The west patio that cooks at five
Every change below is put into the plan and the whole model is run again. That is why a pergola's winter cost shows up here without anybody having written it down, and why the cheapest thing that works is allowed to win.
Reading at
Dinner outside
Read down 12 from the model’s 36, on 2 rechecks you recorded at this spot.
Privacy exposure is55 over— 100 / 100 against at most 45
Being watched while you eat is a real reason people stop using a terrace.
Glare is27 over— 55 / 100 against at most 28
You cannot look at the person across the table with the sun behind their head.
Confidence low (50%). Treat this as a starting hypothesis, not an answer.
Sit under The maple fixes glare and costs you view and wetness.
Ranked by what solves the actual limit with the least effort, not by the biggest number.
Not offered, and why
A 7.1 ft screen 10.7 ft from the seat fixes privacy exposure.
A screen 7.1 feet high and about 8.1 feet wide, standing 10.7 feet from the seat on the line to Neighbour's upstairs window.
+2 hours of usable time on this day. Opens 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
An evergreen hedge to about 7 ft fixes privacy exposure.
A dense evergreen hedge grown to about 7 feet and 8.4 feet along, on the line to Neighbour's upstairs window. It reads as garden rather than barrier, and it will take several seasons to do the job.
+2 hours of usable time on this day. Opens 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A tree between the seat and Neighbour's upstairs window fixes privacy exposure.
One multi-stemmed tree grown to about 23 feet, set roughly a third of the way toward Neighbour's upstairs window. Interrupting a downward sightline needs height, not length, and a single crown in the right place does what a whole run of fence cannot reach.
+2 hours of usable time on this day. Opens 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A deciduous tree 23 ft west of the seat fixes glare.
A medium deciduous tree planted 23 feet to the west, grown to about 26 feet, with a crown roughly 19.7 feet across.
+0 hours of usable time on this day.
It takes the summer sun and leaves most of the winter sun, which is the behaviour worth paying for.
Sit under The maple fixes glare and costs you view and wetness.
Move the seating under The maple, which is already standing and already casting something. Costs nothing and takes an afternoon of trying it.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A 6.9 ft panel to the west fixes glare and costs you view and wetness.
A solid panel about 6.9 feet high and 9.8 feet wide, standing 7.2 feet to the west. Low sun arrives almost horizontally, and only something vertical stops it.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
An evergreen group behind the deciduous planting fixes glare and costs you view and wetness.
A group of evergreens to about 8.5 feet set behind The maple. In summer it disappears into what is already there; in February it is the only thing standing between the seat and the view in.
It takes the summer sun and leaves most of the winter sun, which is the behaviour worth paying for.
Move the table 6.6 ft east does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Slide the seating about 6.6 feet toward the east and change nothing else.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A second seat 19.7 ft east does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Put two chairs 19.7 feet to the east and leave the main table where it is. The point is not to fix this spot but to stop needing it at the hour it does not work.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Two 8.2 ft parasols instead of one does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Two parasols about 8.2 feet across, set 7.2 feet apart along the table. Between them they cover a rectangle, which is the shape a table actually is.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Change Back door light to a warmer lamp does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Swap Back door light for a 2200 kelvin lamp of the same output. Blue-weighted light scatters more in the air, spills further into the garden and reads as harsher at the same brightness. Nothing structural changes; it is a lamp.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A 9.8 ft umbrella does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A 9.8 feet canopy at about 7.5 feet, tilted toward the low sun.
It takes the summer sun and leaves most of the winter sun, which is the behaviour worth paying for.
Shield Back door light does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Fit a full cut-off shield to Back door light so the output goes down rather than sideways. The light on the table barely changes; the light on the neighbour's wall mostly stops.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Two low shielded lights instead of one high one does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Add a pair of shielded 200 lumen fixtures at knee height near the seating, so the useful light is where people are rather than thrown across the garden.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Add 1.5 ft of trellis to West fence does not move this in any way worth the effort.
An open trellis panel on top of West fence, taking it from 5.9 feet to 7.4 feet. Open trellis blocks a sightline at an angle while letting light and air through, which a solid board does not.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Remove Back door light and mark the route instead does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Take out Back door light and put low shielded markers along the route in from the house. Being the brightest thing in a dark garden is the same as being on a stage, and the light that makes the step safe does not have to be the light you sit in.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A shade sail over the seating does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A sail about 16.4 feet by 13.1 feet, set at about 9.2 feet and angled to shed water.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A deciduous climber on tensioned wires does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Wires strung about 8.5 feet above the seating with a vigorous deciduous climber trained across them. In leaf it shades like a light pergola; bare, it gives back most of the winter sun a solid roof would have kept.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A 8.2 ft awning does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A folding-arm awning projecting 8.2 feet from the house wall at about 8.5 feet, retracted out of season.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Raise the seating 1.5 ft does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A raised platform lifting the seat about 1.5 feet. It clears low boundaries, reaches faster air, and it works both ways: what you can see over, you can be seen over.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Lift the crown of The maple does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Raise the underside of The maple from about 8.5 feet to 13.5 feet. Light comes in sideways under the canopy, morning and evening, without losing the shade overhead at midday.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A pergola with open slats does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A pergola about 13.1 feet square at 8.5 feet with open slats, slats running roughly north.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
An adjustable louvred roof does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A louvred roof about 13.1 feet square at 8.5 feet, blades running north and closable.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A paler paving does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Replace Bluestone patio with a paler paving of similar mass. The surface itself runs cooler underfoot; the trade is that more light bounces back up at a seated person.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A solid canopy over the seating does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A solid roof about 11.2 feet above the seating, 13.1 feet by 11.5 feet, guttered on the low edge. Unlike fabric it works in rain, and unlike a pergola it takes the winter light too.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Horizontal fins above the opening does not move this in any way worth the effort.
A run of fixed horizontal fins projecting about 2.3 feet from The house, set above head height. Geometry does the work: high summer sun is cut, low winter sun passes under, and the view out is barely touched.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
A ventilated timber deck instead does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Replace Bluestone patio with a ventilated timber deck. Heavy paving charges all afternoon and radiates back until well after dark, which is why an evening terrace can feel hotter than the air. A light deck over an air gap is done within the hour.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
Take up the paving and plant it does not move this in any way worth the effort.
Lift Bluestone patio and plant it. Nothing else on this list moves surface temperature as far: paving in full sun sits twenty degrees or more above the air, while planted ground transpires and typically sits at or below it. It is also the only change here that gets better rather than worse over ten years.
It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
| Change | Started | Forecast | Actual | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A 3 m cantilever umbrella west of the table | 5/28/2026 | 41 → 78 | 64 | mixed |
| A 1.8 m slatted screen on the south-east corner | 7/5/2026 | 52 → 81 | 70 | mixed |
| Move the table 2.5 m north, under the house shadow line | 8/6/2026 | 64 → 83 | — | in-place |
Rechecks are how the property gets better at answering. A forecast nobody checks is just a guess with a date on it.