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Architectural
copyright VA-1-396-266 12-15-06
Here is a contrasting
two-color arbor with MR. DECK's copyrighted
poppy-top canopy. The radial
rafter-beams are carved from kiln-dried 4x12 Douglas fir timbers and
painted a color called "volcanic ash". The radial lath is
"sand" colored hollow PVC plastic 2x4s and 2x2s (color "sand"
for PVC plastic no longer available).
The skylight's octagonal
frame is Douglas fir 3x12s, but the grid and inner-lining is constructed
with sand-colored 2x6 and 5/8x12 PrimoPlank solid-polyethylene plastic
(sand color still available).
Although the skylight is octagonal (8-sided), the canopy containing it
is a 10-sided polygon!
The rear of the canopy
has been truncated across 3 virtual wedge-shaped sections and made into
two larger sections with flat but still radial lath-work in order to
accommodate both the boundary of the paved patio and the short distance
to the nearby chain-link fencing running all along the backside of the
arbor.
The columns are 8-inch
diameter fiberglass. They have been prime-painted a sand-color and then
finish-painted with a pixilated sandstone spray paint. The
columns are indistinguish-able from lathe-carved sandstone!
Because of the
requirement to keep the passageways open on both ends of the BBQ island,
no column could be placed at the back ends of the BBQ counter that would
have otherwise been used in the 10-sided scheme. Instead, a horizontal 4x6
beam spanning the open space was used to support the radial rafter beam
that would otherwise be supported by a column. This technique was used
on both sides of the BBQ island.
 The
same technique was also used on the back side to support the middle
rafter beam instead of incorporating yet another column which would have
bisected the panoramic view of the horizon by those sitting at the bar.
The result of all this column-minimization is a wide-open area beneath the canopy with
a
panoramic view of the hills, yet still retaining the architecturally
interesting format of the poppy-top design.
All of the wooden
components: arches, horizontal beams and octagonal skylight rim, are clad
top-side with C-channel PVC plastic. The radial rafters have been each
capped with a continuous ribbon of galvanized sheetmetal and then
painted the same color as the beams themselves. With the interior of the
skylight being constructed with colored polyethylene plastic and the
radial lathwork being pre-colored PVC plastic, the entire canopy is
both weather-protected and color-protected and hence maintenance free.
To top it all off,
12-volt flood lighting has been placed into 2-inch diameter, 2-inch deep
metal cups recessed into all the radial rafter-beams and two in every
arch -- 22 in all -- and still two more 12-volt swivel spotlights
directed at the BBQ grill from the
 underside
of two of the rafter-beams. Yet not one instance of exposed wiring or
conduit is visible anywhere -- it's all hidden within the wooden
framework and hollow columns!
The lights in the radial
rafter-beams are mounted just 7-inches out from the columns and the
slope of the rafter-beams directs their light against the front-side of
the columns. The lights in the arches light up the bar's and BBQ's
reflective green marble-top counters. At night, this BBQ setting is
aglow from top to bottom and it's a sight to behold.
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