Canopies engineered to withstand heavy snow drift loads
Mother Nature, both an artist extraordinaire and, at times, a pain to deal with.
Snow drifted onto overhead building canopies can be a beautiful artistic creation of Mother Nature and she often surprises us with her creations in some unwanted places. That would be on the top of building roofs and on building canopies. BUT…Mapes Canopies are engineered to accommodate Mother Nature when she does her thing with snow and wind.
The “Military Blue” Kynar finished canopy in this picture is a Mapes Super Lumideck all-extruded aluminum canopy. This Mapes canopy has a substantial 8ft projection and runs for approximately 99 feet along the South face of the building. The purpose of the canopy is to protect the walkway between both parking areas and service buildings to the east and the newly added front entrance to the building. This newly remodeled warehouse building is used for additional educational space for the local school district.
This canopy was engineered to handle a combined ground and drift snow load in excess of 100 pounds per square foot and hold it there safely and comfortably until it melts away. It can be engineered to handle even more even weight as needed!
This canopy is located on the Southern exposure side with 250+ feet of flat roof behind it. This is a highly vulnerable scenario for heavy snow drifting which is a typical blizzard situation and must be engineered for that eventuality. In this particular situation, the walls were existing 29 feet – 8-inch-tall precast “Twin T” walls providing substantial canopy attachment potential.
The all extruded aluminum canopy deck structure is attached to a full width galvanized steel 2 x 8-inch tube that has specially designed attachments to the Twin T projections. The Mapes Super Lumideck is then attached to the galvanized tube with ½ inch stainless steel bolts on the 8 feet hanger rod spacing. The hanger rods are oversized 1 ½ inch diameter size on 8 spacing to accommodate mid valley locations on the pre-cast walls. The hanger rods are attached with stainless steel bolts through the precast walls and backed up with steel channel on the interior. The front fascia is the optional 12 tall style to accommodate the LED lighting strips located behind and under the canopy front edge of the fascia. The canopy decking is the “flat soffit style” for a smooth underside appearance. Drainage is provided via front scuppers located along the canopy front fascia/ gutter system.
CAREER PATHWAYS INSTITUTE
MAPES SUPER LUMIDECK STYLE
8′ PROJECTION X 99′ LONG – ON SOUTH ELEVATION
• Project Location: Grand Island, NE
• Architect: Cannon Moss Brygger Architects, Grand Island, NE
• Materials: All Extruded Aluminum
• Support Method: Hanger Rod Style
• Deck Style: Flat Soffit Style
• Fascia: Optional 12 inch tall “C” style with legs turned inward
• Drainage: Standard Front Scupper
• Finish: Military Blue Kynar
• Building Type: Existing precast – “TwinT” – wall height 29’8″
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