Hello Experts,
I’m looking to screen a section of my backyard deck. I currently step out of my kitchen on to the deck but living in the northeast I want to include a roof in my plans. I don’t want to enclose the section with a roof because I do not want to take away from the light. I’m afraid the kitchen will suffer without the natural outdoor light. The section will be approx 16′ by 12′. I have not been able to find any information or design articles that talk about a glass roof. I looked at Lexan but it didn’t appeal to me. I’m thinking it would be an interersting concept and would not take away from the light. I also thought about putting sky lights but decided it would not be enough light. Has anyone ever come across something like this?
Any thoughts are welcome
Regards,
Joe G
Replies
sounds like an attached greenhouse. Google greehouses and might get an idea from there.
You can gangplank a lot of skylights very close together. It would probably look the best of all the options.
Edited 5/26/2008 9:26 pm ET by apiersma
I've been kicking around alot of ideas. I thought of gangplanking skylights but that might get real expensive for the entire roof. I was considering using 1/4" tempered glass 24" wide by 8 or 10 feet long, which won't be cheap either. I can't seem to figure a good way to waterproof the joints. As far as the heat, the deck is on the north side of the house but I suppose with the sun high in the summer sky it may get a little warm. The sides would be all screen, so I would expect to get good airflow
"I can't seem to figure a good way to waterproof the joints."
You don't -- not exactly. I built a greenhouse once with wood support members for the glass. This is traditionally done with cypress, IIRC, but I couldn't find any so I used redwood. The joists (mullions?) are milled with dados for the glazing, which is laid in overlapping like shingles and sealed at the edges with glazing compound. You can put a tack into the mullions at the bottome of each pane to keep it from sliding. The overlaps keep the rain out, but they do tend to get a bit of algae growth since water will wick in. You can minimize this by putting a thin spacer, like a nylon washer, between the panes where they overlap.
As others have said, use tempered or safety glass, but by using smaller panes, you make the whole project a lot easier to manage, and probably cheaper. Replacing a busted pane is a pain, tho'. ;-) Depending on where it is, you may need to remove the entire bay to get to it. Consider adding a vent at the top of the slope -- depends on how much airflow you'll get otherwise. Probably no need if all the walls are screen.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Yeah, definitely you want a vent at the peak. Be sure to screen it somehow to keep out birds.
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
Keep in mind that this is a deck -- doesn't need to be perfectly waterproof.The standard greenhouse approach is to use relatively small panes of glass in a "shingle" fashion between two rafters. Visit a few older greenhouses (ones that haven't converted to all plastic) and observe their construction.On a slightly different topic, observe that you can quickly run out of headroom with a deck roof. It's best to have a gable vs shed roof if you possibly can, especially when the deck is on the gable end of a house.
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
I had a house with a partial glass roof once.
Originally was lexan or something but had it replaced with glass with wire in it.
Looked good, I think the sheets were about 3' wide by 12' long.
Been a long time, so no more details than that.
Joe H
Seems like it would be as hot as Hades on a sunny day....
Basically you want tempered glass. Not sure what thickness you would need, depends on the opening. Local glass places can give you a quote. May want to try to install yourself (with help of course), since installation can be the same as the price of glass alone. Whether you go with glass or something like twin wall polycarbonate, I would expect to pay $3k+.
Could be very hot in the summer ... so be forwarned. While screened and open on the sides, it will still have somewhat of a tendency to trap summer sun ... glass in the roof is the worst for this. Is the deck lower than the house? I assume it is probably not. Glass in the roof must be tempered or wired. Either will work. Maybe just put some glass where the kitchen window is and opaque the rest of the roof. If you have a choice of glass, then get tinted/mirrored finish to control the summer sun a little more while still letting in some light. Go for a SHGC of 0.20 or less. If you are guaranteed shading from trees during the day, this may not be a big issue. You can get used sliding glass door glass for cheap, usually and use that for the glass (I've used it for railings). Think twice/thrice, though ... this dramatic change may impact you in ways you don't want ... just take care and think it through or you may put a lot of work and $ into something that simply doesn't do what you thought it would do and you won't use it.
