Home is the shelter that has to give more preferences in different terms. Awnings are on the things that help in giving the shelter to the windows or doors as the most important and essential parts of the house. Awnings helps with the sunlight, visors, and sun hats to shield us from the ill effects. Apart from these are the great tools to offer aesthetic appearance for the windows and doors. So, let’s understand what is awning
When you get deep inside of the awning, more types, different materials, and range of cost. You need to do enough research and choose the best one based on the nature of the building and the place it is located in. Continue reading to know what is an awning and some other things about it.
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What is an Awning?
Awnings are also called overhang, and it is considered as the secondary covering attached to some exterior walls of the building, which offer some protection to the building. These are typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, polyester yarn, cotton, or even vinyl laminated to some polyester.
History of Awnings
Evidently, the awnings are that the ancient world was already acquainted with solar protection. It is the same as awnings found in use in the current days. In the mid 18th century, these awnings gained more popularity in places like France.
The German word for the awning is “Markise. What has been handed down is that in an army camp. The awning would always be extended based on the presence of the commanding officer’s spouse. In several countries, these simple pieces of materials are used as the sun protection that is getting developed as the awning and has existed even now.
Different Types of Awnings
Let’s understand the different types of awning. There are retractable folding arm awnings that will be used to cover the retract awning on a particular roller tube. Collapsible awnings that can move but which will not have any roller tube. When it comes to static awnings, these are permanently fixed in some particular place, and these neither take the space nor the degree in the level of protection.
Dutch Canopies
Among the awnings, one of the simple forms is the Dutch canopy. It will usually consist of the frame that takes the shape of the quarter circle or triangle. These are predominantly made of aluminium, which can be either fixed in a particular place or collapsible. In some countries like the Netherlands, there are lots of small companies involved in the production of the Dutch canopies with the help of the wood.
In Dutch canopies, most varied shapes are possible to manufacture. Thus, this awning is filled to some areas like cafes or businesses. The curved shape means it can easily cope with a certain strong force, and it can also withstand strong winds when it is covered with the right fabric. In countries like Germany and Benelux, this awning type is highly requested for certain domestic applications.
Drop-Arm Awnings
The drop-arm awnings are the simple roller tube design, and it is often used for shading and privacy in front of some windows of the buildings. In several cases, the selection of fabric is not completely opaque, and even though it is good for preserving the glare effect. However, it will still allow the light into the room.
The cover will be attached to the roller tube, and it will be extended by two or more arms, which are fixed at one end to the wall or window frame, and the other end will be extended to the front profile.
Springs or gas pistons that are fitted inside or to the arms provider some force to extend. According to the length and fixture height of the drop arms, the angle described by the arms can be extended up to 90 to 140 degrees.
When it goes in between 140 to 180 degrees, some other force is required to retract the arms if the awning will be allowed to open to such large angles. These awnings can also be operated electrically with the help of the tubular motor when you are using the roller tube. Also, you can use the gearbox and crank handle manually.
Vertical Awning Blinds
The vertical awnings blinds are the same as the drop-arm awning, and it comes with a slight difference in the cover. It will be guided by the cables, rails down vertically. The weight of the front profile that is attached to the bottom of the vertically handing cover and this is enough to pull down the fabric.
Side Awnings/Screens
When you look for the side awnings, it will consist of vertically fixed, retractable awning with a spring-loaded tensioning retracting mechanism.
This same fashion to a roller blind, this type of awning is pulled out horizontally, and it will also get hooked into a retaining bracket or post. Here, the spring-tensioned roller will help in keeping the cover taut. These side awnings are used around some places like patios or freestanding in the garden and offer enough protection against the strong wind, sun, and prying eyes as well.
Marquisolettes
The marquisolettes is the combination of a vertical blind and drop-arm awnings that will be used for different purposes. The cover will first drop vertically downwards to a given point, and then it will cover to some extent outwards and downwards with the help of the arm. These are just like the drop-arm awning. This model can often be found in some of the public buildings that you will come across, like schools and hospitals.
Wedge-in Awning
This type of wedge-in awning is the special type of drop-arm awning that can be wedged in someplace between the floors and ceiling, which is usually found between the balconies. With the help of acro bars on either side of the awnings, these types of awnings are given.
These two acro bars carry the roller tube and cover to allow the arms to help in some particular place. These constellations can also often be found on the rented accommodation, as this is one of the inexpensive types of solutions that can be removed at some time later without any damage caused to the property that is placed.
Essentially, there are two different modes of operation where wedge-in awnings are concerned about the different needs. This is the first type that comes when you need to worm gear attached to the roller tube, which is usually driven by the crank handle. The second one will be commonly used as a small crank handle that is used to connect to the tensioning bar to operate an internal chain drive.
