IN COLLABORATION WITH our director of operations and our preschool director, Violet (the project champion) is developing a list of design criteria for the security/shade covering for our play yard that will be installed later this year. The idea is that all vendor bids must meet these criteria, in order to enable a fair comparison among them.
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| slide-on-wire retractable awning |
Below the jump, I spell out that list of criteria (subject to revision upon further discussion), for the sake of review and refinement by all stakeholders, to make sure that we are all on the same proverbial page. I also append a list of my own current questions.
Definite Needs to Be Satisfied
- Shade: Provided on hot sunny days for the main play area only (not necessary to shade the ramp or pergola).
- Shade covering is easily retractable on rainy or windy days, or at night.
- Both the supporting structure and the coverings must visually blend in to the rest of the facility; they will not call attention to themselves.
- Height: Tall enough to clear both the pergola (8'6") and the sukkah (height unknown).
- Timing: Installed during preschool break (June 30 – July 3rd), so as to provide shade against strong summer sun.
- Lifetime: 15 years.
Possible Need to Be Satisfied
- Shade covering can be easily repositioned as the sun moves during the day, so as to keep the main play area in the shade, as desired.
Design Criteria / Specifications
- A fully retractable shade awning, such as is afforded by a slide-on-wire design (see photo above), to cover a 15' x 40' area (the main play-yard area)
- Sunbrella standard awning-grade shade fabric or equivalent.
- Fabric seams to be sewn with Goretex Tenara thread or equivalent.
- Frame made of corrosion-resistant material and powder coated.
- Posts (for frame) made of galvanized steel or equivalent in corrosion resistance.
- Posts to be bolted to concrete base, with new footings as needed.
- Awning frame will not be attached to the shed roof overhang.
- Roughly 10' frame height.
- All hardware to be aluminum, galvanized steel, and/or stainless steel, for corrosion resistance.
- Warranties: fabric material = 10 years; frame material = 5 years; workmanship = 1 year.
- Costs for city drawings, engineering, expediting, city fees and permits will be listed separately from the rest of the bid (giving at least a ballpark estimate for budgeting purposes).
- Protection from rainfall is not expected.
Create a dual system: a smaller fabric-covered area (for shade), and a larger netted area (for security).
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| golf netting stops thrown objects |
- Security: Covering is for the entire area; it catches items the size of a golf ball (or larger) that are lobbed into the yard from over the fence.
- Security covering can be temporarily opened/closed for the sake of maintenance (of the pergola, the shed roof, the fencing, the gas pipe, etc.).
- Structure: The supporting structure for security and for shade must be integrated, in order for us to secure the funding for both.
- Netting covers the entire play yard area (1323 square feet), a few inches above the shade awning and along the two outer-facing sides between the 8-foot tall fence and the 10-foot awning level.
- Netting material is rot proof, UV resistant, and nonflammable, with non-fraying edging; able to withstand 40# of tension.
- Frame placement makes the netting difficult to reach from outside the fence (to discourage vandals from reaching up and cutting it).
B: Two reasons for seeking City permitting for this project: to live up to its positioning as a kind of security apparatus, for protecting children; and to ensure that a possible insurance claim won’t be denied on the grounds that the structure is not permitted. Okay?
A: When the awning is fully retracted, where in the yard would the gathered fabric sit, and how far would it hang down from the frame?
B: How does one operate the canopy to open and close it? Vertical cords and pulleys?
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