Happy owners of a dacha building or a country house, after construction is completed, are thinking about erecting a cozy canopy on the site. Such a structure allows you to create comfortable conditions for the rest of the owners and their guests, regardless of the weather.
Any zealous owner is interested in what a canopy is and what designs exist for its manufacture. Also of considerable importance are the characteristics of the materials used and the methods of installing a light, reliable and aesthetic structure. We will try to understand all this in the article.
Assignment of the canopy
The main functional purpose of a canopy on the territory of a suburban area is to protect people's resting places from natural precipitation (rain or snow), as well as direct sunlight.
It is considered very practical to erect a canopy to protect cars from atmospheric precipitation. Building a garage for a summer cottage is often impractical, as it is economically and practically unprofitable.
And of course, one cannot fail to note the practicality of a canopy for household needs. It is not difficult to figure out what a canopy is, the main thing is to understand what types of such structures exist.
Types of canopies
The distribution of canopies for a suburban area can be carried out according to many criteria:
- Depending on the location, the structure of the canopies can be attached (adjacent to one of the walls of the building), as well as freestanding.
- According to the type of roof, canopies can be conditionally divided into flat, single-pitched, double-pitched or arched.
- According to the material used in the construction of the frame, canopies are wooden or metal.
- To cover the roof, various materials are also used (slate, plexiglass, polycarbonate, metal profiles), as well as combined structures.
- According to the purpose, canopies are used for domestic needs or recreation.
The shape and type of the future structure directly depend on the size of the site and the preferences of the owner.
Main structural elements
Having understood what a canopy is, it is necessary to study the main components and elements that make up the structure of the building.
Most often, a stand-alone structure has the following structural elements:
- Prepared base for the canopy. The surface of the site is often laid out with paving slabs or concreted. Sometimes a green lawn may be kept to save money.
- Preparatory work on the devicesite surfaces should include the construction of a foundation for the installation of load-bearing supports of the structure.
- Stands or columns that perform a load-bearing function.
- Additional binding elements that are necessary to create the strength and stability of the canopy.
- Crates for attaching roof material.
- Canopy roofing material.
Installation of adjoining canopies may differ from individual buildings by the method of calculation and installation of connecting elements.
Types of roof coverings for canopies
Having figured out what a canopy is and what is the functional purpose of its main elements, each owner of a suburban area wonders what is the best material to use for the roof of a building. In the past, slate was most often used to create a canopy roof. But the design turned out to be quite heavy, and therefore it was necessary to create a strong bearing surface for attaching the slate. And the material itself was fragile, poorly resisting physical impact.
Modern manufacturers offer the consumer materials with low weight and high strength. The most common are:
- polycarbonate;
- metal profile;
- plexiglass.
The use of these materials allows you to create durable structures of high strength, while the frame of the structure can be made from both wooden beams and metal profiles.
Dignitypolycarbonate
Polycarbonate has a number of good characteristics, which allows it to be used to create roofs of various configurations. The main advantages of this material are:
- light weight, making it easy to process and cut sheets;
- high light transmission that does not obscure the seating area;
- higher bending strength and impact resistance;
- material is heat resistant and fireproof;
- does not crack during processing;
- variety of colors of polycarbonate allows you to choose the material for any site design;
- does not lose its original properties during operation, which characterizes its high durability.
The use of polycarbonate allows you to create light translucent canopies canopies of any shape.
Metal profile advantages
The metal profile canopy has a high durability, and the effective service life of such a structure depends on the timely processing of the material with anti-corrosion coatings. In addition to this significant indicator, metal profile devices have the following advantages:
- the ability to purchase sheets of metal profiles of various shapes allows you to make a canopy that has a beautiful appearance;
- material has high strength;
- metal profile is highly resistant to atmospheric precipitation;
- not afraid of temperature changes;
- simplicityinstallation of metal profile sheets allows you to create complex canopies with your own hands;
- Affordability of this material is of considerable importance.
Stages of canopy construction
All work on the construction of the structure must be carried out in compliance with the technological process, which will maintain the stability of the canopy during its operation.
Let's consider the phased construction of a detached canopy:
- First of all, it is necessary to mark the place where the supports of the future structure will be installed.
- In the place of installation of the supports, it is necessary to drill holes for concreting the columns.
- Next, a support is installed in the hole and poured with concrete. The vertical level is controlled by a plumb bob.
- The same operation is done with all the supports of the canopy.
- After the concrete mixture has completely dried, it is necessary to make a strapping to strengthen the structure.
- On the upper edge of the columns, load-bearing beams are laid, on which the crate is stuffed.
- The roofing material is fixed on top of the crate.
Remember that strict adherence to the technology of erecting a canopy will preserve the strength of the entire structure for many years. A canopy built by one's own hands will bring its owner many pleasant minutes while meeting with friends, and will also significantly save the money spent.
