There are some pergola options that would look good, create more of a defined ‘entrance’ area, and prevent rain intrusion. There are louvered metal pergolas that have built-in gutter systems, or you could cover a pergola with polycarbonate panels that shed water but don’t block the sunlight. Some fabrics (if waterproof and installed in a way that sheds water) could also work as a pergola ‘roof’ so to speak.

Yes this is exactly what I am looking for. Mostly we want to reduce rain and debris so that when our tenant goes downstairs it’s a nicer feel overall for them.

The cheaper option is to buy a canopy that can be attached to the wall of your home. If you are looking for a fabric option Sunbrella does have a wide range of colors that are water resistant although not actually waterproof.

Living in PNW I feel like we need to address the water.

We have one of these. We installed it ourselves which was a pain in the neck but it works keeping away the rain snow from the kitchen slider.

We need something that extends somehow off the overhangs? I got the name of someone who does awnings and will see what his ideas are

Thanks Jim. Wr have a loc provider coming to give us a quote

You should have plenty of headroom to mount a pergola or awning on the wall directly underneath your overhangs.

We don’t want to block what is there just add on.

So we got a quote from a local provider and the price is fine but the design is not. In order to actually protect from the rain the awning needs to extend quite a bit into our side yard ajd then it needs three posts to help keep it up. We think this would be visually quite ugly. It is a tricky spot as we don’t want to block any light, since it is so far down to the suite if the awning doesnt extend out it won’t protect enough from falling rain.

Don't know your budget, but a lean-to greenhouse would offer total rain protection while preserving light. The existing guardrail could be removed (but keep a handrail).

This would make it quite hot down there I think and not allow for the window in the living room to be opened. Also probably far outside our budget. We were okay with up to $3500 for Tue awning.

I think my previous suggestion would work if you attached a wider board to the overhang to adhere the brackets to securely. The only problem I can think of is if you get heavy snow where you are, then the weight of it might be too much.

I think that would look quite ugly to be honest and the fascia board is lot strong enough to hold the weight.

I still don’t understand why a pergola mounted to the wall below the roof overhang doesn’t work? You have at least 2 feet (if not closer to 3?) between the top of your side door to garage and overhang, which is plenty of room to have a pergola w/a polycarbonate roof and a very slight pitch to shed water away from the house.

It’s for the basement door not the garage door, bottom of the stairs what you are describing won’t extend farther than what is currently covered. Abojt half of the space is covered now and we need another 2.5 feet to actually provide coverage at the bottom of the stairs.

And if it connects off the fascia then it needs posts to the ground to secure it and they would be i to the pathway so quite ugly

I’d be tempted to cover the whole walkway area and have the posts tucked in over by the bushes lining the edge of the area (the top can be louvered etc to allow light, or shade, set up to make rain run off) as @Old Home Restorer mentioned

You aren’t allowed to do that. There are restrictions on how close toward another person’s property line you can build anything. This all faces the street and is easily visible. The tenant also doesn’t have access to the side yard as a space to use. We get to the backyard on this pathway

Yes, it’s quite clear you are talking about the basement stairs and access door at the bottom of stairs. I was using the distance between the top of the garage door and the eaves as a point of reference to illustrate that you have a lot of room to attach a pergola to the WALL and still be well above everyone’s heads (because the plane of this portion of the wall and overhang doesn’t change next to the basement steps). The idea of attaching something to your fascia board on the overhang makes absolutely ZERO sense to me and would be quite ugly. But I don’t think a pergola attached to the wall with posts to the ground is a big deal at all, in fact people often add them to increase the charm/ architectural interest of their homes. I’ve attached a very basic iPhone thumb drawing to give a general idea.

Okay now I get it much more! The person who came to quote us said that the depth of the stairs meant the overhang would need to he farther onto the path though or the rain would still come down by the door. It is hard to see in the pic but the door is basically two flights down, so silly I know and subterranean and weird! But here we are. I will send him this pic though to see if it can be done off of the hardie but that may also void the hardie warranty.

A roof that extends just past your railing should be similar to any covered porch situation, where the roof above would likely keep ~80-90% of the rain out. But that would also depend on which direction(s) this area faces. Strong winds during storms typically come from the south and southwest (and sometimes northwest), so if this is on the east or north sides of your home, it will be more protected and less likely to get the ‘sideways’ rain pelting the stairs.

Did you incorporate any kind of drainage system at the bottom of the stairs? If not, you could likely still do so at the landing next to the door (ie remove existing cement, dig down several feet and fill with rock/drain, like here: https://share.google/h4dzMNg8Yq5jMksZt)

This faces south. There is extensive drainage around the home. Not worried about that at this point, just hoping to find a way to make the tenant’s entry a bit more hospitable since we get so much rain

Why not a powered retractable awning attached to the house? Looks like you have enough headroom. You can open it when rain is forecasted. If you don't want to deal with it, give the remote to your tenant.

I think retractable awnings are quite ugly to be honest and it rains a lot here, vancouver, so I doubt it would provide sufficient coverage and it would be more rain resistant not rain proof. Tue fabric would be dosgusting after one season.