Home awning

Soldato
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2 Nov 2013
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After a BBQ today which left me very hot and bothered, I'm fed up of parasols and the impossibility of getting them to shade more than 1 person for any length of time.

I'm very tempted by the idea of one of those electric awnings. Anyone got one and can give any feedback?
 
Soldato
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Unless you're covering a very large area with one

That's the plan. You can get ones at least 4m x 3m, which would be a massive improvement on anything I've seen a parasol be able to cover.

As for those saying I should want the sun - I'm Northern, I start melting at anything over about 18 degrees. :D
 
Associate
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After a BBQ today which left me very hot and bothered, I'm fed up of parasols and the impossibility of getting them to shade more than 1 person for any length of time.

I'm very tempted by the idea of one of those electric awnings. Anyone got one and can give any feedback?
We have one, it was already installed when we bought the house. Thought it was a bit of a gimmick but it has come in useful - due to the positioning it provides some really good shade on our kitchen/diner in the late afternoon and evening.
 
Soldato
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After a BBQ today which left me very hot and bothered, I'm fed up of parasols and the impossibility of getting them to shade more than 1 person for any length of time.

I'm very tempted by the idea of one of those electric awnings. Anyone got one and can give any feedback?
I have a 4m x 3m manual one and it is great in this weather, helps keep the lounge cool aswell as having shade on the decking for the dog…..even in manual form its a doddle to open and close
 
Soldato
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Cheers guys, useful stuff.
One of the questions I had was based on a vague memory that you're not supposed to use them if it's windy. But
a) I might be making that up, and
b) it might be only applicable to the electric ones.

I guess, to gauge how much shade I will actually be afforded, I need to wait until noon, and then hold something up to approximately where I think the awning will reach to and see where its shadow falls.

As a very rough estimate, what height would you say the front edge of your awning sits at when open? For that matter, what height up the wall is it mounted?
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Sep 2020
Posts
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Location
Gods Country, But trailing in Ron-ski's solar wake
Cheers guys, useful stuff.
One of the questions I had was based on a vague memory that you're not supposed to use them if it's windy. But
a) I might be making that up, and
b) it might be only applicable to the electric ones.

I guess, to gauge how much shade I will actually be afforded, I need to wait until noon, and then hold something up to approximately where I think the awning will reach to and see where its shadow falls.

As a very rough estimate, what height would you say the front edge of your awning sits at when open? For that matter, what height up the wall is it mounted?
Mine is situated just above my patio doors and at full stretch out, its height is around 6ft. But there are bolts that you tighten to heighten or lower the awning when at full stretch……..and yes, dint use them in strong winds
 
Associate
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17 Nov 2015
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We've got a 3.5m x 2.5m one over our patio. Find it much easier than the old parasol we used to have, especially for the wife to put up and down. Not had any issues with wind, and its fairly robust even though its only a cheap one. I was tempted by an electric one, but was struggling with availability, and for the additional cost I'm not sure its worth it over the hassle of it being wired up. Its so easy to unwind and wind back in manually and its a 30 second job. Photo doesn't show the amount of shade as it was late evening when taken but you don't really want the shade then, it gives maximum shade between 12pm and 3pm so was an ideal solution for us.

bJeTCCc.jpg
 
Associate
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Ours sits about a foot or so above our patio doors, and is still easily above head height at its lowest point, there is a step out onto the patio which probably helps with that height though. It's electric, which is definitely a nice convenience. No idea how much it cost, and we probably wouldn't have installed one if it wasn't already here when we moved in, but we're happy we have one!
 
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