So let’s start from the beginning with the design. My husband wanted the biggest deepest patio we could get with unobstructed views. Our current patio was 30’ long and that length was good so that we didn’t cover the windows to two of our bedrooms. Our house is already on the darker side and we wanted to keep as much natural light inside as possible. So we knew 30’ long, but how were we going to that big of a span without posts in the middle? I didn’t think it was possible, but my husband wouldn’t give up on it. So I went and talked to an architect friend and he said it would be possible with an 18” glulam.