Metal porch versus wood porch cover

Wait a minute. You're contracting to do something you don't know how to do? And asking here? Talk to tradesmen who know about the engineering/construction methods. Then decide whether you want to squeeze your customer for the most money, or give him the best recommendation. Canopies/awnings/small roofs made of metal/fiberglass/plastic materials will always be lighter and easier to maintain. Esthetics is another issue.

Concerning your belief that I don't know what I am doing.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, even if it's wrong.

Take care.

Andy

If you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't be referring to a patio roof as a "cover," and you wouldn't be asking for construction tips on this newsgroup.

You also wouldn't be spouting random BS about generators that have nothing to do with the subject at hand.

Have you DAGS for Patio Covers recently?

Do you know what a.h.r stands for? With all of the OT stuff that ends up in this newsgroup, an actual construction question is a welcome sight.

The OP does seem to toss random comments into his posts, but he did eventually connect the generator's noise with a question as to whether or not that might factor into the patio cover's construction. One could argue that there are ways to build the cover that would "muffle" the noise from the generator or perhaps something could be built around the generator as part of the project - something which might impact the construction of the cover itself.