Mohawk Two-Post Lift Project

[wkohler]

It will be covered with a roof. I am still investigating the best option for my space and something that also won't look terribly out of place yet will offer the best protection without actually adding onto the house. Currently considering a fabric shade cloth design similar to what car washes and schools have versus something like a metal RV type cover. Cost is a factor though both initially and in the future. The cloth cover will have to be replaced at substantial cost but it does let a small amount of light through. I would like to get the lift up and functional first though.

[mooseheadm5]

How about a nice wooden pergola with a retractable shade cloth?

[Mr.3-5-7]

Wow this is great Chris. I just realized how long its been since i've been at your house.

[Karl Grau]

Wouldn't have gone ahead in the direction I did without the opinion of said licensed engineer.

You went with the opinion of of an engineer you know and trust who's seen the lift and site in person?
This won't end well. I would have totally gone with the eastern/cold weather dude with no qualifications that can't form a three word sentence. But hey, that's just me.

[mooseheadm5]

Wouldn't have gone ahead in the direction I did without the opinion of said licensed engineer.

You went with the opinion of of an engineer you know and trust who's seen the lift and site in person?
This won't end well. I would have totally gone with the eastern/cold weather dude with no qualifications that can't form a three word sentence. But hey, that's just me.

Oh come on, Tyler isn't that bad.

[cddallara]

If you go metal, I've seen people use fiberglass (plastic?) panels every so often for light.

At a restaurant we worked at recently, they installed a retractable vinyl roof. Pretty trick, had a steel frame and even a gutter setup. Looked really pricey though...

[BRRV]

I'll just say this is great, wish I had one (oh man do I wish!!!), and best of luck. I have no experience or comments on concrete.

[Devinder]

I recently used multi-cell polycarbonate panels on a project and I really like the way they work. They are very common outside the US but not easy to find here in larger sizes. I'm going to be at your house in two weeks so we can talk about it then.

[vinceg101]

I recently used multi-cell polycarbonate panels on a project and I really like the way they work. They are very common outside the US but not easy to find here in larger sizes. I'm going to be at your house in two weeks so we can talk about it then.

Check out this thread from Garage Journal, on page 7 he talks about something similar he is using for the high clerestory windows: Polygal polycarbonate panels. I think he mentions where he sourced it somewhere in thread.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... lis&page=7

I really like this garage/shop and especially his use of unique materials. (I know Chris may not be interested in building an entire structure, but it was pretty inspirational.)

[bkbimmer]

Is it done yet? This is a lot of reading.

[Devinder]

Check out this thread from Garage Journal, on page 7 he talks about something similar he is using for the high clerestory windows: Polygal polycarbonate panels. I think he mentions where he sourced it somewhere in thread.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... lis&page=7

I really like this garage/shop and especially his use of unique materials. (I know Chris may not be interested in building an entire structure, but it was pretty inspirational.)

Yes, that stuff. On the west coast it gets imported to the port of San Deigo so it's more readily available down there. The distributor here had a hard time getting a small number of 12' panel sent up here at a reasonable cost.

It is used in larger commercial projects in the US but not in residential construction. Outside the US it is used the same way we use corrugated metal and plastic panels. I saw it used for shanty towns in Turkey and the roof of Mario Bataly's new Eataly in NYC.

Having used it to make the roof of my greenhouse, I really like the stuff. It can be heat formed, it is stiff for it's weight, and offers good insulation. it is also much easier to work with than corrugated when it comes to making water-tight joints. For the greenhouse, I heat formed it into a v-shape so no extra water-tight joints needed at the top.

It comes in tints too for shade and heat control.

[Jake D]

I have envy.

[wkohler]

Thanks. I'm leery using those because plastic anything just doesn't do well here with the UV. That's one of the concerns with the shade cloth. It just won't last.

Of course, to be perfectly honest, I haven't put much thought into this. Once dog shows start for us (next weekend - much earlier than normal), my available time drops to near zero and I already don't have much because we have to get this other house torn down or we face fines ($2500/day).

