2023 Archive : Abs Sean Roof System

Project Details

Fabric 1

LAC 650 PVC - Dickson
Producer/Manufacturer: OTHER
Primary Use: Main Fabric

Fabrication Company
Helioscreen PTY Australia 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.

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.
The first and key challenge was ensuring strong fixing of the end of the support beam up into the soffit at the top of the gable, as we could not put a post in this area.
We worked with our fabricator on a few designs, and finally came up with one that would spread the load over three areas to hold the support beam solid.
The roof structure had to go as close to the glass balustrade as possible, while following the lines of the gable end of the house. One side of the roof ran past to cover the BBQ and outdoor kitchen, the other stopped short to give a starting point for the third roof.
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 for 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. We had great difficulty 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.

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