Parasols or Umbrellas
This is the square, oblong, or round shaping system found on the stand. It has its base either in the water or made of concrete. In some cases, like larger, fixed units, it is often screwed to the foundation. This normally consists of the foldaway unit, but it can also be taken in the form of the roof festoon or awning that will usually roll upwards.
Conservatory Awning
These are the special type of awning, which is designed specifically to shade the conservatories or winter gardens in several buildings. The awnings are almost invariably operated using the motor, and the cover is kept under the tension with the help of the gas piston, cables, belt or chain that can hold in the guided tracks either in the side or underneath.
The material of an Awnings
- Acrylic: Acrylic-coated and acrylic synthetic fabric are largely used to make use of these awnings just because of the high durability it offers. These awning materials tend to repel water and resist fading effectively. Being the homeowner, you can also choose from the polyester fabric coated using acrylic, cotton-polyester blended with the acrylic coating, or it is also acrylic fabrics.
- Vinyl: vinyl is also when you need to coat the awning fabric. As it is heavier when compared to acrylic, it will tend to have some higher translucency, which makes it the better option for illuminated or backlit awnings. These are also used in the areas that are commonly exposed to sustained high heat and humidity. This will be helpful when you are resisting the UV light towards the awnings.
- Metal: Aluminum and steel awning have been in practice since the 1950s, and 1970s, and the types of metal are significant in the list. It will offer less in maintenance, slick surface that can be easily printed based on the needs of the surface. The downside is that when you leave it without care, it will be prone to rust and get wasted.
- Fibreglass: it is one of the best choices for the awnings and considered as the alternate for the metal awnings. These are usually moulded with some colour in the material, and so, it is not necessary to repaint. Being the homeowner, you can choose either slightly translucent or opaque fibreglass awning.
- Natural Materials: these are the natural ones like the canvas and wood that are traditionally used in several buildings. These materials are much cheaper to acquire and install but will need some frequent replacement and maintenance as well.
The Benefit of Using Awnings
- This helps in reducing the external notice; thus it becomes ideas for the high wind locations and offers good insulation for the room. The presence of insulation properties will make it a good match for some higher performance with the glass options.
- It will be suitable for both contemporary and traditional styles of homes. The placement, frame, the size will help in determining the effect of the architecture.
- With the presence of the awnings, the windows can be opened at any time irrespective of the sun or rain. It gets open outwards from the top hinge, and it will also allow ventilation at the bottom of the sash by preventing the heat into the room
- It helps with the different designs for the windows. These can also be placed on any high and low walls. It is a good option when you need to group to improve the airflow with the aesthetic appearance for the entire home.
- As it helps with the reducing sash size and increased number of panels, awning windows will offer the best ventilation and necessary natural light for the room.
What is Awning Used For?
Generally, you can find the awnings that are installed over the patios, windows, or doors aiming to offer shade from heat and glare from the sun. Uncovered patios, especially, can become more useful as they are used to protect by the awnings that help in blocking the harmful UV rays and keep solar heat that will usually harm certain things in the home.
With the help of the retractable awnings, it is useful to extend awnings and roller up to suit the needs of the day. Hence it might be basking in full sunlight or sipping a favourite beverage in some shaded comfort with more view of the outdoors.
Where Can You Buy the Awnings?
In today’s internet friendly generation, everything you can get online. This is applicable to the awnings as well. Just take your smartphone and look for the companies that offer awnings. Get to know more about the company and the product offered from it. This will help you to place the order and have things at the doorstep. Here are some of the reasons to look for internet sources to have awnings.
- Visit different shops at the same time and discover more from it
- You need to get the quotes from these shops and compare them
- Now don’t not need to reach the shop physically and so this reduced spending time
- The products will be delivered at your doorstep, and so shopping becomes hassles-free
Price of Awnings
When you need to buy the awnings, you need to analyze the types and cost based on it. Here is the simple figure on the cost of the awnings approximately. Either you can visit online shops, or visit local shop and request them for a quote.
- Installing an awning will start from $100 to $5000. On average, you can look from $1,500 to $3,000.
- Along with awnings, you need to buy some accessories. It will cost based on the shape, size, material used, and some other factors. The retractable awning would be from $300 to $700. The non-retractable awning would be from $500 to $900. Motorized retractable awning would be from $2,500 to $3,500. Side curtains would be from $100 to $300.
The Bottom Line
Thus, you might have got enough ideas on the brief note of the awnings. Analyze all the given things and know more about the window awnings kits. This will help you to make the best out of the awnings in your buildings and fulfili its needs.