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Discussion Forum

retractable roof????

halh | Posted in General Discussion on January 9, 2006 07:00am

i am in the process of putting in our back patio… I have no problems with the concrete work, framing, roofing, ect. But i am racking my brain at how to get a retractable roof section or whatever to cover the spa when not in use, and still enable us to view the stars at night while relaxing in the dang thing. I have seen some retractable patio covers that either won’t work in my situation or are very spendy at 3500 just for the cover, not installed. I am looking for suggestions of a reasonable solution, can ya help a guy out?

Thanks

Hal

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  1. rasconc | Jan 09, 2006 07:27am | #1

    http://www.sunsetter.com/

    I would go to an RV dealer and get one that is probably cheaper.

  2. dgbldr | Jan 09, 2006 08:13am | #2

    An awning will not keep dirt, dust or debris out of the spa when not in use.  That's the job of a spa cover.  Use one.

    DG/Builder

    1. halh | Jan 10, 2006 04:55am | #3

      i have and use a spa cover... that was not the question

      1. dgbldr | Jan 10, 2006 06:01am | #4

        Quote: "i am racking my brain at how to get a retractable roof section or whatever to cover the spa when not in use".

        In order to better serve you, perhaps you should have told us more about what the purpose is.  I believe I did a commendable job of answering the "whatever" part :)

        If not for debris, what is the purpose of a roof over the spa when not in use? Does it need to be made of a certain material? Does it need to keep out sun, rain or what?  How high above the spa?  Ask the question well and you will get the right answers.  Garbage in, garbage out.

        DG/Builder

         

        1. halh | Jan 12, 2006 02:49am | #5

          I am looking to keep rain, sun, dust, dirt, leaves, bird droppings and any thing else that might fall from the sky and mess up my existing spa cover, and then retract/move/disappear so SWTSMBO can see the stars in the sky at night when the spa is in use. The patio roof will be approx 8-1/2 ft. above the patio floor and have a fall of about 1/4" to the foot to the outside. Originally, it was my idea to incorporate some kind of roof section with glass panels to see thru, using the safety glass from old sliding glass doors that I have replaced over the years... but the idea of floating in a body of water with glass over head did not appeal to "she who thinks she must be obeyed". Another concern would be the build up of dirt on the glass over time, requiring someone (me) to climb up on the roof to clean it. So I started searching...

          Here is a link to one that I thought was way cool, till I saw the pricehttp://www.retractableawnings.com/gallmilano.htmAnd as a result I was looking for other ideas.
          I left the question a bit vague intentionally in order to facilitate a broader range of possible options and not limit the range of ideas others might come up with. If this constitutes a GIGO situation, I humbly apologize and abase myself before the board, god, or who/what ever.

          1. seeyou | Jan 12, 2006 03:00am | #6

            I did a roof for an astrologer several years ago, but I don't have any good photos, unfortunately. We curbed up and installed heavy duty drawer slides to cary the roof sections. They were about 3'x4' each. This was in a standing seam copper roof.Birth, school, work, death.....................

            http://grantlogan.net/

          2. dgbldr | Jan 12, 2006 09:08am | #7

            A couple of ideas.

            1. I think you can make a roof just like that one with some inexpensive scrounged materials, a motor, some canvas and a few miscellaneous shop-made parts.  For example, you could use garage door rails and rollers. Or maybe an actual whole garage door in reverse. At night you would slide it down next to the wall of the house when you use the spa. Replace the door panels with canvas stretched over frames or similar. Just trim and paint everything to look like a custom job.

            2. I would keep an eye out for any discarded roll-up (tambour style) commercial garage doors, greenhouse panels or similar. Anything with some basic roll-up or fold-up or slide-up mechanism you can rebuild. I've seen them in dumpsters before and they always got discarded because the panels were beat up. The rails, motor, etc. were always in decent shape. You can always make your own replacement panels out of metal, plastic, PT plywood, fabric, whatever you like. 

            3. Look for a European-style awning.  Like you see in the movies.  Little old lady opens her store in the morning and cranks it out over the sidewalk.  It's a very basic scissors-action awning (canvas on steel frame) with some type of worm-and-gear mechanism that is manually cranked open and closed.

            DG/Builder

          3. User avater
            JeffBuck | Jan 14, 2006 08:39am | #13

            "SWTSMBO"

             

            what the hell are you talking about?

            can't ya just spell "wife" ...

             

            way less letters ...

