thelightbulb Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 hello I would just like to know if it is safe or indeed possible to build a rake using steel deck on an angle with various lengths of legs to hold up them being at 90 to the deck not the floor this is not for anything I'm planning on doing but would like to know for futureM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I think the issue would be that you'd need to cut the legs so that they sat flat on the floor - so whatever angle your deck was at, the legs would have to have the same angle cut at the bottom, otherwise it would be less than stable. I don't know if steeldeck is designed to be used in this way though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Instint would have said that thsi was not possible because the legs woulkd not be vertical, but at an angle, introducing lateral forces onto the legs, but then on the steeldeck website I saw http://www.steeldeck.co.uk/graphics/poppicSteeldeck-a.jpg so maybe best contacting the manufacturers themselves as they will know the limitations and possibilities of their products and have the appropriate loadings which you may need to prove to council / venue H&S officers that it is safe. They also state on the website www.steeldeck.co.uk that raked legs are available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The plastic bungs in the bottom of steeldeck supplied legs are domes and do allow modest amounts of rake. The problems are mainly when the highest rostra, i.e. longest legs means the rear legs are well outside the area of the top - as long as the decks are bolted together this doesn't usually cause problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w/robe Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 It is fairly common practise, there is one getting in to our main stage as I type. The problem is that there is a point when it is no longer safe as you increase the angle of the rake. I'm certainly not qualified to offer advice on when steep becomes too steep and I would probably not offer an opinion on an open forum even if I was, try talking to steel deck direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 further to my colleague w/robes remarks, the TMA / equity guidelines say that a rake of 1:12 is as steep as you should go, and angled legs should be fine at this kind of angle. Of course as the back edge of the rake goes higher, the longer leg needed creates a much more effective lever around the fulcrum of the steeldeck socket, so in this circumstance, cranked (vertical)legs should be used, or horizontal tiebars included in the design of the legs to stop them splaying out. Although generally round section tube is used with steeldeck, I have seen square section tube used - this generally is easier to cut to to achieve the the right angles for the "elbow". This assumes the steeldeck forming the rake isn't required to support any major load such as extra steeldeck for a second storey, very heavy scenery, motor cars, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelightbulb Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 well that does appear to make sense thanks so really it would appear to be able to be done on a modest rake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 well if our rake (built with angled legs) falls down in the next couple of days, Mark or I will let you know.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelightbulb Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 ok well heres hoping!yeh let us know :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maeterlinck Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Last job, we made a rake that went from ~700mm to ~200mm over 20ft [20x24foot platform]. Anyways this was really solid before and after we added around a tonne+ of concrete on top of it. The run was 3 months and had no problems. But I'm glad I wasn't there for the get out :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelightbulb Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 what was the concrete for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flypig Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I'm sorry to ask what may appear to be a dumb question. But, why on earth would anyone want to build a raked staged in this day and age? H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 er... it is a slightly silly question - raked stages are still essential in some circumstances - the most obvious one being when the audience are seated on a flat floor - conference style, or in multi-purpose areas. The reasons are quite clear. Someobody seated in front of a stage at even a modest height can't see that far back. Go a few rows further back, factor in hair from the person in front and a flat stage will be pretty well invisible. Imagine if it was an Irish dance show - virtually no upper body activity, and nobody bar the front row able to see the feet? If the audience is raked or tiered, then a rake on the stage isn't necessary - although we have a fairly steep stage rake, and modest auditorium rake. Flat stages are easier to work with,but a rake is pretty essential in many venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I'm sorry to ask what may appear to be a dumb question. But, why on earth would anyone want to build a raked staged in this day and age? H I don't necessarily think it's a dumb question, but you need to ask this question in a discusion group for set designers. Ours is not to reason why......3 out of four of our in-house shows since we opened have had raked stages or raked scenic elements. Presumably this is for aesthetic / artistic reasons, as the real stage is at the same level as the front row, so the sightline issues rightly identified in Paulears answer don't apply to us. I doubt very much whether the stage floor of a new build theatre would be constructed with a rake, though I know some refurbished places have kept the rake they were originally designed with rather than flattening the stage. (I'm ready to be contradicted on this, though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelightbulb Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 well yeh normally stages are flat but as in the lion king and many other shows designers add in rakes to really cause intrest in the set and to emphasize differnt meanings in the play it's similar to ask why bother slanting walls etc to create diagonals /.......................people these things have meaning and purpose (agreeably some of less importance than others and some are just to be a pain in the :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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