Most of the supplies have arrived to finish the system to install my roof. Last night I found the big box of hardware that I have been waiting for sitting on my doorstep. The threaded inserts will be installed into the frame of the house so that the winch and track system can be bolted on easily without messing up the wood with lots of little screw holes. They will be permanent, so I will need to make some decorative bolts to cover up the holes while they are not being used. The T-nuts get hammered into holes in the roof panels to receive a long bolt from the underside of the rafters. This will allow me to make the roof covering permanent, while still being able to remove the whole panel.
Here is how the system works:
An angle iron track system bolts onto the house through the facia trim. A support bracket keeps it at the same angle as the roof.
A small hand cranked winch will mount on the underside of the ridge beam with the cable running through a steel guide tube installed in the top of the ridge, and will connect to the underside of the roof panel.
It should be an easy job of cranking the winch until the panel lines up with its holes, and then bolting it down from underneath.
Two bolts are removed from the track system, and it is moved over to the next spot.
