Adding a sunshade to a sawshed

[MillWeld]

I have a sawshed which gets too much morning sun this time of year so I am planning on adding a pull down shade on which I am looking for comments/ideas. I am thinking of using a 6" PVC schd 40 pipe which will be mounted between the front posts so it will rotate. (Posts are 21 feet apart and pipe will be 9 - 10 feet high.) Attach a tarp to the pipe and rotate pipe to raise and lower the tarp/shade. I will also pull the tarp over the rollway where sometimes I have material I don't want to get wet. Any ideas or comments are welcome particulary on using some sort of wheel and rope system to rotate the pipe.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I love the saw shed sir! Beautiful and functional (What mill is that?)

In my dreams, someday I would love to cut my trees into planks for fences and sheds, etc...

Honestly I would take the easy road and just buy an outdoor roller shade from HD/Lowes... The plastic ones last a long time and the have simple methods for rolling and hanging.

You could easily make something yourself, but it would take more time and about the same cost of materials (or more).

I just removed 4 of these from the front and back porch of my house that clearly had been up and in use for 15 or more years...

Another advantage is the tiny slats don't actually stop you from seeing something outside, they darken without complete obscuring the light.

Just my 2cents.
Your mileage may vary...

Be well,
David

 

[forgeblast]

Go to the farmtek website. They have rollup covers for their greenshouses with all the pulls and things you need. thats a great shed.

 

[MillWeld]

Thanks for the farmtek and Lowes references. I'll consider an off the shelf approach or at least get ideas.
The mill is a Cook MP32.
Bob

 

[Barry 1]

They sell used billboard tarps online,and on Ebay. Tough,long lasting,and they already have edges made so you can slip a pipe into them to hold them down, or whatever.

 

[MillWeld]

I have the tarp which should last long enough because it will br rolled up most of the time.

 

[bearcreek paul]

A camper awning will work if you can find a used one cheap. It should last a long time if left rolled up. Check your local campgrounds out for repo's.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Thanks for the farmtek and Lowes references. I'll consider an off the shelf approach or at least get ideas.
The mill is a Cook MP32.
Bob

Bob,
That is a sweet mill...
Thank you sir for the info.

David

 

[MillWeld]

I have decided on the approach to the shade. I will glue and screw together sections of 16 foot 2 x 4s to form a 21 foot 4 x 4 and attach a 2" pipe at the ends as a point for rotation. Then attach a tarp to the 4 x 4. Haven't figured how to rotate it yet but I bet I have stuff on hand to figure that out. I'll post pics of the progress.
bob

 

[J_J]

Easy way to roll the shade up is this.

Connect a rope at the start point at the outside top,then run the rope down to the bottom and back up to the top on the inside.

Install rope pulley.

Run each rope through a pulley and pull to a central draw point.

When you pull all the ropes together, the shade material will wind up on the bottom tube, and stored at the top.

 

[MillWeld]

JJ, that's a great idea but I need to also pull the shade out at a slope to cover the lumber I sometimes put on the rollway. I may also need to cover logs, too. In other words, the shade has to come out at about a 45 deg angle as well as be vertical. I'm making progress and pics will be soon.

 

[J_J]

You can let the shade bottom out to any length and clamp it and set it at 45 degrees.

 

[MillWeld]

I made the beam to roll up the tarp out of 2 x 4s and mounted pipes at the ends as pivot points. I leveled the beams and the pipes prior to screwing the together.





Here is the assembly hanging near to where it will be mounted.


Closeup of the pivot point and wheel for rolling up the tarp


Tarp fully rollled up


Tarp unrolled for shade. It is 30' long so it can cover the whole rollway.


All in all the project took about 20 hours. The only things that didn't go as planned were the kickback from a 3" hole saw and having to climb a ladder to turn the wheel/beam. There is a lot of wobble and slop in the rotating beam due to its weight so reeling it in and out is sloppy but I think it can be refined. Tarp does not roll up perfectly evenly but it does the job even if it won't win any awards at the Awning Convention:laughing:. Think of it as a stylish uneven hemline of a woman's dress.:laughing:
Bob

 

[Vtnewbie]

OH NO JJ, you shaved that awesome beard!