Do Retractable Awnings Work?

You bet they do! But you need a good product, professionally installed.

A good retractable awning is designed to operate reliably to enhance the comfort and beauty of your outdoor space, whether at home, your office “break area,” or your restaurant’s outdoor dining space.  Some of the best recent designs include weather-sensing technology which can close the awning during damaging wind storms, even if you’re away from home. And with the variety of awning products available today, you can have everything from a standard retractable deck awning, to a simple sun shade, to a retractable pergola cover, to a fully-enclosed outdoor “room.”  Awnings also form an excellent investment. They add value to the property (and, in the case of a restaurant awning, they create enough extra revenue opportunity through outdoor dining to quickly pay for themselves). And they’re an excellent way to reduce your home or business utility bills, keeping outdoor spaces up to twenty degrees cooler in the harsh summer sun (and giving your air conditioner less work to do by keeping adjoining windows, walls, and sliding glass doors out of the hot sun).  One caution: awnings are sometimes sold with the assertion that any homeowner can install them by themselves, or with the help of a spouse or a buddy. Beware! Installation of a good awning product is something best left to the professionals, who know how to secure and seal awnings and who do these projects all the time. It’s an easy “DIY” project to mess up!

Retractable Awnings Do The Job…

Yes, retractable awnings work great, and do more than just let you “have it made in the shade” during the summer.

• The beauty added to your property by a great awning adds value, and can get you a better offer when it comes time to sell the home.
• New durable designs make awnings practical all year long, and keep your awnings safe when Mother Nature takes a harsh turn.
• The energy savings created by a new awning can be significant.  Keeping the worst of the summer heat away from the house helps your HVAC system (and saves money on your air conditioning bill). And the benefits don’t stop when winter comes around – your awning can ease your cold-weather heating bills, too.
• Restaurants can dramatically increase their seating (and revenue) by expanding outdoors with a great commercial-grade awning product, from a simple retractable shade to a fully-enclosed outdoor dining room.
• Companies of all kinds are realizing the benefits of an investment in sturdy, beautiful awnings… from outdoor break areas that keep employees happy, to additional retail “floor space” outside that impresses customers before they even enter the store.
• And the outdoor “party space” at your home will be the envy of the neighborhood… and greatly appreciated by family, friends, and guests all year long.

… But The Installation Job Should Be Done By The Experts.

When it comes time to add a good-looking, hard-working awning to your home or business, you’ll thank yourself for engaging the services of a professional awning company to do the installation.

Despite what the awning salesman at the local big box store may have told you, awning installations are not “easy.”

A twenty-foot awning typically weighs 150-350 pounds, depending on the type and style of the awning.  Imagine you and your spouse (or buddy) trying to balance such an unwieldy load while perched on ladders!

If all you end up with is a poorly-installed awning – which could do damage to your property, from pulling away soffit to creating leaks in your roof – you’ll be lucky.  Injuries are common as a result of a botched awning installation.

Like the awning product itself, investing in a professional installation is a wise choice.

Do retractable awnings work?  You bet they do… and they do more work than you might think.  From enhanced property value to lower utility bills, the benefits from investing in a great awning (and a pro installation) will be appreciated by your family, friends, neighbors, customers, and employees for years to come.