Bought a house this spring (new build) and been creating all kinds of mischief (upgrading switches to dimmers, programmable switches, humidity sensors, wall mounting tv, cable-pass thrus, upgrading to usb-outlets, etc).But all that has been easy as it's been done before and there are many tutorial videos online that held my hands through the process.I now have a project for our roof! I want to make the roof more hangout friendly. I plan on adding some deck furniture and need some kind of cover so that we can hide from the sun or even a little bit of rain. I don't really want a whole pergola installed up there. I also plan on creating some kind of pulley system to help with the retracting. This is where I'm at in the planning:Retractable Rooftop Deck CoverThe main pieces of this project:canvas - 12' x ~11', blocks sun, blocks rain12' pole - attached to the outer end of the canvas8' poles - attached to the 3.5' wallcable - probably starting with paracordpulley system - this will retract ~22' of the cable and leave the canvas hanging on the side of the house.QuestionsMy biggest question is how to attach anchors to the vinyl siding? Can I just stick an anchor into the OSB and expect it to hold the weight of the canvas and any force caused by a gust of wind? If not, can I just take a treated 2x4 and screw that into studs and build on top of the 2x4? Is there some unique home construction thing that I don't know about that would be perfect for this?What do I need to consider in terms of sealing holes that I create in the siding? Can I just get an outdoor/weatherproof sealer and get it all over the screws before putting them in?Poles? So far I've only been looking at treated wood, pvc, and Galvanized Steel. I just want it to not melt in the sun and be able to withstand rain. The poles will be removable but I'm probably going just leave them on the roof. I would love to hear any thoughts on what you would use here.Cord? I have looked at paracord, dyneema, and kevlar rope. I think I'm just going to start with paracord since it's pretty cheap and should last for a bit. Replacing it won't be too hard but if I am replacing it more often then expected I will go find something more heavy duty. I don't really know of other appropriate type of cable/cord/rope for this application but if there is a weatherproof, malleable metal cable that would be able to handle the twists and turns of a small pulley system I would be interested in looking into that.The pulley system is a huge gray area that I am super excited to experiment with. I have some ideas in mind for this but mostly I just need to know how to attach it to the siding.I would love any feedback, advice, or suggestions that you may have for this project! I'll do my best to record the building process and post a DIY after I am done. via /r/DIY http://ift.tt/2rA7bSP
