Shade makes a Tucson yard usable
For a big part of the year, an uncovered patio in Tucson is somewhere you walk across, not somewhere you sit. A well-built patio cover, ramada or pergola changes that, giving you shade for meals, a spot to cool down after the pool and protection for outdoor furniture.
AZ Atlas Builder Group is a family-owned, licensed general contractor in Tucson (AZ ROC #344537). Covered patios sit alongside our deck building work, and because our own crew handles framing, roofing and stucco, an attached cover can be tied into your house so it looks like it was always there.
Patio cover, ramada or pergola?
Solid patio cover
A roofed structure, usually attached to the house, that gives full shade and keeps rain off. It can carry ceiling fans and lights, and can be finished to match your home's roof and stucco. It does the most for comfort and needs the most care at the connection to the house.
Ramada
A shade structure, often freestanding, with a solid or mostly solid top. A ramada can sit out in the yard over a seating area, an outdoor kitchen or a fire pit, with its own posts and footings, so it doesn't touch the house roof at all.
Pergola
An open framework of beams and rafters that gives partial, filtered shade. Pergolas look great and suit areas where you want some sun, but on their own they won't keep you cool at midday in July. Closer rafter spacing or a solid section over the main seating area helps.
Built for Tucson conditions
- Monsoon wind. A patio cover acts like a sail in a storm. Posts need proper footings, and the connections have to resist wind lifting the roof, not just carry its weight.
- Footings and caliche. Hard caliche under a lot of Tucson soil can slow digging for post footings. It's better to know early.
- The tie-in. Attaching a cover to the house means a ledger, flashing and, on a flat roof with parapets, careful detailing where the new roof meets the old. Poor tie-ins are a common source of leaks and stucco cracks.
- Drainage. Monsoon rain has to run off the cover and away from the house, not onto your patio door or the stucco.
- Sun on exposed wood. Wood beams and posts need a good finish and regular upkeep. Steel or a stucco-wrapped post can reduce maintenance.
Do you need a permit for a patio cover in Tucson?
Inside the City of Tucson, yes for most covers. The city's permit exemptions page says a permit is required to add a roof structure over a patio or carport, and for any size shade structure used as a carport, patio cover or other occupiable space. It also says shade sails of 400 square feet or less may not need a permit, depending on the details.
Unincorporated Pima County and the towns of Oro Valley, Marana and Sahuarita have their own permit offices and rules, and many neighborhoods have an HOA that reviews exterior structures, colors and materials. We check what applies to your lot before design.
How we build a patio cover
- Site walk. We look at the patio, the house roof and wall, sun direction and drainage, and talk about how you'll use the space.
- Design and written estimate. Size, style, materials, lighting and fans, and a clear scope with exclusions.
- Permit and HOA. We prepare what the permit office and HOA need.
- Build. Footings, posts, beams, roof and the tie-in to the house, then stucco and paint to match.
- Walk-through. We go over the finished cover with you.
Have an older deck under the cover? See deck repair. Already have a patio cover with a sagging or rotted beam? Our beam repair page covers how we fix it without tearing the whole cover down when it can be saved.