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An overhead shade structure (also called an overhead) can enhance your outdoor living in many ways. They provide shade, define spaces, provide an arbor for plants, and delight the eye. As you think about an overhead for your deck or patio, consider the following design issues:
- Freestanding or attached to the house? For an attached structure, the height of the house's roof overhang determines some of your design options. If the overhang is at least nine feet above the patio or deck surface, you can probably tuck a patio roof under the eave. Otherwise, plan to attach the overhead to the house roof itself or build a freestanding structure that clears the roof eave.
- Made in the shade: To provide minimal shade (in areas where overheating isn't a problem), plan a structure without any canopy (slats or solid covering) above the rafters or a canopy consisting of very few slats.
For more shade, space slats no farther apart than their depth. If the slats are 2x4s, for example, space them 3-1/2 to 4 inches apart. If you orient the slats east to west, they provide shade all day, except during early morning and late afternoon hours. If you orient them north-south, they admit the sun at noon but provide shade in the late afternoon.
For maximum shade, build a solid roof — to avoid heat buildup, plan the roof with a vented ridge or similar openings. A good compromise between an open structure and a solid roof is to plant vines, such as grapes, clematis, or wisteria, that fill out the canopy during the summer and drop their leaves in the fall.
- Scale and proportion: Plan the overhead structure so that it's large enough for comfortable seating under it (at least 10 feet square) and high enough to leave approximately 8 feet of clearance. Balance the overhead with other vertical elements in the landscape, such as trees or the house itself, to keep it from overwhelming the patio or deck. As you plan individual components, such as posts and beams, consider the overall scale. A 4x8 beam, for example, may be strong enough to span between posts, but a 6x12 beam may be a more appropriate size, visually.
- Choose your canopy: The canopy, or screening, that goes on top of the rafters may be lattice, lath (flat, skinny strips of wood), 2x3s or 2x4s set on edge, fabric, shade cloth, woven reeds, clear plastic, or a similar material. If the rafters provide sufficient shade or the overhead is only a decorative structure with no practical function, you don't need to install a canopy.
- What about views? An overhead structure affects views. It blocks certain views, especially of the sky, but it can also frame views of the horizon for a pleasing effect. Use stepladders, poles, and other devices to mock up the location of your overhead to make sure that it doesn't obstruct desirable views.
- Overall look: By varying the size of structural members and the finished details, you can make an overhead structure appear light and airy or massive and dominant, refined and elegant or rustic and comfortable. Fix in your mind which of these attributes blend best with the architecture of your home, your patio, or your deck and plan the structure's color, size, details, and shape to correspond.
Each element of the overhead contributes to the overall look.
• If your home and landscape have a formal style, keep the design symmetrical and choose elegant details.
• If your home has traditional architecture, plan an overhead with a Victorian or other well-defined motif by adding a "gingerbread" of intricate scrollwork or lattice and finishing it with white or richly colored paint.
• If your home and landscape are rustic, plan posts of natural timbers and a canopy of poles and branches, reminiscent of a Southwestern ramada.
• For other effects, use classical columns or massive stucco-covered pillars instead of posts, or a canopy of brightly colored fabric instead of wooden slats.
- Structural rigidity: Although a patio roof seems like a much simpler structure than other roof systems, it must be designed to withstand the same loads and stresses.
• The footings (foundation) must be adequate to support the weight of the entire structure, plus any snow loads.
• The structure must attach securely to the footings.
• The individual beams, rafters, and lattice members must be large enough and strong enough for the spans.
• The structure must be rigid enough to withstand lateral forces. This requires strong connections between all members and, if necessary, knee braces or similar diagonal bracing.
- Durability: As does any outdoor structure, an overhead must resist deterioration caused by constant exposure to sun, rain, snow, and other elements. All connections must be corrosion-resistant. Wood members must be at least 8 inches above ground, unless they're treated with a preservative specified for ground contact. Wood members must also be well secured to resist warping and cracking and should be treated with a preservative and sealer.
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