Build a wooden canopy yourself

Canopies and roof overhangs as weather protection

Canopies are most often found over the entrance area of ​​residential buildings. Also as a patio cover or element on garden sheds or garage do they occur. In any case, they take on important tasks.

• With a canopy construction, you don't just create a dry area for yourself. They also protect the facade of the house or garden house from wind and weather.
• Canopies keep moisture away from the wall and thus serve to protect against weathering and mold. Apart from that, the overhang takes on a heat protection function, as it provides additional shade in summer.
• Roof overhangs should also serve this purpose. These elements are usually already taken into account when planning a house. However, the overhangs are not as effective as canopy structures. In extreme weather conditions, they do not provide the facade with adequate protection.
  instagram viewer
• Caution: an effective canopy protrudes at least 1.20 meters. Constructions designed as patio roofs on the weather side of the house only make sense in extreme weather conditions if they extend about two meters.


Build a wooden canopy yourself - this is how it works

A shelter in front of the ...

You can either assemble a canopy from a prefabricated kit, which you then just attach to the facade need to screw. If you want to get the construction as cheaply as possible, you can roof but also build it yourself.

Question of form - canopy as sloping flat roof

The stately size requirement of the canopy should influence you when choosing a roof shape.

• A flat roof of these dimensions, for example, places high demands on the statics. Flat roofs without a slope are at risk of breaking under the weight of snow masses. Rain also backs up to the facade on completely flat roofs, so that instead of mold protection, there is a risk of mold.
• A more suitable roof shape is that of a sloping flat roof that does not overwhelm even laypeople. Theoretically, the saddle roof can also be used as a form, but building one yourself is more complex.
• The average do-it-yourselfer can construct a sloping flat roof with simple tools such as heavy-duty dowels, jigsaws, drills and corrosion-resistant screws.
• Because of the load requirements, it is best to include supports. Depending on how wide you want your canopy to be, plan for two or three support beams to support the roof from the ground. Attention: The supports are located at each of the outer corners and also in the middle of the roof.

Material question - constructions made of impregnated wood

In terms of materials, you have two options for the substructure of the roof: You can either use wood or work with metal. Since metal requires welding skills, the wood version is more suitable for do-it-yourselfers in most cases.

• But be careful: it is best to use sturdy types of wood, such as oak. A suitable variant is also offered with glued wood, which meets high static requirements.
• The material used should have an impregnation so that it does not start to get moldy in contact with rain and other weather phenomena.
• To cover the canopy, you can work with different materials. A simple and therefore popular variant is the cover with multi-wall sheets made of Plexiglas. In theory, however, you can also use corrugated iron or roofing felt.

Before you can start building yourself, you have to find out about the legal situation.

Building instructions - build a wooden canopy yourself

With the exception of North Rhine-Westphalia, you need a building permit from the building authority of the responsible municipality for this change in the façade in every federal state. Once this has been obtained, construction work can begin.

1. Cut two wooden beams to the length you want the canopy to reach in width.
2. Screw and glue on the back of each two standing beams at an exactly right angle. These bars indicate the height. The longer they are, the more sloping your roof will later have.
3. You then place another strut at an angle of 45 degrees. You also attach this strut with glue and screw it together.
4. Use a miter saw to cut the pieces of wood that connect the upright beams at the top to the flat beams. This also happens at an angle of 45 degrees.
5. You now glue and screw the cut beams to the standing and flat beams.
6. Add cross and longitudinal struts to which you can screw the cover material. How many additional struts you use depends on the width of your canopy.
7. Screw the plexiglass multi-skin sheets onto the wooden substructure. Caution: Put at least three screws on each side of the plexiglass plates and fix them also put the center of the plate in three places so the washers don't wind off of your construction rips.
8. On the back of the canopy beams, drill at least three holes that are intended for the heavy-duty dowels. In this case, too, how many holes you put depends on the width of the construction.
9. Fasten the canopy to the facade with the heavy-duty dowels. Attention: Place roofing felt between the joists and the facade. This prevents the wood from weathering, because without this decoupling the facade may give off moisture to the wood.
10. On the ground, prepare a concrete foundation for each column. A point foundation at a depth of 80 centimeters is best for this. In the three pits about 40 centimeters wide, put reinforcement cages into which you put the concrete in 25-centimeter loads.
11. Now insert the supports, screw them to the top of the canopy construction and leave that foundation dry.

Your wooden canopy is now finished on the construction side. You can embellish it to make it look good.

Design of the canopy - you have these options

With the two materials wood and plexiglass, the construction offers you a wide range of design options.

• The wooden structure and the support beams can be painted in the style of your facade. This provides additional weather protection and blends the construction harmoniously into the overall picture. But be careful: sand the wooden parts before applying the varnish so that the coating lasts better.
• You can design the plexiglass cover with foils, glass tattoos or glass paints. You can apply motifs - for example birds or plants.
• Speaking of plants: let roses or ivy entwine on the wooden beams. This can make the canopy look more natural and loosen up the overall picture.

These three suggestions are only a fraction of what is possible in terms of design. Let your imagination run wild and look forward to many pleasant days under your new weather protection.