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Equipment Discussions >> Observatories

Pages: 1

Footbag
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/13/09

Loc: Scranton, PA

Roll-off roof parts?
#4855550 - 10/11/11 11:09 AM

I was at Home depot yesterday trying to plan a Garden Shed Observatory. I think I know which one I'm going with, but I was wondering if there was a specific manufacturer or retailer that sells the rollers and channels for the roll off roofs.
I think I will want to hook it up to a garage door opener so I was considering garage door parts, but I'm not sure if that will work well.

Post Extras:

Bruce FitzGerald
super member

Reged: 09/17/10

Loc: Vail Arizona

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Footbag]
#4855972 - 10/11/11 03:15 PM

Adam:

I like these. The track is 3/4 in angle iron.

[please don't post copyrighted pics on CN without the owner's permission. Much better to link to the pics instead. Thanks for understanding. -Mods]

Edited by Chris Erickson (10/11/11 05:39 PM)

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wirebender
sage

Reged: 02/20/05

Loc: Vida, Oregon

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Bruce FitzGerald]
#4856140 - 10/11/11 04:49 PM

This outfit has the above goodies^^^^^
and more....
http://www.mcmaster.com/#

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Greyhaven
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 05/11/04

Loc: Greater downtown Maine

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Footbag]
#4856463 - 10/11/11 08:15 PM

Adam
I used garage door rollers and hangers and rails for my 8'x10' observatory and the system works fine for me. I ordered the parts at my local building supply house (24)@2.59 ea. rollers and (24) hinges @2.09 ea. (4)Tracks 9'6" @ 19.90ea operates easily and is much quieter than a regular garage door. I used the sky shed plans and have less than $1400. invested in my observatory.( no pier)
Be Well
Grey

Edited by Greyhaven (10/11/11 08:17 PM)

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Dan Cassaro
member

Reged: 04/26/07

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Greyhaven]
#4857267 - 10/12/11 10:07 AM

I agree re: garage door parts. My 8x16 roof is mounted on 24 roller, and rides in garage door track. I can easily roll it by hand, and if a roller fails, they are easily replaced.
Dan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQSY56
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LEMRQW

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Footbag
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/13/09

Loc: Scranton, PA

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4857338 - 10/12/11 10:51 AM

Thanks guys. I'd really like to use garage door parts. Otherwise, the cost goes up so much that I'm not sure a DIY would save any money.

I did have a look around the site and I think I'm a bit further off then I had hoped. I was planning on putting it on my driveway, but it isn't perfectly level and won't quite fit how I was hoping. I'm trying to figure out what it would cost to install a retaining wall and have the site leveled and graded. Looks like it won't happen this year.

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LoveChina61
sage

Reged: 06/20/09

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4857478 - 10/12/11 12:07 PM

I nearly bought Skyshed plans but read that a roof which was mounted onto garage door rollers and tracks would pinch or bend the wheels due to the weight of the roof. I mean, it said that garage doors were designed to be used vertically so when they were installed to work in a horizontal position (like on a roll-off roof) then they would naturally incur some problems.

Have you found that to be true? I preferred the idea of using garage door tracks but because of the above mentioned concerns I went ahead and bought the BYO plans instead. Mike

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Dan Cassaro
member

Reged: 04/26/07

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: LoveChina61]
#4857650 - 10/12/11 01:35 PM

Most residential garage doors are vertical when closed, and horizontal when opened. The wheels are rated by the weight they will support, which is of course 0 when vertical.
So I'm not sure where the idea that they don't work in a horizontal position would come from?

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4857828 - 10/12/11 03:55 PM

It obviously depends on what type of roof you're planning. I've done some calculations for my current design (which has a 16' span between the rails) and came up with 200 lbs per foot if I go with asphalt shingles. It's slightly less if I go with a metal roof. Either way, that's definitely more than any garage door roller's designed to hold (not that I ever expected to use them). The point is, there are plenty of calculators out there for working out materials weights. Just be sure to plan well enough to know what you're going to build before you build it, then work out the number of board feet of framing and square feet of decking and you'll be able to determine how many wheels of whatever type you need to support the weight. For me, a pair of cast iron V-groove wheels every 4-6 feet should be more than enough for what I'm doing. They're rated at 800 lbs each, so splitting the weight between them I'd hit the load rating at 8 feet spacing. Four feet gives a 2x safety margin.

