Converting our Pacific Northwest treehouse deck into a dry space for safe social distanced outdoor grilling and shared couples meals.
Used Maker Pipe 90s and 180s to build a lean-to canopy. This simple build was made possible by the Maker Pipe and the marine bimini mounting hinge brackets. Hinges are stainless steel, two parts. The receiving bracket uses a spring pin to hold the pipe-mounted eye bracket.
Total size is 24’ x 10’, mounted 9 feet high on house side, 6 feet on railing side.
We got lucky in that this section of the deck is exactly 8’ wide. The 10’ EMT overhangs the railing perfectly.
The design is made of 5 sections, each 10 feet wide from house to rail. The sections are 4, 6, 4, 6, 4 in that order, measured on center of the pipes so a 24x10 tarp fits perfectly (tarp trade sizes are 6 inches shorter in each dimension to account for bungee tie mounting). Thanks, Maker Pipe!
Used Maker Pipe 90s and 180s to build a lean-to canopy. This simple build was made possible by the Maker Pipe and the marine bimini mounting hinge brackets. Hinges are stainless steel, two parts. The receiving bracket uses a spring pin to hold the pipe-mounted eye bracket.
Total size is 24’ x 10’, mounted 9 feet high on house side, 6 feet on railing side.
We got lucky in that this section of the deck is exactly 8’ wide. The 10’ EMT overhangs the railing perfectly.
The design is made of 5 sections, each 10 feet wide from house to rail. The sections are 4, 6, 4, 6, 4 in that order, measured on center of the pipes so a 24x10 tarp fits perfectly (tarp trade sizes are 6 inches shorter in each dimension to account for bungee tie mounting). Thanks, Maker Pipe!
The grommets are standard, 36-inches on center with reinforced corners. With 10x24 foot dimensions, these tarps are setup so that that the size you buy is nominal—in the tarp trade, it is standard that they come 6 inches or so shorter in each direction than the stated dimensions. This is so you can setup a frame to the exact value, and use the ball/bungee ties to attach the tarp which is perfectly adjusted for this technique.
This is a very nice tarp, and unless a huge branch falls from our Douglas Fir trees, I expect we will be able to use it for years, though we do plan to disassemble everything this spring. Once it stops raining in Portland, it doesn’t start up again until October (shhh, don’t tell anyone that detail).
The vendor I found intended this tarp to be used with steel canopy fittings which are also designed for EMT, but I am so glad I found Maker Pipe before buying that stuff. It would have been much heavier, fixed angles, and nowhere near as versatile.
Since the initial build, a few things have evolved. For example, I have now swung the upper eave down BELOW the bimini mounts into a much more stable position. I also removed the horizontal “feet” from the three leg posts and put the rubber knobs over the ends. To immobilize the legs so they don’t lift during wind, I had them attached with a short pipe and T connectors to my Glow Pear planter boxes, but I have since removed this and added some stubs that hook under the deck railing. This technique works really well, as I am using the same rubber feet on the stub bracket and have it attached in a way that creates compression on the leg, from the deck floor up under the railing. The legs are therefore wedged in place. I cannot lift them a millimeter now.
Canopy Cost breakdown
————————
Maker Pipe
8 - 180s
17 - T
end caps
shipping
$103.74
Home Depot
15 - 10foot 3/4 EMT conduit
$119.70
Creative Shelters
10x24 tarp, clear poly fiber-reinforced
40 - 6” bungee ball ties
Shipping
$79.93
Amazon
4 - Bimini spring pin brackets, two parts
$28.88 + $28.99
rubber feet package
$10.48
$313.85
I initially found this setup to work fine, but it was very difficult to squeeze the 3/4 EMT stub into the 7/8” bimini eyelet bracket. The OD of 3/4 EMT is just too big. I tried to expand the bimini opening with a dremel, but this was just too difficult. The stainless is really hard, and sanding it or filing it with a rotary tool took too long. I eventually decided to cut into the EMT along its length for an inch or so, then compress the conduit end into a smaller diameter. I then hammered this EMT stub into the connector. I made sure to drive it all the way in so it could be captured by the set screws. This worked fine, but could have been avoided with an eyelet setup for 1” OD.
I was a little worried that my stub would slip out of the eyelet part given the diameter modification I had to make—but this was overlooking a different blind spot—the friction hold of the Maker Pipe fitting. When my canopy failed, it was because the stub slipped out of the Maker Pipe. There is, in fact, some limit to the “hold” strength probably as a function of how hard you torque down the Maker Pipe bolt. As strong as it is and as relatively easy it is to build sturdy solutions, you cannot expect it to hold several hundred pounds of snow that you are bouncing from below without it slipping.
This is why I abandoned the eyelet part of the bimini in favor of a 1/2” EMT stub squashed flat at each end with holes drilled through. On the bimini side, a hole allowed the pipe to be captured by the wall-mounted bimini spring-pin bracket which I kept. This works great and I highly recommend using these for detachable wall mounts. On the other end of the 1/2 EMT stub, the compressed end goes past the constriction in the Maker Pipe T-connector so that the Maker Pipe bolt can slip through the hole in the EMT! Voila—a solution that is both quick release (using the wall mounted bimini bracket with pin) as well as super secure—bolted holes prevent the Maker Pipe from slipping off no matter how hard or loose it is tightened.
This was the final solution for the rebuild I could have saved 30 bucks by skipping the eyelet parts. The canopy now would have to rip out 3 inches of stainless steel wood screws (2 each bracket) that are mounted to the studs in order come off. The other pipes and the poly canopy would fail before that happens I think, but I feel much better about my homemade eyelet brackets and will consider through-hole mounting in the future when needed. Mario I. Arguello has some good ideas he posted using an arbor press and a die to compress 3/4 EMT for this same purpose. I don’t have a press, so I used 1/2 EMT in a vice to get mine to work that way.
I'm considering building something similar as I don't want to invest in a proper pergola, but a bit worried how well it will hold?
Now going to check with the wife if she will approve 😅