We have a deck on the west side of the house that is accessed from the kitchen sliding glass door. Because of the location, the deck area gets really hot in the summer as well as we have to battle the heat and blazing sun coming into the kitchen area. My solution is to replace the existing hand rail on the deck with one that extends upwards and also supports an overhead structure to provide shade. I envision the structure being attached to the house and extending out across the deck about 10 feet above the deck surface. What is the best way to approach this project? I'm pretty handy overall, like any good homeowner I have several proects underway, but with this one I need a little help with the design/planning part. In particular what size posts I should use and suggestions on board sizes for framing the top portion. I'm also curious if there is anything I should know or worry about if I'm connecting this to the wood siding on the house.

pergala