SkyShed Construction
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The Roll-Off Mechanism
It works quite well! I picked up the track for free, thanks to a generous local garage door installer. When hunting for track, I suggest calling all your local installers and ask if they have a scrap pile you can rummage through. Believe me, it is worth it. I probably saved $500 or more on construction costs!
The rollers have nylon wheels. Supposedly a bit quieter. They cost a bit more than metal wheels. Whatever your preference. I also purchased wheel mounts with two height selections. This was suggested to me as a 'just in case'. The building WILL settle in time. Should the roof settle such that it begins to rub against the walls, with some effort, I should be able to raise the roof by 1/2" or so. I hope I don't have to face that however. The roof IS heavy, even though it is built to be relatively light. I should be fine. I probalby have 1-2" of clearance. Settling I suspect should amount to no more than 1/4".
A minor problem I had to deal with
I wanted to mention this minor problem I encountered during construction. The front wall (where windows and door reside) was not quite 'straight' as result of a slightly bowed 4x4 which was used as the 'top plate' for the wall. This resulted in an approximate 1/4" to 1/2" gap in the bottom of the two verical 2x4 supports in the doorway. See this picture for a closeup.
I obviously couldn't leave it like this. My theory for this problem is the following.
Usually walls should settle into place once they are raised into place. This separation was rather minor, but I could not 'bang' down the wall into place. Wood is somewhat workable in such cases, but its not putty.
What I think happened was this... the sheathing was nailed on something serious. Typically you can maybe nail the sheathing once every 12-24" or so. This wall's sheathing was nailed as frequently as every 6". This made the wall so strong, that it did not want to settle into place. Strong walls are VERY GOOD. But. Strong walls that are uneven aren't. Obviously.
My solution? I removed the sheathing on that wall. Used a mallet to bang the wall down into place as far as possible. I happened to reduce the maximum gap from 1/2" to 1/4". When I reached the limit. I then replaced the affected vertical 2x4's with ones of slightly longer length to fit properly.
This had ZERO impact on the fitting and operation of the rolling roof. Remember I mentioned to plan ahead to roof gap/spacing to compensate for roof settling, then add some extra room to play with? Well... this is one reason for it. Plenty of room to work with. The roof rests ON the garage door rail, NOT on the 4x4. The rail is mounted on the 4x4. Want the roof level and clear of the 1/4" bow? Easy. Install the track, per the plans, 1/4" from the top of the 4x4 top plate. Plenty of clearance. No hinderance, even with the 1/4" bow.
Finishing Touches
I skipped the Skyshed design for windows. I instead installed prefab new construction vinyl windows. I had to adjust the window opening dimensions slightly when framing the walls, but it was very slight. I built them to size when I framed them. NOT after the wall was up :) The benefits of planning everything ahead for sure. I have framed/detailed the windows per the plans though.. though I may skip the 'fake' shutters and put up real ones later.
The sides are stained a Cedar tone, using a high quality long lasting outdoor rated stain. Don't cheap out on this step, especially if you use the 1x10 pine boards for siding like I did (per the plans). The wood NEEDS protection, otherwise you'll find the shed in bad shape in short order. If you instead used T1-11 siding, or vinyl, maintain as required per the material. I went with the pine boards simply because it looks quite nice. T1-11 is kinda ugly. Vinyl, while excellent on wear, didn't seem appealing to me either.
Even though the stain I got is rated for 6+ years for siding, I will stain the first year this time. Let it set settle. Stain it again next year. Another coat can't hurt. I'll then keep it clean and maintained to ensure a long life.
The Pier
This is currently a work in progress. My choice is to use an aluminum pier and adapt it for use as a telescope mount, or hire a machinist/welder to construct a new steel pier for me (Skyshed provides plans!). The aluminum pier is actually an old highway light pole, approx 6" in diameter. Aluminum doesn't have quite the same vibration dampening characteristics as a steel pier does. Thus my delay in pier construction so far. I am still working on the plans. I could probably adapt the alum pier for a mere few hunded $. A new steel pier may cost me in excess of $600. Decisions, decisions.
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