| Create your own complete deck enclosure |
We routinely make Mosquito Curtains for under deck spaces, however, several clients have inquired, "What do I do if I have a deck, but I don't have a roof?" This is a common question we receive. The alternatives are to purchase an awning, buy a pergola kit from stores like Costco and Target (which tend to be flimsy), or make your own solution using painted pipe.
The advantage of making a pipe frame is that it can be made to precisely fit any dimension you choose. In addition, a mosquito ceiling panel allows sunlight to pass freely to the interior of the house. When the season is over, the pipe frame disassembles easily and can be stored during the winter months.
In this example, we started with a 23' x 8' deck. Because the mosquito curtain is made from 123" rolls, we decided to make the ceiling 10' tall. Fortunately, 10' piping is sold at any large hardware store such as Lowe's, Ace, or The Home Depot. These stores will cut piping to your desired lengths and rethread them for you. |
Materials used in this example:
5 pieces - 10ft. of 3/4" Straight pipe
2 pieces - 7.5ft. of 3/4" Straight pipe
5 3/4" pipe flanges
3 3/4" T-connectors
2 3/4" 90-degree male/female threaded connectors
2 cans primer spray paint (for metal)
2 cans brown spray paint (for metal) |
|
Tools
Drill, ladder, hammer
2 pipe wrenches
20 #14 2 1/2" Wood screws
Cost
$575 for this 21' x 8' curtain and $143 for the materials to create a custom pipe frame. |
|
|
|
T-Connector, 90-degree male/female connector, and flange |
Straight pipe cut and threaded to
length at Home Depot is cleaned
to remove an oil-based coating. |
Use a pipe wrench to secure
threaded connectors. |
|
|
|
Rustoleum paints |
Flange |
Screw flanges to deck and house. |
|
|
Top Panel
Your top panel will attach using a combination of Velcro and marine snaps. Because there is practically no consequence if the panel is a few inches large, and every consequence if it is too short, we will make the ceiling panel a few inches longer and wider than your actual frame dimension. During the hanging process, the amount of tension you apply to the curtain will change how the ceiling curtain panel aligns with the frame and we don't want you worrying about getting the tension just so.
The ceiling panel will adhere to 2 sides of the top frame using Velcro. To prevent the ceiling panel from sagging, two elastic chords will be stretched lengthwise, one between the flanges that connect to the house (along the house side) and one in the center (lengthwise).
Viewing the diagram, the curtain will be aligned by starting from your most visible corner. The curtain will be attached to the metal frame along the entrance side and the front side using Velcro. The ceiling panel will have loop-sided Velcro double stitched to the entrance side and front side bindings and Adhesive backed hook-sided Velcro will adhere to the pipe.
The side binding along the house side will pass over the elastic chord and snap to the house using marine snaps every 5ft. The few inches of excess width will help the snaps lay flat.
The excess length along the least visible side will simply overlap (in this case about 6") and hang freely, unattached.
Along the entrance side and front side the top panel is already Velro-ed to the pipe frame and there isn't much room to apply another adhesive Velcro strip to the pipe for attaching the side panels. Instead, we will velcro the side panels directly to the ceiling panel, again using Velcro. To do so, we will pre-stitch your curtains with the Velcro pairings for you.
From the least visible side, recall that the ceiling panel merely overlaps the frame and is not actually attached to the frame. Apply adhesive-backed Velcro to the least visible side of the frame and attach the side wall by tucking it underneath the overlapping ceiling panel. |
|
Along the house side, the curtain drapes over
an elastic chord and attaches to the house
using marine snaps.
Here you can see the 6" overlap of the top panel along the least visible side that hangs freely, unattached.
Beneath the overlap, the side panel is Velcro-ed to the frame. Also, notice the elastic chord along the center that prevents the ceiling panel from sagging. |
|
$143 for materials to build
8ft. wide x 21ft. long x 10ft. tall pipe frame |
|
Doesn't block light into house, tall 10ft. ceiling, removable, washable, inexpensive. |
|
$575 for Mosquito curtain using 2 wall panels and 1 ceiling panel.
|
|
|