Beo

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Dan Cassaro
member

Reged: 04/26/07

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#4857888 - 10/12/11 04:30 PM

Beo,
I agree completely; there are roofs that are much too heavy for any reasonable system of garage door rollers. My only point was that they are *designed* to work carrying a load horizontally.
Dan

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frolinmod
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 08/06/10

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4857977 - 10/12/11 05:24 PM

When using garage door tracks one usually places wheels at about one wheel per foot. So a ten foot long roof would have 22 wheels. (Garage door wheels are cheap.) That's plenty of wheels for a fiberglass roof or a steel roof. Probably not enough wheels for a shingled roof and certainly not enough for a concrete tile roof.

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tjay
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 02/03/07

Loc: just outside of Toronto

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4857983 - 10/12/11 05:27 PM

I've had a SkyShed built by the designer, and the roof is actually built to be lighter than a standard roof.

The roof it a regular frame with roofing paper and steel roofing over top of the roofing paper.

I've had no issues after the first month, but it will be interesting to see how it fairs through the winter with snow up here.

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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/13/08

Loc: Cedar Park, TX

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Dan Cassaro]
#4858241 - 10/12/11 08:11 PM

Quote:

Beo,
I agree completely; there are roofs that are much too heavy for any reasonable system of garage door rollers. My only point was that they are *designed* to work carrying a load horizontally.
Dan

Hey Dan,

That reply wasn't necessarily directed straight at you, but more following the thread and responding to both the OP and the prior comment(s). I actually almost altered where I posted just to adjust the "reply to" indicator to someone other than your post, but that would have required a bit of effort!

Beo

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lamplight
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 09/18/12

Loc: west central MA, U.S.

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#5722721 - 03/09/13 05:49 PM

How are you guys making out after having used this garage door parts system for a while (And through winter)?

Thanks!

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CharlesW
sage

Reged: 11/02/12

Loc: Chula Vista & Indio, CA

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: lamplight]
#5723161 - 03/09/13 11:18 PM

I would imagine that rolling roofs are like rolling driveway gates. Steel suppliers have tons of this hardware on hand. If you have a White Cap nearby, they've got it.

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Starman27
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/29/06

Loc: Illinois, Iowa

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: CharlesW]
#5723560 - 03/10/13 09:33 AM

I use standard Gate wheels and a inverted "V" track. The roof is built to house standards. Rolls very smooth manually. I'm thinking of using a motor it next year. BTW, a local welder will be able to create/ adapt all of the hardware you would need.

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Raginar
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/19/10

Loc: Rapid CIty, SD

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Starman27]
#5726743 - 03/11/13 08:05 PM

I called around to a few garage door installers. The cost was high (~300 bucks..) but the quality was pretty good. One year later, the roof is still rolling fine despite some warping from the wood drying out.

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MRNUTTY
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 11/22/11

Loc: Mendon, MA

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: Footbag]
#5726964 - 03/11/13 09:56 PM

Like some other posters concerned with the ability for garage door components to support heavy roofs; I selected BYO (backyard observatory) for plans a parts for my roll off OBS. It was not DIY cheap; but that wasn't my goal, I wanted first, everytime reliable. The weight of the roof; 12x20 Foot shingled plywood sheath with engineered trusses. Ran about 2,000 lbs. The components sourced from BYO did the job perfectly. My roof rolls open and closed beautifully!

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Mr_T
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 04/06/08

Loc: NJ

Re: Roll-off roof parts? new

[Re: MRNUTTY]
#5730864 - 03/13/13 06:34 PM

I have used a Garage door opener for a couple years every winter it would hang up with the cold weather. I recently made my own hangers for the Roll off wheels and went with better wheels instead of the home depot wheels that fall apart after a few months. I also installed a Winch motor and Spur and rack system to open and close the roof using Jim collins Designs on his web page. He has been using the winch motor for 4 years and it works so well he now sells the kit with the controls
http://jimstar11.com/Motorize-Roll-Off-Roof.html

Les

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