[vinceg101]

Thanks. I'm leery using those because plastic anything just doesn't do well here with the UV. That's one of the concerns with the shade cloth. It just won't last.

I was starting to think about that: with your winds, heat, and sun anything other than a solid roof is going to have a very short life. A canvas-type canopy may be the easiest to work with as you can just replace it when it dies. The trick is the support system.

[demetk]

A canvas-type canopy may be the easiest to work with as you can just replace it when it dies. The trick is the support system.

I was thinking of doing something like this to cover the side of my house. Can corrugated fiberglass panels support a snow load?

[vinceg101]

A canvas-type canopy may be the easiest to work with as you can just replace it when it dies. The trick is the support system.

I was thinking of doing something like this to cover the side of my house. Can corrugated fiberglass panels support a snow load?

I would say very unlikely without a proper support framework; the panels are really lightweight. If Devinder had doubled up his vertical supports and then added a blocking line between, then I think it should be able to take some loading.
Devinder used 1x materials which is fine for his greenhouse application, but if you add snow loads, you may want to think about 2x & 4x for the primary supports.

As for the corrugated FG panels (like the ones sold at most home improvement stores) they are even lighter yet. I just installed these over an outside storage area behind my garage and was very surprised on how weak they really are; their spanning capabilities are almost non-existent. The same rule would apply: have a strong framework for them.
This is what my roof/cover looks like:

The horizontal span is +/-36" (+/-39" on the slope) and the horizontal spacing of the rafters was +/-24" o.c. (the width of the panel). I wasn't going to have those bridging strips, but when I put the first panel up, it became apparent I needed something up there to lock the panels together and support the centers. (I could have used simple 1x's, but these strips are formed to accept the panels. This didn't matter much for the centers, but really makes a difference on the ends.)

[M. Holtmeier]

That spot with a lift is going to make a nice wrenching spot, Chris!

[wkohler]

Came home tonight to find that someone stole the pieces which make up the trough for the chain and the baseplate. They tried to lift the towers but they were too heavy for them apparently.

[mooseheadm5]

That's bullshit. I know how you feel. I came home one day and found someone had stolen every piece of steel "junk" that I had out back, including a couple of E34 subframes I needed, some Bilsteins, and an E34 M5 trailing arm.

[wkohler]

Yeah. I've got quite a bit of stuff out back, but this is out front. I'd have unloaded in the back, but I didn't have my severely underbuilt pad poured yet, and we had to unload on concrete so in the driveway they went. They fit through the back door of my garage so that's what I need to do now. Hook up the engine hoist and roll them out back on the movers dollies I've got.

They were there when I left at 1 and gone when I came home around 6.

[mooseheadm5]

Check with the local scrap yard. You may be able to get them back.

[wkohler]

There are five hundred local scrap yards. I'm going to hit a couple nearby in the AM, but I expect they are from further away.

[tig]

That really sucks.

No cameras?

[wkohler]

No, but I have plenty of light around. I guess that doesn't help me in broad daylight though.

[cddallara]

Sorry to hear. Not like you can go down to the store and pick a couple more up.

Fricking thieves!!

[tig]

You can get a nice digital CCTV system for a song these days. I have a super-duper-way-over-engineered (by me) system with about a dozen cameras (I'm going to be intentionally vague on details here for obvious reasons). It cost me a fortune to install and upgrade over the years. It works awesome.

But I am pretty jealous of the systems that can be purchased off the shelf these days, like at Costco:

http://www.costco.com/hd-ip-nvr-security-systems.html

Now, a CCTV system isn't going to absolutely prevent theft, but, if installed correctly (visibly) it can be a deterrent. And in the event of a theft can have a significant positive impact on the chance of recovery.

[ldsbeaker]

*RAAAGE*

[leadphut]

Sorry to hear. I've been thinking of putting a sign up.

[wkohler]

I actually have a couple of those signs. Not up yet though.

[tig]

Sorry to hear. I've been thinking of putting a sign up.

I have those exact signs.