thomn8r
Member
I need some way to shade the front of my shop. I do a lot of stuff that I'd rather do outside than inside, like sanding, fiberglass, painting small stuff, and I'd rather be in the shade and out of the rain.
I want something attached to the front of the garage, and as much effective surface area as I can get (ie the long leg of the "triangle," not the hypotenuse). I also don't want supports from the awning to the ground, as the paved space in front of the shop is preciously scarce already.
The garage door is 8' high by 15' wide. The paved space in front of the shop is 20' wide, 25' deep, concrete. It faces South/South-West. Ideallly I'd extend 2' on the left side, 1' on the right side, but I wouldn't mind rounding up to 20' total width
I'd want to have the base of the awning about a foot or so above the door frame, so this would limit the total height to about 2" or so.
I want a "permanent" solution - not something that's going to rot out in a couple years and then need to be replaced. This rules out outdoor mesh materials. I'm not keen on retractable awnings either; they're expensive, and I'm not sure they even make one big enough for what I want to do.
I've been mulling over several ideas, and the most viable one (in my fragile little mind) would consist of a metal frame, to which I would attach 2x4's crossways, and then attach corrugated plastic roofing to that. It's available in white @ HD, which would match the paint on the shop.
The frame would attach with mounting plates attached through the wall and bolted on the inside - not to the wall. I can do all the necessary welding myself. I realize this puts a tension load on the top and a compression load on the bottom, I just don't have the background to calculate the loads.
If I went with an 8' overhang, 2' rise, I'd have a hypotenuse of 8.25' (check my math)
For rough estimation purposes, the steel (1.25x1.25 square tubing would be 1.04 lbs per linear foot. Using my 20' dream width:
= ~250-300lbs for the structure.
I would be willing to bring supports down on each side, but no lower than say 7' off the ground. I'm guessing that 5 of these triangle frames would be sufficient, but I really don't know. I think .065 material for the frame would be sufficient; to bump up to 1.5" x .120 would be 2lbs per foot, or 350-400 total weight.
The shop is standard 2x4 stick frame construction, but due to a misunderstanding with the contractor, it ended up with 5/8" sheathing and 5/8" T1-11 siding. The wall on which this would hang is almost solid wood, as we had to beef it up to allow the the short wall on the one side, and for mounting the garage door mechs as high as possible.
We don't get really bad windstorms in this area, and it's sheltered by the house on side and a row of small trees directly in front. On the remaining side, there's another house about 25' away. I had one of those white RV shelters for a couple years and never had any problems with 'sailing'.
So, my questions are: does this design seem workable? What would be the largest effective shaded area I could create, what is the farthest out (deepest) I could make the awning?
This is an older pic, but the only one I had handy. More @ http://rennlight.com/shop
I want something attached to the front of the garage, and as much effective surface area as I can get (ie the long leg of the "triangle," not the hypotenuse). I also don't want supports from the awning to the ground, as the paved space in front of the shop is preciously scarce already.
The garage door is 8' high by 15' wide. The paved space in front of the shop is 20' wide, 25' deep, concrete. It faces South/South-West. Ideallly I'd extend 2' on the left side, 1' on the right side, but I wouldn't mind rounding up to 20' total width
I'd want to have the base of the awning about a foot or so above the door frame, so this would limit the total height to about 2" or so.I want a "permanent" solution - not something that's going to rot out in a couple years and then need to be replaced. This rules out outdoor mesh materials. I'm not keen on retractable awnings either; they're expensive, and I'm not sure they even make one big enough for what I want to do.
I've been mulling over several ideas, and the most viable one (in my fragile little mind) would consist of a metal frame, to which I would attach 2x4's crossways, and then attach corrugated plastic roofing to that. It's available in white @ HD, which would match the paint on the shop.
The frame would attach with mounting plates attached through the wall and bolted on the inside - not to the wall. I can do all the necessary welding myself. I realize this puts a tension load on the top and a compression load on the bottom, I just don't have the background to calculate the loads.
If I went with an 8' overhang, 2' rise, I'd have a hypotenuse of 8.25' (check my math)
For rough estimation purposes, the steel (1.25x1.25 square tubing would be 1.04 lbs per linear foot. Using my 20' dream width:
- 85' of tubing for triangle supports
- 20' for tie-in across the front.
- (WAG) 150lbs for the wood and roofing.
= ~250-300lbs for the structure.
I would be willing to bring supports down on each side, but no lower than say 7' off the ground. I'm guessing that 5 of these triangle frames would be sufficient, but I really don't know. I think .065 material for the frame would be sufficient; to bump up to 1.5" x .120 would be 2lbs per foot, or 350-400 total weight.
The shop is standard 2x4 stick frame construction, but due to a misunderstanding with the contractor, it ended up with 5/8" sheathing and 5/8" T1-11 siding. The wall on which this would hang is almost solid wood, as we had to beef it up to allow the the short wall on the one side, and for mounting the garage door mechs as high as possible.
We don't get really bad windstorms in this area, and it's sheltered by the house on side and a row of small trees directly in front. On the remaining side, there's another house about 25' away. I had one of those white RV shelters for a couple years and never had any problems with 'sailing'.
So, my questions are: does this design seem workable? What would be the largest effective shaded area I could create, what is the farthest out (deepest) I could make the awning?
This is an older pic, but the only one I had handy. More @ http://rennlight.com/shop
I AGREE! My cousin has had the same unit for > 5 years and still looks like brand new. It's extended most of the year even with all of our rainy weather up here in the Pacific NW. Think they get more use out of it for rain protection than sun! Watch their advertising...they often have coupons for discounts, $$ off sales, etc. Think Jim got a couple hundred $$ off deal on his.
