathering into a disaster. Likewise, burn bans are in affect for a reason. If a burn ban is in affect, there is high probability that the smallest spark from your fire will cause a wildfire.
2. Clear the area of flammable debris. You might do this when you install your fire pit, but it should be done regularly. Be sure to clear away debris EVERY TIME you light your fire pit. Where fire is involved you’re better safe than sorry.
3. Do not use flammable fuels like gasoline or lighter fluid. Instead use a commercial fire starter log designed to start a steady flame.
4. Never leave your fire pit unattended. Also, children should not be left alone while a fire is lit.
5. Burn proper wood. You shouldn’t burn treated (manufactured) wood in your fire pit. Also, burning soft wood, leaves, and trash is also a common cause of wildfire because the light material sparks out of the fire easily.

To learn more about fire pits and fire safety click here.

Tips for Maintaining Your Outdoor Kitchen

You envisioned the perfect home and you realized that dream. Then you imagined your perfect outdoor space, and you saw that through to completion as well. Your outdoor kitchen is everything you wanted—an oven, grill, refrigerator, fireplace, cabinets, and even dining space. You’ve spent time and money making sure you have the space you dreamed of, so what do you do to keep it beautiful, functional, and efficient?

Proper Care and Maintenance

You have to regularly clean and maintain your outdoor kitchen just like you would your indoor kitchen. If you don’t you can invite bugs and wildlife into your kitchen as well as shorten the life of your appliances and cause unneeded costs in repairs.

Take care to remember these things while enjoying your outdoor kitchen:

1. Call a professional for repairs, maintenance, and replacement of appliances and parts. Wood, gas, or oil appliances should be serviced by a professional to ensure correct installation and repairs are made.
2. Seal your countertops to avoid staining. A professional can apply an industrial sealant on your countertop, or you can purchase a sealant at a local home improvement store.
3. Clean the kitchen after use. Wipe the countertops to avoid stains. Leaving food and residue behind can cause animals to come into your outdoor space.
4. Keep the grill clean and check it before and after use. Keep all parts of your gas appliance clean and free of debris and wildlife. Keep an eye on the flame while in use. The flame should be blue with a yellow tip. Anything other than this indicates a problem, and you should discontinue use immediately and check hose and valves for problems.
5. Protect your outdoor furniture by choosing a material that best suits your needs and that will withstand the weather. You can also protect your furniture by cleaning it regularly, and keeping it covered when not in use.
6. Winterize your outdoor kitchen before winter weather arrives. If you don’t take necessary precautions to prepare for winter your pipes can freeze and bust, electrical components of appliances can become damaged, and furniture can become cracked and damaged due to moisture penetration and a process of freezing and thawing.

The Life and Performance of Your Outdoor Kitchen

The seasons may change, but as a homeowner that invested a lot of money and space into an outdoor kitchen, you not only want it to be exactly what you envisioned, but you want it to last! By keeping up with routine maintenance, cleaning, and following manufacturer’s directions you extend the life of your outdoor kitchen.

Afraid an outdoor kitchen will be too much work? Are you not sure where to start planning? Contact IBD Outdoor Rooms to consult with an experienced professional today. At IBD Outdoor Rooms we turn fantasy into reality.

Consider a Gas Fire Pit to Update Your Outdoor Living Space

As summer is drawing to an end, you may be wondering how to extend the use of your outdoor living space. You are loving being able to spend more time relaxing with your family and friends on your patio or outdoor kitchen space so much that you are thinking of ways to add a source of heat to the space. IBD Outdoor Rooms would like to help you provide warmth to your outdoor living space with a new gas fire pit that will allow you to hang out on the patio despite cooler temperatures. We can design the perfect fire pit housing in various shapes for various building materials that will match with the decor of your existing outdoor living space. You can choose from octagonal, round, square, wedge, oval and rectangular shapes, and we also offer a Stratford design and a tall pedestal table housing. We would like to tell you why we recommend choosing a fire pit as a way to provide heat to your outdoor room by sharing a couple of the most popular benefits of adding this feature.

Convenience of use

Although sitting around a wood-burning fire outdoors can be very atmospherically pleasing, it can be quite challenging to get the fire going quickly. The wind can make it difficult to ignite a fire, and it can also blow wood fires completely out. You also must have a supply of firewood for fuel for every fire, which means you have to have a proper storage location. With a gas fire pit, you can conveniently start up the flames in seconds with no problems by simply flipping a switch or push a button on a remote control. The Landscaping Network recommends gas fire pits for outdoor living spaces because you will be able to spend more time enjoying the fire because you will not have to spend time struggling to get a fire lighter or doing maintenance chores such as bringing in firewood and sweeping up ashes off of your patio.

Safe and clean fires

One of the best things about a gas fire pit is that you will not have to worry about smoke bothering anyone as you relax around the fire with your family and friends. A wood-burning fire can produce a lot of smoke, which can be both an annoyance and a health hazard. If you have experienced a smoky outdoors fire, you know that the smell can be absorbed by your clothes. While the scent of wood burning is pleasant, you do not want to smell like a campfire. Wood fires can also be hazardous when hot sparks and embers jump out of the fire. This can lead to someone being burned or even to an accidental fire. Hot sparks and embers are not produced by a gas fire, so you can truly relax without worrying about that hazard. In addition, the fires you will enjoy from your gas fire pit burn much cleaner with fewer fumes than wood fires, so you can also cross pollution off the list of concerns you could have with a wood fire pit.

Adding a gas fire pit to your outdoor living space increases the time you can enjoy that space and adds value to your home. Contact us at IBD Outdoor Rooms to learn more about how we can design the gas fire pit of your dreams.

The Quick Chase Explained

Jerry and Sheryl Isenhour explain how the Quick Chase works, and how it can be beneficial to you.