CHOOSING YOUR PERFECT AWNING

OUR PERFECT GUIDE

Investing in a new awning is often part of a greater investment in creating and enjoying far more of your outdoor space for living, entertaining and simply relaxing.
We are all now very aware of the benefits of spending far more time outdoors, for your health and well being, and although we are constantly told now the climate is warming up across the whole world, we still live in the UK and have to deal with our very changeable and often annoying weather systems. If we are not being totally baked on those hot sunny days that appear out of nowhere we are battling with rainfall in months when it should be dry and sunny!
Taking control and keeping your options open by using systems which protect you from our weather means investing in a high quality retractable awning system ,which is designed and built to deal with the UK weather.

Thousands of awnings are sold each year and what is best for you and your expectations, whether it is a smaller size awning to shade a 2 person table, or a much larger system for a large patio will depend on you knowing what to look out for in an awning specification.

INVEST IN QUALITY

If you want to invest in a retractable awning for your home or business then you need to be sure you are having the very best in design technology, materials and the latest electric motor drives and control technology. An awning needs to be strong and durable for use in the UK climate, especially the larger sizes.
They need to withstand strong sunshine and heat as well as cold, wet and freezing temperatures, and all the issues this brings to outdoor products around your home.

It is fast becoming common place now to control your electric awnings and blinds via well-established home automation apps on your smartphone, tablet and PC. The right app also enables you to include light control, cameras and many other convenience, safety and security products. A high quality electric awning will provide many years of use, where a cheap, off the shelf awning will not withstand much more than a light wind, and if used a lot in anything more than just calm sunny weather, will soon deteriorate, fail, and need replacing.

CHOICE OF AWNINGS

Most high quality retractable awnings are manufactured in Germany or Holland, Northern European countries with weather patterns very much like our own in the UK.
The many years of development from these manufacturers have produced awnings which are built to withstand not only intense sunshine, but also the rain and windier conditions we unfortunately have to endure here in our country. They are suitable for domestic and commercial use.

If you want to invest in an awning which is not only bespoke in size, colour and specification then you surely also want something which can be used as often as possible to provide the perfect outdoor living experience?
If at all possible try to get to see and try for yourself using one of the many high-quality awnings available in the UK. Go to a showroom and see for yourself the massive differences between a £300 awning and a £3,000 awning of the same size. The lower quality awnings might be hard to see anywhere as they are generally only sold online.

MODELS AND SIZES

There are over 40 different high quality retractable awning models of varying shapes and sizes, suitable for different buildings, applications or specific sizes.

Larger awnings, up to 14 metres wide and a maximum projection of 4 metres, with almost any size in-between provide cover for very large outdoor areas and will retract away when not in use with the fabric cover protected by the aluminium housing. Awnings specifically for fixing underneath balconies, awnings for flat vertical walls, awnings standing alone from a building, when fixing is impossible, awnings providing eletric valances, awnings with LED lighting built in, and so on.

The aluminium cassettes, the drop forged knuckle joints and the various chain or kevlar belt systems used, offer a smooth, quiet operation and many years of trouble free operation. A good choice of finished colours for the framework and cassette are another sign of quality, with some awnings available with a textured and even metallic finish paintwork offering a tougher finish for a longer lasting and more resistant surface on the exterior.

FEATURES OF QUALITY

What actually makes a good high quality awning?

It is like a lot of mechanical products which involve many moving parts, different materials and large sections – the sum of the parts used in manufacturing needs to be greater than the individual components by using only the highest quality parts in the first place, which all work harmoniously together. The brackets fixing to the wall, the arm sections, the arm joining sections, the internal springing or motor drives, the fabric cover, and so on.

They should always have the highest possible quality fabric covers for maximum resistance to weather but also to offer the very brightest and stunning patterns and colours. Generally there is a choice of over 300 fabrics, modern, traditional, contemporary and unique when looking at the higher quality awnings available in the UK.

