Archives

Project Details

Fabric 1

LAC 650
Producer/Manufacturer: Dickson
Primary Use: Main Fabric

Fabrication Company
Helioscreen PTY Ltd

Please describe the project specifications

We were approached by our customer with an Architectural design concept covering a large deck area with 3 retractable roof systems. The systems were to follow the gable end of the house and a third system at a different angle, mounting to the end of one of the systems, covering the seating area in front of the outdoor fire place. Having admitted that he was very much obsessive on having attention to detail on some aspects of the project which raised some alarm bells, we were excited about the challenge and were confident we could deliver.
Project Title:

Uniqueness:
Creating 3 retractable roof systems to look like the architects concept required some interesting construction design. We had to balance structural engineering requirements with the customers aesthetic preferences. Anticipating the customers visual standards led to many meetings going over details we would not usually need to discuss, but this meant the customer got exactly what he wanted without any compromise on the safety and structural integrity of the installation.

We started with a support beam from the top of the gable, and out to a post at the pool. These were not standard as part of the awning kitset, so we had to source aluminium extrusions that would work well together, design the top of the post to hold the weight of the back beam and the two roof systems.
The first and key challenge was how to fix this support beam to the gable of the house without using a post.
We had to ensure this was a very strong fixing as it was holding the weight of two roof systems on one side. We worked with our fabricator on a few designs, and finally came up with one that would spread the load over three areas - LHS and RHS of the soffit as well as back to the house wall. We made and tested a template to ensure a good fit. We then added support brackets down the two rafters, fixing them directly to the soffit which lightened the load on the central beam and gable fixing.

The next challenge was how to mount the third roof onto the front of the second. We thought it was going to be complicated with special brackets coming off the posts, but it ended up being very simple – we direct fixed the wall brackets to the front of the strong gutter.

Another challenge was to install side support beams which would lock together the whole structure, and provide fixing for future outdoor blinds and heaters. If we took them from the centre post out to the outside posts, as the posts were different heights the horizontal beams would not be inline, which was not acceptable to the customer, so we ran them at the same height, and used the gable infill to support the end of this beam where it finished short of the post. We designed and manufactured 3D brackets to hold each end of these brace beams – one that was negative detail (hidden with the beam) and the other as a cradle that wrapped around the post.

The next, but not last, challenge was the structure for the third roof which had to run past the outdoor fire place, and a support beam ran behind between the two rafters to hold the system solid and square. The fabric finished short of the fireplace and we needed to mount a fixing directly to the fireplace to hold the centre rafter.

The final challenge was the flat permanent cover around the fireplace, which after several discussions ended up being sheet metal on both sides to ensure no issue with holes from the embers of the fire. There was complexity which we overcame on every part of this job but in particular this fixed cover. This was a bespoke design that at first thought was simple enough in concept but proved incredibly challenging to the installation team and led to a prolonged finish of the job much to the frustration of the accounts team and the customer.

However the end result looks fantastic and the customer is very happy and he ordered another retractable roof for his business.

Project Summary:
Creating 3 retractable roof systems to look like the architects concept required some interesting construction design. There were challenges at every point and the customer was attentive to the details. Firstly designing a 3D fixings to hold the main beam to the gable, then how to mount the third roof to the second, and build the roof structure around the fireplace while stopping the fabric short. Our team were up for the challenge and proud of the result.

What is unique or complex about the project?

Creating 3 retractable roof systems to look like the architects concept required some interesting construction design. We had to balance structural engineering requirements with the customers aesthetic preferences. Anticipating the customers visual standards led to many meetings going over details we would not usually need to discuss, but this meant the customer got exactly what he wanted without any compromise on the safety and structural integrity of the installation.

We started with a support beam from the top of the gable, and out to a post at the pool. These were not standard as part of the awning kitset, so we had to source aluminium extrusions that would work well together, design the top of the post to hold the weight of the back beam and the two roof systems.
The first and key challenge was how to fix this support beam to the gable of the house without using a post.
We had to ensure this was a very strong fixing as it was holding the weight of two roof systems on one side. We worked with our fabricator on a few designs, and finally came up with one that would spread the load over three areas - LHS and RHS of the soffit as well as back to the house wall. We made and tested a template to ensure a good fit. We then added support brackets down the two rafters, fixing them directly to the soffit which lightened the load on the central beam and gable fixing.

The next challenge was how to mount the third roof onto the front of the second. We thought it was going to be complicated with special brackets coming off the posts, but it ended up being very simple – we direct fixed the wall brackets to the front of the strong gutter.

Another challenge was to install side support beams which would lock together the whole structure, and provide fixing for future outdoor blinds and heaters. If we took them from the centre post out to the outside posts, as the posts were different heights the horizontal beams would not be inline, which was not acceptable to the customer, so we ran them at the same height, and used the gable infill to support the end of this beam where it finished short of the post. We designed and manufactured 3D brackets to hold each end of these brace beams – one that was negative detail (hidden with the beam) and the other as a cradle that wrapped around the post.

The next, but not last, challenge was the structure for the third roof which had to run past the outdoor fire place, and a support beam ran behind between the two rafters to hold the system solid and square. The fabric finished short of the fireplace and we needed to mount a fixing directly to the fireplace to hold the centre rafter.

The final challenge was the flat permanent cover around the fireplace, which after several discussions ended up being sheet metal on both sides to ensure no issue with holes from the embers of the fire. There was complexity which we overcame on every part of this job but in particular this fixed cover. This was a bespoke design that at first thought was simple enough in concept but proved incredibly challenging to the installation team and led to a prolonged finish of the job much to the frustration of the accounts team and the customer.

However the end result looks fantastic and the customer is very happy and he ordered another retractable roof for his business.

Content is submitted by the participant. ATA is not responsible for the content descriptions of the IAA award winners.