Awnings, Adelaide

An awning is the most effective thing you can do about heat, and the most overlooked. Every internal blind in the country is working on heat that has already entered the room. An awning stops it at the wall.

The three types

Folding arm awnings extend out over a deck or paved area with nothing underneath — no posts, no frame, nothing to walk into. They retract flat against the wall when you don’t want them. The best answer for a north or west-facing outdoor area you want shaded on demand.

Straight drop awnings come down vertically over a window or the side of a verandah. They’re the answer for low afternoon sun, the kind that comes in sideways and makes a room unusable from about four o’clock.

Canopy and fixed awnings sit permanently over a window. No moving parts, nothing to maintain, and they suit older homes where a retractable awning would look out of place.

Where an awning beats a blind

West-facing windows, where afternoon sun does the real damage

Rooms you stop using in summer

Furniture, carpet or timber floors fading from direct sun

Decks and paved areas with no shade of their own

Reducing the load on an air conditioner that’s working too hard

Motors and wind sensors

Folding arm awnings are usually motorised — a manual crank on a wide awning gets old quickly. A wind sensor will retract it automatically when a gust comes through, which is worth having in Adelaide and saves more than it costs the first time you’re not home.

Common questions

Are they waterproof?

Awning fabric sheds light rain but an awning is a sun product, not a roof. If you want the area usable in real weather, an outdoor blind or a roofed structure is the honest answer.

Can it go on a brick wall?

Brick, render and most cladding — I check the wall structure at the measure, because a folding arm awning puts real load on its fixings.

How long do they last?

The frame outlasts the fabric. Expect many years from a good frame, with fabric replaceable down the track.

Book a free measure and quote

Call or text Marty on 0403 744 899. Servicing all Adelaide metro — Salisbury, Elizabeth, Munno Para, Playford, Gawler, Angle Vale, Golden Grove, Modbury, Mawson Lakes, Prospect, Norwood, Glenelg and surrounds, plus the Barossa.