The construction of full-fledged verandas and gazebos requires quite a lot of materials and time. Therefore, some owners of country houses prefer to build ordinary sheds on their plots, attached to the house or standing separately.
The design of such structures is extremely simple. Making a canopy with your own hands will not be difficult even for an owner of a suburban area inexperienced in construction.
Which may be required
The main function of almost any canopy in a suburban area is to create a shaded and protected from precipitation area. Under a roof of this design, you can:
- set a table and eat outdoors;
- place car;
- store and dry vegetables and herbs gathered in the garden in the summer;
- set up a mini-playground for children, etc.
What is a canopy
The main structural elements of such a structure are:
- rafter system;
- covering;
- support legs.
Roofs at self-assembled awningsmay have different configurations. But most often they, of course, are made single-sided. The number of canopy racks depends on where it will be built. Structures of this type attached to a house or any building usually have only two supports. Freestanding awnings have at least 4 posts.
What materials can be used for making
Do-it-yourself canopy frame is usually assembled from:
- wooden beams and boards;
- metal pipes, round or shaped.
Most often, lumber is used to assemble the "skeleton" of the canopy. A roof of this design can be made from:
- polycarbonate;
- profiled metal sheet;
- OSB slabs with roofing material sheathing;
- metal tiles;
- slate, etc.
In most cases, do-it-yourself roofs of canopies are sheathed with polycarbonate or profiled sheet in our time. Such materials are cheap, easy to process and look quite aesthetically pleasing.
Advantages and disadvantages of polycarbonate awnings
The advantage of such structures in the first place is precisely the attractive appearance. Polycarbonate, both cellular and monolithic, can have a variety of colors. A small drawback of structures of this type is considered only that they let the sun's rays through. That is, there will be no shadow under such a canopy. But this roofing material is able to protect the space below from precipitation just fine.
The main stages in the construction of a polycarbonate canopy are:
- building a frame from pipes or timber;
- roof sheathing with polycarbonate sheets.
Sheds from profiled sheets
The advantages of buildings of this type include their cheapness in the first place. Corrugated board costs less than most other roofing materials. Unlike polycarbonate, such sheets can serve not only as a good protection against precipitation, but also from sunlight.
The disadvantages of corrugated board include primarily noise. During rain, resting under a canopy made of this material may not be particularly comfortable. Also, a professional sheet is usually used to equip only large and fairly high canopies. This material can get very hot in the sun. And in a small structure assembled using it, a not too pleasant microclimate can be created on summer days.
They assemble canopies in the country with their own hands using a profiled sheet using approximately the same technology as polycarbonate ones:
- install support posts and mount roof frame;
- carry out sheathing.
Choosing timber and boards for the frame
For such a design, first of all, you should choose the right lumber. For a long time, the canopy will subsequently serve only if a beam and a board are used for its manufacture:
- well dried;
- not having too many knots.
Moisture content of lumber used to assemble canopies,should not exceed 12%. Since such a structure will subsequently be operated on the street, it is better to choose a beam and a softwood board for it. Such materials are resistant to high humidity.
How to assemble a wooden frame
A wooden shed is erected in the yard with their own hands using usually the following technology:
- supports being installed;
- top strapping gets off.
At the final stage, rafters are mounted under the roofing material.
Next, consider the method of making a canopy with your own hands according to the drawing below.
To assemble the frame of such a building you will need:
- beam with a section of 100x100 mm;
- board 100x50 mm.
You will also need to prepare galvanized corners. To begin with, when assembling the "skeleton" of the canopy in the country, they install support posts with their own hands. In this case, the following technology is used:
- make markings at the place chosen for the installation of the canopy;
- dig 4 holes on each of the long sides of the future building with a depth of 70-80 cm;
- pour some sand into the pits;
- process that part of the timber, which will subsequently be underground, drying oil or used machine oil;
- set the posts strictly vertically using the level in the pits;
- pouring concrete mixture into the pits.
For frame supports, you need to use a beam of different lengths. On one side of the future canopy, longer supports are installed, on the other- shorter. Cement mortar for the installation of canopy supports is used prepared in the proportion of cement / sand / crushed stone as 1/3/4.
After the concrete of the supports has matured, that is, approximately 2 weeks after pouring, they begin to assemble the canopy roof frame. At the first stage, the supports of each side are connected into a single structure. To do this:
- stuffed between the pillars, along their upper edge from the inside of the canopy board;
- go to the other side and repeat the operation;
- fix each post to the nailed board with braces;
- stuff the same boards from the outside of the future canopy also on both sides.
Next, they proceed to the actual assembly of the rafter system of a wooden canopy with their own hands. To do this, first, rafters are mounted on the elements stuffed at the previous stage. Lumber for legs is used 40-50 cm longer than the width of the canopy. After the rafters are installed, they are connected with boards along the contour of the future roof.
How to properly sheathe a canopy with a profiled sheet
Mount this roofing material, of course, should be in compliance with certain technologies. First of all, the roof of the canopy must be sheathed with a waterproofing agent. However, you can skip this step if you wish. The corrugated board itself retains moisture quite well.
This material is mounted in compliance with the following rules:
- it is necessary to install sheets on the roof of the canopy using special roofing screws;
- it is desirable to additionally fasten them togetherrivets;
- overlap between sheets on a shed canopy without waterproofing should not be less than 200 mm;
- self-tapping screws when fastening sheets are screwed into the depressions between the waves;
- at least 6-8 fasteners are used per sheet.
After completing the sheathing, assembled with your own hands, the corrugated canopy can be used for its intended purpose.
How to mount a metal frame
For such a "skeleton" of a canopy, for example, you can use a profile pipe with a section of 50x50 and 40x40 mm. In this case, you will also need a similar material 30x30 mm for stiffeners. Such frames of canopies are made of metal with their own hands, usually using welding. But if there is no suitable equipment on the farm, bolted connections can also be used.
From metal, if desired, it will not be too difficult to make, among other things, a frame for a beautiful and durable arched canopy and sheathe it later with polycarbonate. But in this case, you will also have to purchase or rent equipment such as a pipe bender.
The arched frame of the polycarbonate canopy is made approximately according to the following technology:
- pipes 50x50 mm are cut according to the height of the building;
- welded to their lower end plates of thick sheet metal with an area of 200x200 mm;
- pipes 40x40 mm are cut to the width of the canopy and arched;
- weld curved pipes into trusses using 30x30 mm belts;
- weld on the farm to each pair of racks;
- install pairs along the length of the canopy and connect them using a 40x40 mm pipe.
Sheathing canopy with polycarbonate
Roofing material on the metal frame assembled in this way is also fixed in compliance with certain rules:
- place the sheets on the trusses in such a way that the stiffeners run along the slopes of the canopy roof;
- holes for fasteners are drilled exclusively between stiffeners;
- for attaching sheets to trusses, special self-tapping screws with thermal washers are used;
- diameter of holes for fasteners in sheets should be slightly larger than the section of self-tapping rods;
- the first and last self-tapping screws are fixed at a distance of no more than 4 cm from the edge of the sheets;
- intermediate fasteners on sheets are arranged in 40 cm increments.
Holes for fasteners in polycarbonate should be large enough due to the fact that this material is able to expand or contract quite a lot with changes in ambient temperature.
After the canopy is sheathed, you should, among other things, additionally glue the open ends of the cellular polycarbonate with tape. Otherwise, water will subsequently flow inside the sheets.