This discussion has giving me some interesting options and precautions , some of which I didn't consider. The deck will be built on the backside of the house which is not a gable end. The deck roof will not be higher than the main roof, but will follow the same pitch. One reply mentioned algae, which I don't want to deal with.Since the roof is approx 12 feet wide, I might opt for something like a fixed pane window that I can fit between the rafters/joists ( not sure what the correct term is ). If I do 24 inch centers may I could buy a 2 ft x 10 ft window,4 of them side by side would give me enough light. Given that it's built and covered with vinyl, or whatever they use, it would be maintainence free and I wouldn't have to worry about algae. The price might fall in line with purchasing panes of glass for the entire roof. As for heat gain, that remains to be seen. I know I'll get some, but I usually have a breeze off the back which should help to cool it. I wanted to use as much wood as possible and I'm not big on the look of production style sun rooms
> The deck roof will not be higher than the main roof, but will follow the same pitch.Have you worked out how low that's going to put the outer edge of the roof, and figured in a cross beam below that?Note that any sort of glazing you use will tend to collect dirt and trash to some degree. This is one reason why it's better to have translucent panels.
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
Dan,
I have not done the calculations yet but I have plenty of height on the wall where the roof will be attached, so I can make the adjustments needed to bring the lower edge of the roof to whatever height I want. Whatever that measurement is, I suppose there will be a minimum distance allowed before I need a crossbeam or I can increase the size/spacing of my joists to allow for a longer span
I'm not sure of the technical term, but I'm talking about the beam at the outer edge of a shed roof. If you have any overhang on the roof the beam needs to be below the rafters, not in line with them, and that's going to take away headroom. Of course you can stop the rafters at the outer wall and use joist hangers to attach to the beam, but then you have no overhang.
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
Joe,
Regular window frames will have a tendency to catch a lot of debris/water compared to e.g. standard skylights which are designed to shed water and dirt. My guess is when it rains, they will eventually leak. You might consider say 3 standard/tinted skylights that straddle the kitchen window area ... 2x4 ft each. Should give you plenty of light to avoid the 'dark feeling' that will be created w/ an opaque roof. Don't underestimate the power of solar gain ... even w/ a breeze. Screens tend to restrict air flow more than you might think and even if you have a breeze, it may not be like simply sitting outside.
12 ft from your existing eave with a 'standard' roof slope of 4 in 12 means the roof will drop 4 feet plus the support beam. That is significant ... is your deck going to be about 4 feet lower than the house? Better check your basic geometry before you get locked into an idea that may not be what you were thinking. Maybe gable the roof perpendicular to your existing and either intersect the two roofs or have it stand alone w/ your existing roof/gutter funtioning as it is and your new roof completely independent (yet screened at the gable ends. What's the width of your proposed deck? What is your orientation?
Good to hear that you aren't big on 'production style sunrooms'. While there is a time and place for everything, they are often poorly applied and result in more expense and discomfort in the long run in many applications. Overselling, in my opinion.
I was actually considering the windows made specifically for roofs. I'm thinking fixed pane will work and shed the water like it's supposed to. My deck starts at the main floor and i actually have another level above which means I easily have the space to go up. I'm guessing the height will be around 10 or 12 feet then drop tp 8 or 7'6". I'm also considering a 3/12 pitch which should be fine. The only problem with a 2ft wide window will be the spacing for my joists. I won't be able to use 16 on center which shouldn't be a problem, I was thinking about a 2ftx10ft windows ganged together. Maybe 3 or 4 of them. i would have a great amount of light with that design. I'll probably consider some sort of laminated beams for the roof joists. Gable roof will just not fit with my design Width of the deck will be 12 feet wide and I have flexibility with the length. I'm kicking around with a 14 foot length. Noy sure how to answer the orientation question. The deck is on the northside of the house
Well being on the north side will help minimize the solar gain during the summer even though the summer sun will be high enough to come in ... better than facing south, which would increase the gain.
Another way to minimize the affect/darkness created would be to paint the underside white.
Personally, I think the 2x10 windows might still be a bit overkill, still, but I'm not there, so don't know the nuances of your situation. I might start them at about the point where you draw a line from your eye through the top edge of the existing kitchen window ... where that line intersects the roof would be a reasonable place to place the top edge of the window ... which I suspect may be out away from your existing eave maybe 6 ft. Starting the window too much higher may be a waste ... at least from the standpoint of your existing kitchen window (you still have the consideration of sitting on the deck and having the window above).
You're basically talkiing about a sunroom. All sorts of sunroom schemes are available with either fancy metal-framed roof/windows (sometimes curved) or with conventional wood-framed greenhouse style roof.
The option we took, though, was to use translucent fiberglass corrugated roofing. Doesn't allow quite as much light through but it also doesn't allow the glare through, making the deck more useable when the sun is high.
I know you installed this many years ago but I’m now hearing that polycarbonate corrugated roofing is a better option than fiberglass. It supposedly doesn’t stain yellow and isn’t brittle and prone to cracking. Do you agree?
I know it’s an old thread but what did you decide to go with? I’m in the exact same situation and can’t decide between skylights, polycarbonate and windows.