Advice for roof/shelter over north facing deck

6 years ago

Looking for some advice on what to do with our deck when we renovate our house in Melbourne. The back of the house is north facing so would like to take advantage of all the lovely light that would come into the house, but then know we'll use the deck a lot more if it's covered and also overheating would be an issue if uncovered.
One option is to continue the tiled roof to the edge of the deck, and another would be to have the tiled roof stop at the edge of the house and have a separate roof over the deck.
Budget is definitely a consideration in what we do too! Any advice much appreciated.
See current plan which has the eaves of the roof extending to edge of deck.

Featured Answer

Sara Graham

5 years ago

It’d be a shame to block out all the beautiful northern light in late autumn, winter and early spring. It will make such a difference to the feel of that room. A retractable roof would be ideal, but it’s not a budget option unfortunately. Does it need to be a fixed roof and keep out the rain or are you only after shade? If it’s the latter then shade sails/cloth (that you remove when the wether cools down and replace in late spring), horizontal retractable awnings or a deciduous vine over a steel pergola (not timber, safety) may be options. Or a solar pergola. https://www.patioliving.com.au/timber/solar-pergola.html
If you want a roof then a transparent roof that allows winter light into the house with blinds of some sort fitted to keep out the summer heat, or a retractable roof.
If you are concerned about summer sun heating up the house also consider the depth of the eves. Appropriately sized eaves can block summer sun while allowing in winter sun.
We had a rotting covered pergola taken down from our old house, with the intention of replacing it. The improvement to the feel of the adjacent rooms that had previously been shaded by the pergola and were cold and dark was amazing. We decided not to replace the pergola and just used large cantilevered umbrellas instead in summer. But we did have appropriately sized eaves that allowed in winter sun (low angle) and kept out summer sun (high angle).
See here for more information on eaves and shading http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/shading

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (18)

oklouise
6 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
what's the shape of the proposed roof and inside ceiling? ...facing due north it could be interesting to have an extended gable roof with raked ceiling inside and a "flat" roofed deck so light from ridge high windows reaches light deep into the new family rooms in winter and the extended gable and deep deck roof exclude hot sun from outside areas in summer
Related Discussions
To roof or not to roof? Timber Decking facing NorthEast
Q
Comments (11)
The vergola option with louvres is very expensive but also very effective as it provides so much flexibility in all types of weather. If you are outdoor people then this may be worth the cost. Coming down in cost, a climber over a pergola is also a good option depending on where you live. In a cool climate make sure the climber drops its leaves early enough so the late autumn and early winter sun comes through. Conversely, if you're in a warm/hot climate then the longer the leaves stay on the better. Some deciduous climber and trees lose their leaves quite late. Awnings are also very flexible but may not allow wet weather usage. Of course this depends on the type and size of awning. Oops, I just noticed this was originally posted in 2014. I hope you've sorted it out by now.
...See More
How to connect angled deck roof to hip roof
Q
Comments (6)
Hi Rita..... A true flyover stays separate from the main roof......the rain can either free fall from the lowest point of the flyover on to the existing roof below and collect with the water from the main roof and down the drain pipes, or it can have it's own guttering and down pipes (how to make that aesthetically appealing depends on shape of your roof/house and height of the flyover). Hubby is a builder and HATES box gutters, but a properly done flyover is no issue at all. Good luck :)
...See More
Skylights over deck
Q
Comments (3)
I think given that your deck faces south-southwest, and there is a privacy screen on the western side, i think skylights would bring in more light to the area and thus inside your house. If are worried at all, you can get skylights that you can pull a shade across when you want to. I have a northerly facing deck and a 5m tall gabled tiled roof over the 7m deck. I have put a skylight on the eastern and western sides of the roof and am very happy with the amount of light it brings into the house, particularly in winter.
...See More
North Facing Fixed Eaves Question
Q
Comments (6)
eaves would have to be very deep to exclude all sun from a full height glass door...in our cold climate the standard 450 deep eave is enough to keep out most of the mid day summer sun from our north facing living area and we have removed a verandah from the same location to avoid shading the welcome winter sun.. for your situation consider external shadecloth roller blinds and re consider any fixed roof over the pergola until you live with the exposed glass for at least 12 months to see how it feels in all seasons
...See More
oklouise
5 years ago
we've also removed verandahs from north facing rooms and been amazed at the improved comfort during winter and the standard 450 -600 eave has been more than enough to exclude hot summer sun from north facing glass doors and, like genkii, we now use other options for external shade
siriuskey
5 years ago
If it's affordable for you a pergola fitted with Vergola opening and closing blades to control and allow summer and winter sun cheers

