Awnings

[Moemg]

My deck is so sunny that it is hard to sit out on it until late in the afternoon .We put in a pergola but that only helped minimally so we are thinking of having an awning attached to the pergola . Anybody have an awning ? Do you like it ? Why ? Why not ? We are leaning toward shade tree canopies .

 

[audreyh1]

We have an awning - it's great, I wouldn't get an RV without one. Wait - you probably don't care about RV awnings .

Audrey

 

[Moemg]

We have an awning - it's great, I wouldn't get an RV without one. Wait - you probably don't care about RV awnings .

Audrey

I care about any awnings .Is yours sunbrella fabric and is it holding up ?

 

[Bestwifeever]

My neighbors got a retractable awning for their deck this summer from this outfit, I think:

SunSetter Awnings - Retractable Deck and Patio Awning

Theirs is on the smaller side and doesn't extend as far as the one in the photo, but it looks very nice. My neighbors are very careful to research everything and very "green" with solar panels on the roof, smaller kitchen appliances that conserve energy, etc.; I'm sure their awning helps with the utility bills.

 

[freebird5825]

I have an older model of this one:
SunSetter 1000XT Awnings - manually-operated awning
Mounted on 4"x4" posts incorporated into our back deck. It is not attached to the house. We had an independent contractor do the installation.
It is completely manual and provides sun and rain protection over my hot tub.
Downsides: When rolled up, bees have made their home inside it. I've had a few bad surprises with yellow jackets. It is necessary to drill the ground surface (in my case PT wood deck) and pound in metal anchoring pieces that the vertical legs fit into. In moderate wind, it has to be rolled up quickly or it will try to take flight and puts a lot of strain on the rolling bar mechanism. The awning fabric is not mildew resistant, a real issue up here. It is permanently stained because I did not clean it soon enough.
Upsides: Materials and construction are very good quality. It is relatively easy to open and place the vertical support legs. 1 person can do this solo with a little practice. It is unbeatable for shade in calm wind (5-10 kt) and allows use of the lower deck/hot tub in any kind of rain.

 

[Sue J]

We also have a Sunsetter awning. We bought it in 1991 and installed it ourselves to shade a deck. Ours is 9x18 which I think may have been the largest size at the time.

I like the awning idea because it's temporary shade. It's very effective in the summer, making our deck a very usable space but the rest of the year when we don't need the shade it's rolled up against the house and we can have the sun warming that side.

I have found the Sunsetter one to be a very sturdy product and the company has been great in customer support. We'd had a few things wear out, knobs, the pull ribbon, etc. You can order replacement parts from the company. The awning fabric itself is a little faded but we've never had to replace it and it's on it's 19th summer.

You can leave the awning open in the rain, we have to lower one arm a little to let the water run off but we don't leave it open when it's too windy or in a storm. It acts like a big sail and can get damaged. Also, if there is any chance of a storm I close it if I leave the house.

Ours is attached to the house underneath the soffit. We've never had an issue with insects. I wash it every year in the fall before it's rolled up for the winter.

I open and close it all the time by myself but it's quite heavy to raise into position. I've done it all this time but I can see where as we get older this will be more difficult and if you have any back problem you may want to get a motorized one.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks my one concern was wind since we live on the bay . The wind has been known to throw our patio furniture all over the place . The awning that I am looking at is three different sections that attaches to the bottom of the pergola and releases when the wind picks up .

 

[freebird5825]

Do you have a link to the one you're looking at?

Here's some pics of a green solution if you can find something that will grow quickly on the pergola. Morning glory vines will go bananas in a very short time.
Pergola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Sarah in SC]

When we lived at the beach, we had a broiler of a back deck on the side of the house that didn't face that nice ocean breeze.

We had a very simple solution--I ordered grommeted shadecloth fabric from a greenhouse supply company in 80% shade. The grommets were 3 feet apart, and I put hooks around the porch to hook it. We bought shadecloth for Dad's high humidity beds where he grew tea, so I could take my choice of suppliers.

It was durable, worked like a champ (lowered our utility bills because it shaded the back french doors that led into the kitchen as well. We used it there for 8 years, and because the breeze could blow through it, we didn't even take it down for hurricane threats. Perfect...well, except for the hole DH burned in it by letting the grill flare up below it. Melted a nice little circle in it.

We sold that house in 2003 and took the shadecloth with us. It has been in use as a cover for our sheep pen ever since then, and is still in usable, if a bit threadbare condition around the edges.

I think it probably cost $200 buck back in the day. Fantastic bargain.

 

[Moemg]

When we lived at the beach, we had a broiler of a back deck on the side of the house that didn't face that nice ocean breeze.

We had a very simple solution--I ordered grommeted shadecloth fabric from a greenhouse supply company in 80% shade. The grommets were 3 feet apart, and I put hooks around the porch to hook it. We bought shadecloth for Dad's high humidity beds where he grew tea, so I could take my choice of suppliers.

It was durable, worked like a champ (lowered our utility bills because it shaded the back french doors that led into the kitchen as well. We used it there for 8 years, and because the breeze could blow through it, we didn't even take it down for hurricane threats. Perfect...well, except for the hole DH burned in it by letting the grill flare up below it. Melted a nice little circle in it.

We sold that house in 2003 and took the shadecloth with us. It has been in use as a cover for our sheep pen ever since then, and is still in usable, if a bit threadbare condition around the edges.

I think it probably cost $200 buck back in the day. Fantastic bargain.

What a great idea ! I'm going to look into that .

 

[Moemg]

Do you have a link to the one you're looking at?

Here's some pics of a green solution if you can find something that will grow quickly on the pergola. Morning glory vines will go bananas in a very short time.
Pergola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We thought about that but with the burning Florida sun nothing much will grow like that plus neither of us have green thumbs .