A cover of aluminum or enameled-steel roofing panels can shelter a patio or driveway next to the house from sun and rain. Precut roofing panels and frames fit together neatly, are easy to handle, and are practically maintenance free.
A Sturdy Frame: The roof consists of four channels called fascias that frame interlocking roof panels, or pans. Supported by posts on one side and attached to the house at the other, the roof is pitched away from the house to divert rainwater and snowmelt, while troughs in the end fascias act as gutters.
The procedure that appears explain how to install this kind of roof over a concrete patio next to a frame house with wood, vinyl, or aluminum siding. With brick veneer, the fascia is attached with expansion bolts em bedded in the mortar joints.
Getting the Right Fit: Posts to support the outer edge of the roof must be tall enough to clear the tops of doors and windows. The roof should be no larger than the patio it protects. Otherwise, you’ll need to pour concrete footings to support the posts.
Patio and carport covers are avail able as complete packages that include all the parts and fasteners, or the components can be cut to the dimensions you specify by a building- supply dealer, who can provide matching downspouts, as well as kits to enclose the covered patio with screen or glass wall panels.
TOOLS
- Step ladders
- Chalk line
- Electronic stud finder
- Electric drill with bits
- Carbide-tipped masonry bit
- Caulking gun
- Screwdriver
- Carpenter’s level
MATERIALS
- Silicone caulk
- Wood screws (3” No. 8)
- Shims
- 2 x 4s
- 1 x4s
- Sheet-metal screws (1”)
- Common nails
- Expansion bolts
SAFETY: Protect yourself from sharp-edged sheet metal by wearing goggles and work gloves. Always wear a hard hat when working under an unfinished structure and a dust mask when drilling into masonry.
1. Mounting the end fascia.
• Snap a level chalk line at support-post on the side of the house.
• Check that the patio slopes away from the house. If not, raise the line to give the cover a pitch of 1 inch for every 4 feet of width. For example, if the patio extends 12 feet from the house, raise the line 3 inches.
• Using a stud finder, mark stud centers on the line; extend the marks several inches upward.
• With a helper, hold one of the two end fascias against the house, its lower edge on the chalk line. At each stud mark, drill a pilot hole through the fascia and siding the studs.
• Run a bead of caulk along the upper back side of the fascia; on a house built with wood siding in a region of heavy rainfall, substitute metal flashing above the fascia for caulking.
• Mount the fascia loosely to the wall with 3-inch wood screws. On a clapboard or shingled house, insert shims behind the fascia to plumb it and then tighten the screws.
• Run another bead of caulk along the top of the fascia where it meets the siding.
2. Preparing the end and side fascias.
• Fit the other end fascia over the L-shaped bracket mounted at the end of a side fascia. Drill two pilot holes through the overlapping pieces for the sheet- metal screws provided in the kit, and screw the fascias together.
• Make four temporary braces for the roof frame using 2-by-4s cut 6 inches longer than the support posts. Two inches from the end of each 2-by-4, nail a 12-inch-long crosspiece, then nail a 6-inch- long piece across that to form a U-shaped saddle.
• With a helper and the braces, raise the combined side and end fascia section into place. As in Step 2, secure the free end of the side fascia to the L-shaped bracket at the end of the fascia mounted on the house.
• Attach a post fitting to the underside of the end fascia approximately 1 inch from each corner, using a pair of sheet-metal screws for each fitting. If the end fascia is more than 12 feet long, mount a third post fitting midway between the corners.
• Stabilize the three-sided framework with a 1 -by-4 fastened temporarily across the two end fascias with 1 -inch sheet metal screws.
• Using sheet-metal screws, attach the posts to the fittings in stalled earlier on the underside of the fascia.
• Slide a roof pan into the end fascia channels at the open side of the frame, keeping the lip along the top of the pan toward you. Push the pan through the channels and secure it to the side fascia with sheet-metal screws at 12-inch intervals.
• Slide a second pan against the first, flexing the side of the pan to slip it under the lip of the first pan, locking the pieces together. Slide the remaining pans into the frame, locking each one to the preceding pan.
• Complete the frame by attaching the remaining piece of side fascia.
• Pull the last pan toward the fascia (the interlocked pans will spread sufficiently to give some play), and secure it to the fascia with sheet-metal screws.
• Use a carpenter’s level to plumb both support posts, and pencil outlines of the bases on the slab.
• Align a pair of post brackets at either end of each post and mark hole positions on the slab through the predrilled hole in the bracket.
• Set the brackets aside and , using a carbide-tipped masonry bit in an electric drill, bore a 9/16-inch-wide hole into the slab at each mark for the shield of a *-inch expansion bolt.
• Secure the brackets to the slab with the expansion bolts, then fasten the brackets to the posts with sheet-metal screws.
• Remove the temporary bracing.
• Working from above, fasten each pan to the end fascias with two sheet-metal screws per pan.
CAUTION: Do not walk on the metal roof when securing the pan ends adjacent to the house; instead lay a 4-by-8 sheet of plywood across the pans to distribute your weight.