http://vergola.com/
Susie Wicks
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks oklouise, high windows would be a really good option but I don't think our ceiling would be high enough or that our roof shape would allow (we are just extending existing roof as assume it will be most cost effective). See elevation drawing I've attached.
Thanks genkii, some great info there. We thought we wanted rain shelter too but are now reconsidering as you're right, it would be a shame to waste the lovely northern light. Do you think a 500m eve would be sufficient to block out some of the summer sun?
Susie Wicks
Original Author
5 years ago
Elevations
oklouise
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
as i write i'm basking in lovely northern winter sunshine that is completely excluded from inside during the hottest part of the year by a standard 45cm eave...there's some unwanted heat for a short period at the very end of summer as sunlight changes direction but easily overcome with a blind if necessary and we have a covered area at right angles to the house and running parallel to the western fence for outdoor shade....i suggest that you leave decision about outdoor spaces until after you decide how the new room feels but, ask your builder about scissor trusses to create a very modest raked ceiling in the new rooms as we were delighted with the extra feeling of spaciousness that a few extra cms of height matching central ridge gave to one of our projects
Susie Wicks
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks oklouise! Will def chat to our builder.
Irene Morresey
5 years ago
Could you carry on roofline and incorporate a couple of skylights, you can add blinds to the skylights. That way you can control light and the skylights will add light to the interior of house in winter if positioned right. A thought
girlguides
5 years ago
I’ve been in this dilemma also so all comments really helpful Thanks All
girlguides
5 years ago
Also I find that link to gov website confusing - I need to put eaves above glass doors (2m high) on my nnw wall So how high above door lintel and how wide should eave be to protect from rain and allow winter sun - I live in Melbourne
ddarroch
5 years ago
I wouldn't recommend covering the northern deck with a permanent structure. As oklouise says, along with losing that lovely northern light, you'll miss out on all the heat that winter sunshine would provide (called passive solar heating. This could be very substantial, resulting in decreased comfort & increased heating bills.

Read more about passive solar heating here,

http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

My parents have a horizonal awning over a small balcony that works well, though may not be suitable for a larger area.

They also have a large triangular shade sail upstairs, on their terrace. This must be put up & taken down every day that it's used (due to ocean breezes), which is a nuisance. So it's not used too often.

The next door neighbours also have a large triangular shade sail. This one is a permanent fixture, & rolls up. Although it does take two people to roll/unroll it, it is still a much more convenient set up. It's not perfect, as the fabric is quite flimsy (although it roll away behind a guard that would protect it from the weather a bit). But something similar would be worth investigating. This was a custom job, & I'm struggling a bit to find something the same online.

I have found an interesting rectangular roll up shade sail (by Soliday I think). I'm struggling to use the website on my phone, but it may be worth looking at. It's a 41 page pdf towards the bottom of the page, after the other images.

http://pdf.archiexpo.com/pdf/plaspack-netze-gmbh/roll-up-sun-sails-soliday-2015/93246-245657-_9.html
ddarroch
5 years ago
I wouldn't recommended covering the deck with a permanent roof & installing skylights in this new roof, as has been suggested. Although these skylights will light the outdoor area, they probably won't light the interior of the house enough, & they certainly won't add much, if any, in the way of passive solar heating.

Appropriate length northern eaves are the way to go. For Melbourne I'd guess that these would be around 60cm (though you'd want to check this).
Sara Graham
5 years ago
I’d hate to hazard a guess on the depths of the eaves as I’m no specialist or designer. Sorry. A building designer or architect who specialises in solar passive design might be able to help. Or some other appropriate professional. There may be a professional on Houzz who can answer your question, or you might be able to get a professional to help at an hourly rate.
Or there is this calculator https://www.ecowho.com/tools/passive_solar_eaves_calculator.php
I’m not sure how good it is though.
siriuskey
5 years ago
A simple timber pergola fitted with a Vergola system will take care of all seasons needs and passive solar
ddarroch
5 years ago
oh, & when I say "no permanent structure", I mean no roof. A pergola/vergola would be fine.

As for eave length, there's plenty of calculators online. Here's one,

https://www.ecowho.com/tools/passive_solar_eaves_calculator.php

Or if you want to look into it more online, check this,

http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/shading

Generally, a rule of thumb is that the northern eave should be 45% of the length from the sill (at the eave) to the bottom of the window.

So for an average window in Melbourne 600mm would be fine. Note, as you move away from true north the eave should be longer, as the sun is lower in the sky.
ddarroch
5 years ago
ha, we found the same calculator Genkii, great minds ;)
girlguides
5 years ago
Thank you @ ddarroch and @genkii that echo who calculator site was perfect!

Advice for roof/shelter over north facing deck

Sara Graham

Comments (18)

oklouise

Related Discussions

oklouise

siriuskey

Susie Wicks
Original Author

Susie Wicks
Original Author

oklouise

Susie Wicks
Original Author

Irene Morresey

girlguides

girlguides

ddarroch

ddarroch

Sara Graham

siriuskey

ddarroch

ddarroch

girlguides

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Advice for roof/shelter over north facing deck

Comments (18)

Related Discussions

Susie WicksOriginal Author

Susie WicksOriginal Author

Susie WicksOriginal Author

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Susie Wicks
Original Author

Susie Wicks
Original Author

Susie Wicks
Original Author