South facing yard

Hi
We're in Sydney and unfortunately have a South facing yard.
We're putting in a patio and I'm trying to figure out what's the best sort of roof to get in order to maximise light entering the house.
The patio is approximately 5m by 3m.
I considered a vergola but the quote I got was more than I thought ($22-26k).
I don't particularly like the look of a poly carbonate roof.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Or thoughts on retractable roof? Any brands to look at for that?

Thanks!

 

I like skylights.I think the best place for them is in south facing rooms, not North, where they are often placed. Also, they should open, though this is less a necessity in south rooms.
Guess this solution doesn't really apply to a yard, though. I would like to pave my south facing yards, at least partly.
I agree that a patio roof should be minimal and light, if at all. Would a grapevine survive there?
.

 

I recently got quoted around $10/$11K for a 6x4sqm deck with polycarbonate roof. I know they're not sexy but for a south facing deck, its unlikely to get too hot in summer so the poly is fine.

You can dress the underside of the polycarbonate
Like so:

https://m.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-prahran-126283778

 

@WattleIdo we'll be getting a line of fixed skylights in the living room. (We're lazy so I doubt we'd ever open them)
Is there a rational for paving the yard a bit or was that personal preference?
A grapevine would probably survive but I wanted the option of being able to close it off from the rain, though I do think they can look quite nice.

 

@Lacrim that is one of the best ways of covering it i've seen. 11k for a 24sqm deck +poly roof seems reasonable. We've currently got tiles and colourbond A Frame type roof quoted so maybe I can substitute for a little more money. Thanks for the design inspo!

 

I got quoted that variation as well ie colorbond roof, gyprocked ceiling, hardwood posts, blackbutt decking etc - came in @$13K.

But not A frame..if A frame, then I reckon potentially $15K? Then again, your deck is only 5x3m so in your case, it should be well and truly below $15K.

 

So polycarbonate should be cheaper than colourbond? Makes sense since it doesn't require the additional gyprocking.
We'd also prefer decking but going with tiles to save some money.

 

Except you said you want to maximise light in a south-facing patio - and installing battens under polycarbonate will cut the light significantly.

The photo of the Prahran patio will have been brightened or lights used to make it look brighter. Or maybe it’s north facing?

 

That's true, any suggestions?

 

I’m confused… I can’t make the connection between the “south facing yard” statement to “light entering the house” issue. Unless your home is surrounded by other structures on other sides?

 

Maybe light entering the house isn't the best way to describe it. Maybe a better way of saying it is how to make the living area which faces the yard be brighter? Since there's no sun shining in, hoping to keep it as bright as possible so not wanting a solid patio roof blocking off more light. The house is freestanding but the two sides are pretty enclosed by the neighbours (built back in the day when houses were allowed to be closer).

 

I just find the grass is very seasonal and plants need moving around more with this aspect. Definitely personal preference, I'd say.
Good move with the skylights.

 

We got a polycarb section installed in our north facing veranda roof - so we could get the north light into the house - and the builder then framed in and fibre cement sheeted the remainder underside of the veranda ceiling which we then painted.

Pretty happy with the result

 

Wow def looks many times better than the standard polycarbonate alone, thanks for the pic and details.

I saw a retractable shade (I was quoted 16k for a new one) on gumtree for a few hundred bucks with the same dimensions as our patio. Unfortunately even my pretty handy husband said it was too difficult to dismantle and re install. It was sitting on their roof so made it even harder to dismantle. A bit disappointed, it would've been perfect!