Need help with roll off rail system

I started construction of a 10'x 10' roll off roof observatory with the intention of using heavy duty garage door rollers and rails but price quotes for hardware are running $400- $500,a bit more than I wanted to spend, so I'm going to take a look at V groove wheels on inverted angle iron as a cheaper alternative. I've found a few companies with reasonably priced wheels but I haven't been able to find any illustrations on how the inverted angle iron is attached to the 4"x4" top plate and outriggers. I've visited numerous sites of owner built observatories that use the system sucessfully but the builders don't go into detail as to how the angle iron is secured to the frame work. Anyone have any suggestions or can direct me to a site with illustrations ( I'm definitely a visual type learner...I gotta see it to comprehend). Thanks very much...John

I think the typical approach is have the steel angle welded to a steel plate with mounting holes in the plate. Then the steel plate is attached to the top plate with screws. That is what I am planning (I will be using 1/4-inch steel). You also need to allow for a roofstop at each end.

Gerry
State College, PA
(Hoping to get construction started in August.)

Hi John,
If you will go to this link for my observatory construction you will se what you need to do. http://members19.clubphoto.com/robert710399/1315576/owner-3c55.phtml

Robert

John,

I would think that the rail system would have to be built depending on your local weather conditions. Here in Florida the building code alone for windows says they have to withstand 130mph winds for 5 seconds. So building a roll off roof to be able to withstand that kind of stress was a challange.

This was one solution with the rollers and rails

Mark

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