The electric motor drives used offer hard wired control, remote control and wi-fi control as options to integrate with most home automation systems and provide convenient reliable control.

PRICING AND ORDERING

Although with any bespoke awning there are often many features and options which may need some explanation by an expert, you should be able to get a rough guide price on any retractable awning, regardless of size? If you speak to any company who won’t give a price over the phone or email and only insist on a ‘home consultation’ or free survey’ then be cautious…

When looking for a specialist supplier, any company that cannot give you at least a rough idea of a price should be avoided. What they are usually trying to do is get a sales person, or ‘consultant’ into your home to work their charm, convince you their products are the best in the world, and ultimately get your commitment on a purchase there and then. Old fashioned pressure selling still exists.

Our Samson Awnings sales team prefer to interact with you via phone or email or even in the showroom initially and first be sure we have something which works on your property and is in a price range you are comfortable with. Why waste time, energy and fuel travelling to your home to find out we can’t do anything for you? We always survey and specify after you are comfortable with what we have to offer and never perform any form of pressure selling.

Generally a higher quality awning price will start from around £3,000 – £5,000 upwards and you will get an excellent product you can use for many years to come.

SUN PROTECTION

Most retractable awnings are for some form of sun and heat protection. The hottest midday sunshine in the summer or the lower sun in the Autumn months. The high quality fabrics used in certain awnings will provide excellent UV protection with graded protection depending on the choice of fabric, usually darker of course being more protection.

With our summers getting hotter each year sun and UV protection vital is for you, your family, and your friends, whilst relaxing or enjoying the health benefits of being outdoors at the same time. With adjustable pitch in the awning itself when installing and adjustable projection you can ensure the best protection throughout the daytime as the sun moves across the sky.

Many newer models of awning now have the option of a fully automatic drop down front valance to provide full protection from the lower sun, particularly if your garden faces West or South West. These valances will drop down to a maximum of 2100mm from the front profile of the awning and all done at the simple push of a button from a handset, wall control or smartphone app.

You can also have other retractable products such as the side mounted pull out blind to help provide protection from low sun and wind.

RAIN PROTECTION

Using a retractable fabric awning for rain protection does require a little more care and attention in the specification and positioning. The awning cover has to be at least 15-20 degrees in the pitch to allow rainwater to drain off fast enough and never cause a problem with water ‘pooling’ which ultimately would damage the cover and the awning mechanism. We offer various modes which are stronger in the overall construction, providing a more taut fabric cover to withstand higher wind speeds and the rainfall too. We recommend any awning for rain protection is always electric operated as control and safety management is far easier and automated.

We are frequently asked if waterproof fabrics are available and yes, they are, however as the rain is not supposed to ever sit on the fabric then the standard polyester and acrylic fabrics are generally fine for domestic use and they are all water resistant as standard.

Most domestic awnings will be used infrequently in the rain and probably only in the summer and autumn months as well. For our commercial customers we know the sizes are generally a lot bigger and the use far more frequent and we have specific awning and canopy solutions for these applications.

FABRICS

THERE ARE SO MANY FABRICS TO CHOOSE FROM YOU WON’T KNOW WHERE TO START!

Over 600 different fabrics across 3 different ranges in either polyester or acrylic offering different light transmission and colours suitable for total blackout through to bright white to simply diffuse the sunlight. Plain, striped, designer, 3D designs and many others offer you the ultimate choice. We even have fabrics now created from recycled plastic which have won several awards as you might imagine.

A fabric choice should depend on whether you like the sunlight or not and what kind of ambience you wish to create underneath the awning cover.

For South and West facing gardens you need something with mid to darker ends of the spectrum shades and for North facing a lighter shade, all based of course on controlling the sunlight and UV. If you love the bright light and sunshine then go for the lighter colours of course every time.

