The Awning Project

August 2009

 

 

The deck- before.   The umbrella kept flying away in storms and we needed more

shade on the side where we took out a tree.

 

 

Painting the pipes.   I used a small foam roller for the pipe and spray for the

hardware.

 

 

 

Attaching to the house.   We had to put some boards across the inside to

secure everything.

 

 

The frame, all set up.

 

 

I put a painters tarp on top until I get the fabric cover sewn up.

 

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So, it worked out great and here's why:  structural pipe fittings.   It's like tinkertoys for grownups!

I started at this website- they have lots of cool ideas and plans too.
But I actually bought my hardware from these guys:  www.easyfit.com

 

It's a good thing I'm not having sleep problems anymore-  I would have dreamed about rearranging pipe structures for at least a week!

We used steel hardware and 1" galvanized plumbing pipe.   That's a 12 foot run and it's completely stable.
Attaching the hardware to the house was the hardest part-  Jeff had to go in the attic.
That hardware is worth every penny.   After everything was prepped, it took about half an hour to assemble.
It's the first project we didn't fight over.   Very cool.

 

UPDATE.  PART 2   SEWING THE AWNING

 

My advice?  Do not do this.  Find a professional do it for you.

It's totally worth the money and good for the economy.

 

 

Ow.  Ow ow ow.  The night before I started I looked up "sew awning" on the internet. 

One of the sites snarkily advised "Get ready to do a lot of pressing".   Holy Cow.

They weren't kidding.   The fabric is so stiff it takes forever.   And the only place

big enough was on the deck itself.

 

 

 

Yeah, a steel table and professional machine would have come in handy.

Most of my time was spent moving and folding and flipping the huge heavy thing.

 

 

 

 

Three days later.  The finished product having it's seams sealed.   I got some black

self-wrap velcro to attach  it to the frame.  I got my fabric from the folks at

Seattle Fabrics, by the way.   They have a great collection of specialty fabrics and

the coolest hardware and dodads for "soft" construction.

 

 

 

Sophie, our lovely spokesmodel, admiring the new patio lites.   I ran a cable across the

end there and hung some shower curtains up for rain and shade.   It's hard to see but

we also put up a mister along the near side of the canopy frame.

 

 


 

Ta Da.    Greetings from my patio table!

 

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