            Jeff    Buck Construction

             Artistry In Carpentry

                 Pittsburgh Pa

          4. User avater
            xxPaulCPxx | Jan 14, 2006 11:48am | #14

            Yes, but saying "wife" just isn't very clear.  Whereas SWTSMB says... well... SWTSMBO!

             

            Speaking of wives, still haven't seen that "Postcards from Buster" episode yet ;)Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA

            Also a CRX fanatic!

          5. User avater
            JeffBuck | Jan 15, 2006 09:42am | #16

            just read ... some "alternative lifestyle groups" have actually helped finance another year ... 10 episodes I think ... of Buster's travels.

             

            and I did see that episode in question ... guess I gotta start paying close attention to the background scenes on kids cartoons that I'm trying to ignore ...

            didn't see much myself?

            I do how ever pay attention to Kim Possible ... she's hot!

             

            Jeff    Buck Construction

             Artistry In Carpentry

                 Pittsburgh Pa

          6. User avater
            xxPaulCPxx | Jan 15, 2006 11:03pm | #20

            CARTOON JAILBAIT!

            midriff...mmmmmmmRebuilding my home in Cypress, CA

            Also a CRX fanatic!

          7. halh | Jan 15, 2006 07:28pm | #19

            the woman i married promised to love, honor, obey... somewhere/somehow swtsmbo took her place... I am beginnin to look at alien abduction stories in a new light. LOL

            Hal

  3. deskguy | Jan 13, 2006 04:16am | #8

    I swear I saw this idea published somewhere a few years back.  It looked like a regular spa gazebo, but the roof was mounted on rollers and it then rolled sideways onto two arbor extensions. 

    does that make sense?  I wish I could tell you more specifics, but maybe all you need is the seed of an idea.

    1. Pop | Jan 14, 2006 03:06pm | #15

          I think I know what your talking about Deskguy. Last year at a Home Show, I saw these pool covers made of aluminumn. For instance, a 40 x 20 swimming had a roll-away cover, it resembled a Quonset Hut, with straight sides. It was covered with a translucent cover of some kind of plastic, with a few panels of clear plastic. The unique thing about this building, for lack of a better word, it was telescopic, in that one section would roll into the next and so on. So you could take this 40'  long building and push it to one end of the pool, and end up with a 20' x 10' section, that became a dressing room. When I was talking with the salesman, he said that they could custom build just about anything, at a price of course! A 20 x 40' cover was about 20 grand installed.

         However, I did like the idea of using garage door tracks, but worry about the weight load as it hangs over your head, and build your own panels. All that material is available close by. This is an interesting project, you could have a section of wall and roof, together that rolled away, either inside or outside the structure. Hey, make your own laminated beams, with a nice arch inside, and the angle of the existing roof and wall for the outside. Put the sucker on tracks and have it roll inside the building, it should have no problem taking the weight of the glass. Just make a glue-up jig, and knock out as many beams as you want.........................Pop

    2. halh | Jan 15, 2006 07:22pm | #17

      thats kinda where i was headin! If you remember where you saw it let me know, Thanks

      Hal

  4. Griff | Jan 13, 2006 07:10am | #9

    Hal

    Look through some old Astronomy and/or Sky & Telescope Magazines on the web or at your local library.

    Star-gazers often build 4 sided sheds (to cut down on both light pollution and winds in winter) with roofs that slide on tracks their full length from a position completely covering the telescope mounted inside the shed to a position completely off the shed to allow for full night sky viewing.

    Some issues, as I recall, have sketches and instructions regarding construction. These are usually home built structures by star gazers with limited carpentry skills - so they can't be too difficult a system to construct and can probably be improved upon by someone with carpentry skills. Here's a link to one I found on the web: http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/scopes/article_549_1.asp

    Good luck.

     

    Griff
    1. RalphWicklund | Jan 13, 2006 08:04am | #10

      Dig up one of those older 10' diameter satellite dishes. With a little thought you might be able to come up with a mechanism to rotate that thing on and off the star-gazing opening above your tub.

      1. QCInspector | Jan 13, 2006 01:55pm | #11

        Maybe you could adapt some sail roller furling gear from sailboats. Better look for used though because the sticker price on new will take your breath away.Plan B. If you want unusual. Get some convertibles from the wreckers and 'transfer' the tops. ;-)

    2. halh | Jan 15, 2006 07:25pm | #18

      Thank you Griff, you have me headed in new directions... but this might just be what I'm looking for. I will post results when I get er done.

      Thanks

      Hal

  5. bigman | Jan 13, 2006 02:59pm | #12

    Skylights???, then if you enclose the porch, you could use it year round and still see the stars in the winter.

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