# Bicycle rain shelter



## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

I know there are some handy people here so I hoped people might provide some ideas or about constructing a rain shelter for our commuter bikes, about four of them. Perhaps someone has already built one.

Ideas are to hang up a tarp or to make a table large enough to shelter the bikes or a wooden frame covered with a tarp. We would like to keep costs down and allow access to the space occasionally so that rules out constructing or buying an enclosed shed. 

We also thought about buying some corrugated metal sheets and attaching them to the deck (8 feet off the ground at high point but the roof could slope down along the stairs) but the height may allow too much rain to come under since the roof would be about 5 feet wide (which is how much deck space is available for attachment). 

Some type of rack would help to separate the bikes and make them easy to remove. Either a pole to hang bikes from seats, or a slot for the rear wheel.

Thanks for any ideas.


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## Chris H (Jul 7, 2005)

So I'm guessing this is at your home? I'm trying to envision the space you have to work with, but I'm drawing a blank so far. Perhaps you could post a pic of the area you are considering and we could go from there. I have more than a few good ideas, but I would need to see what we have to work with.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Only in French and German, but*

There are many pictures on this Swiss site. Perhaps a few of them could give you some design ideas. Click on the second photo from the top showing someone parking a yellow bike, left of the heading Fahrradunterstände (Vorgartenmodelle). You'll get a new page full of small bike shelters.

Clicking on the bottom photo showing a front wheel (Fahrrad- und Mopedhalter) will get you a number of ways to hold a bike upright. My favorite is the two hoops at a shallow angle. I made one of those to put at the front of my house for temporary bike parking.

http://www.ais-online.ch/7/company/07/05/70/company_7.html


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Thanks for the responses. Those are some nice bike shelters. 
It is at our home but we rent so we wanted to minimize attachments to the house. Also the space under the stairs is a door for access to the garden hose. Not needed much in the rainy season. So the idea is a seasonal or temporary structure so the patio is more open in nice weather. 

Right now we put bags on the seats and sometimes cover the bikes with a tarp but it blows around and makes getting bikes out more difficult when they are leaning against each other. We can move the workbench (under the tarp in pic) to provide more space. 

So one idea is a table shape with either a plywood or tarp top and the bikes go underneath. We should try tying up the tarp to see how that works. I've also seen sun sheltor type things for sale at outdoor stores that might work but the wind may be a problem.

Other thoughts were to buy corrugated metal sheets and tuck them under the top railing (above white doors). These sheets could go out horizontal or run along the lower outside 2x4 by the steps. The far end of the metal sheets could be supported by a door frame type structure. We found some metal sheets that are $12 for 26" x 8' so two or three overlapped could make a roof.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

This bike rain shelter project reminds me of a saying a wise handyman told me about fixing a leaky roof. When it's raining you can't work on it and when it's sunny you don't need to.


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