I am an unabashed music theatre fan and anytime the mercury rises I can hear File and company from Harvey Schmidt’s ‘110 In The Shade’ singing:
Overhead the sun is shining /
Not a cloud across the sky /
Not a sign on the horizon /
And it’s gonna be another hot day /
Yes, it’s gonna be another hot day
Last I checked few people truly like the hot sun. In fact, throughout history humans have constructed hats, worn bandanas, taken siestas, rubbed clay masks on, and more, just to ward off the sun. But truth be told there is something poetic about the warmth that beams down on our weary faces and we enjoy sitting out in it even if coaxed by sweet tea or lemonaide and the promise of blossoming flowers and green grass. How much more pleasant would it be though if we could do so under the shade of an awning or porch roof? Just because we live in a tiny house doesn’t mean we can’t. Scores of THOW’s have found ways to take shade and there may be several more ideas just waiting to be employed.
THE STANDALONE LEAN-TO
It is quite easy to build a standalone set of steps with accompanying porch. If your THOW does not have a pre-fastened set of steps or a small porch you simply want to build a traditional set of rise ‘n run steps that line up just under the lip of your door jam. The entire unit would be anchored by 4-4″ x 4″ corner posts as well as 2 or 4 more for railing depending on what your desired look would be. The overhang (called a lean-to in this case because it sort of leans up to the pitch of the THOW roof) is then framed on to the top of the 4-4″ x 4″s and gridded with 1″ x 4″ runners. On top of those you can attach any sort of roofing ranging from simple, corrugated metal to heavier and more residential sheathing, felt, and shingles. The finished look as seen below gives some area to decorate, landscape around, and enjoy a cold beverage during the day yet out of the sun!
THE SHADE SAIL
Joshua and Shelley of Tiny House Basics went a different route for their Entertaining Abode. Because the design of their tiny house already has a nice size porch/deck due to their desire and love for outdoor entertaining they truly only needed some sort of shade cover. Coupled with their desire to stay mobile the duo settled on a triangular version of a shade sale.
Shade sails typically come in several different colors and sizes and with the help of accurate measurements, are available for almost any space! Most models also come with sturdy D-rings and nylon roping for easy and secure setup. A bonus is that there’s no pooling of water and rain will pass right through so the material.
ROLL OUT AWNING
Typically reserved for RVs and other more mobile tiny house roll out awning are somewhat ideal for a tiny house trailer. Self-contained on a roll or in a box they can be deployed either manually with a crank or by the push of a button. Available in a wide range of styles, colors, designs, etc. they can easily be a focal point of your summertime entertaining.
DIY FABRIC AWNING
Much like the shade sail awning a simple, DIY fabric awning can provide just as much shade without sacrificing any style. Just ask Vina Lustado who incorporated an adorable shade fabric into her Sol Haus Design. Her porch is very much a part of the tiny house design using all lumber reclaimed from fallen trees plus a healthy measure of recycled wood decking and 2″ × 6″ joists recycled from the original trailer. The end result is a fluid transition from interior space to exterior space with cool spots for sitting, meditating, and even dining!
May I add that there are other possibilities that we here in Australia, with our bountiful sunshine and love of corrugated steel, have employed for shading.
Please see my creation which is a hybrid between your “stand-alone” and the “roll out Awning”.
It is rigid, you take it with you, but it won’t blow away in a high wind. The posts are pegged to the ground with two (2) star pickets and a specially fashioned post holder.
See photos in the
Photo Gallery, under the sub-heading “Verandahs”
Voila!
http://www.fredstinyhouses.com.au/photo-gallery.html
If you can set up a shade (with air space) over the entire tiny house it helps keep it cooler inside too. I’ve used a 10×10 popup canopy to provide shade cover and a bit of porch over my 10×6 Boler trailer. You can buy a kit to make a larger pipe and tarp style canopy for larger tiny houses. If you get a lot of hot weather it’s sometimes worth building a separate shade roof with a breezy air space over top of a house on a foundation but you need to be careful about wind lift.
If you hang shade cloth over the outside of your windows during the day it’s more effective than just using blinds or curtains inside.
If you use a patio umbrella make sure you get one that tilts so you can position it well to keep the sun off. You can also drape a shade cloth attached to your tiny house over a patio umbrella as an external anchor point. We’ve had some great little setups with a screen house outdoor kitchen holding up a shade tarp attached to the trailer. Make sure your attachment points are good and strong, it’s amazing how much pull a little tarp or shade sail can exert in a wind.
my parents have a roll out awning on there big house– it works great to cover the deck- A couple drawback- you only put it out when you are around- a good windstorm could rip it off. Also if the awning is low you can feel the heat from the sun hitting the cloth above your head. If you are on a sheltered from the wind side of the house it can feel like dead air around you– they actually have a portable floor fan they turn on and it just helps move the air out from under the awning. It was one of the best things they ever done for their house the deck is on the west side of the house with afternoon sun. It helps shade the side of the house and windows into the living room helping keep the inside cooler. My dad spends 70 percent of his summer days under the awning reading and watching the birds on the birdfeeder and drinking out of our water fountain eating lunch and watering the container gardens. they mounted it under the eves – if they had mounted it above the eve- it would have been more exposed and the lifespan would be less but you would have the chimney effect going on . Before the awning and with the old deck there was a trellis/awning with a vine. I really liked that- as long as you are not the person who needs to keep it trimmed my mom swears it had bugs that would bite only her. I like the sun sails and price wise they are not to bad. the umbrellas work also just you can only have them up if you are around.