The fabrics used on awnings are manufactured to the very highest standards with Markilux for example having one of the largest weaving mills in Europe manufacturing genuine high quality fabrics with modern technology and eco friendly processes. Rest assured any of the fabrics on our awnings will be of the highest standards and simply need some sensible and easy cleaning if they do get dirty from bird droppings, tree residue or other airborne contaminants.

All the fabrics are water resistant and you can choose 100% water proof fabrics as well, but with more limited colour choices for when a high usage in rain will be required.
The simple fact is you should have your awning installed to ensure rainwater is directed off the cover as fast as possible, so waterproof materials should not be required in most cases.
Fire retardant materials are available for commercial applications, where this is now a sensitive subject, being technically part of the outside cladding on a building or apartment block.

LED LIGHTING

Investing in a new awning is often part of a greater investment in enjoying more of your outdoor space for living, entertaining and simply relaxing.

The very latest electric awnings from manufacturers such as Markilux and Weinor offer incredible high quality LED light options in the form of spotlights or light strips, all controlled from the same handset as the awning itself. The lights are either built into the underside of the awning, the arms, or the front profile with further options in a separate light bar system to be positioned as required.

The LED lights offer far more than just mood lighting and can be used with the awning closed on many models to provide an outside lighting system in the darker winter months. The LED lights can be dimmed to provide the right level of lighting at all times. Very low running costs and extremely long lifespan make LED lights a great choice in any awning used for enjoying your outside space as much as possible.

FIXING BRACKETS

Most awnings are fixed to the vertical face of any building, but it is also possible to fix from above in the case of a balcony and very rarely from underneath, when fixing on top of a roof for example. Standard brackets will be fixed in the predetermined positions for the model of awning chosen all depending on the type of construction – full cassette, open awning and so on..

When the brackets clash with a position which has no fixing ability, for example over a window, then various brackets can be fabricated to extend the position of the fixing points and ensure the weight of the awning is taken on suitable structural elements.

SINGLE STOREY SOLUTIONS
A very common issue is trying to fix an awning to a single storey building, where there is not sufficient height to have the awning with a pitch on the cover in case of rainfall.
The awning position can be raised using ‘spreader brackets’ or ‘bungalow brackets’ as they are sometimes called, which use multiple fixings lower down into the wall of the building, but offers a fixing plate higher up to give the awning cassette and mechanism a suitable height for a sensible pitch on the fabric cover not upsetting the space beneath the awning. Brackets are available to cover almost any obstacle or height issue on a building as well as offering stand alone framework systems where it simply is not possible to fix to the building where shading is required.

Awning brackets are manufactured from mild steel, stainless steel or aluminium as required, with a colour to match the awning or to compliment the building colour scheme.
The brackets are probably the most important part of the overall awning installation, especially when more and more super lightweight building materials are being used, which may tick the eco friendly insulation box for building, but rarely have sufficient strength to even hang a picture on.

OPERATION

HOW DO YOU IMAGINE OPENING AND CLOSING YOUR AWNING?

Most customers will be quite happy with the hand held or wall mounted radio transmitter system to open and close the awning and other items, but more commonly now you can specify far more diverse control with systems like the Somfy Home Automation concept. Control your blinds and awnings from anywhere on your mobile phone or PC.

The basic set up would allow you to control your awning from a smartphone or tablet from anywhere in the world, but would put you on the first steps towards additional products for your home, all controlled from a central application, offering convenience, security, reliability and total control.

Existing lights, electric blinds, electric garage doors, gates and other items can all be incorporated into the one place and you can then add indoor and outdoor cameras and begin a whole different level of control and security for your home.

Ask us for further details on the Somfy systems.

SAFETY

Safety is paramount with awnings and the bigger the awning the more important the safety. Most electric awnings should come with either a basic wind sensor or a built in motion sensor and this provides complete peace of mind. The electric awning will always retract when the wind speed causes too much movement in the awning cover and prevent damage to the fabric cover, the mechanics and potential structural damage with excessive forces on the building attachments.