Deciding to buy a retractable awning can be a great idea.
Whether for your home or business, retractable awnings:
- Increase a building’s resale value
- Beautify outdoor living spaces
- Provide shade
- Create a comfortable place outdoors for you, your family, or your customers
- Protect your home or building and furniture from sun-related damage
Before installing and enjoying your retractable awning, you have an essential task – choosing the correct retractable awning size. If you are buying for the first time, you may feel confused and have difficulty selecting the right retractable awning dimensions.
Some of the steps in choosing a retractable awning are:
- Choosing the type of area you want to cover, including decks, patios, windows, or doors
- Specifying whether the awning is for residential or commercial use
- Choosing the type of mounting surface the retractable awning will attach to. You can choose between walls, soffits, eaves, overhangs, fascias, the side of a free standing structure, rafters, and roofs
- Considering whether the awning or pergola needs to handle a snow load
- What level of wind should it withstand when the canopy is partially or fully extended?
- What amount of rain should the retractable awning withstand when extended? Note: Retractable folding lateral arm awnings are only for light rain
- Selecting the awning’s fabric and materials
- Choosing a design
- Seeking the help of a professional company to tell you an awning’s requirement according to the specifics of your deck or patio
- Last but not least, choose the perfect size for your retractable awning
In this blog, I will pay special attention to what sizes are available.
Types of Retractable Awning Sizes and Dimensions
The size of a retractable awning, retractable canopy (pictured above) or retractable pergola comes from its width and projection from an attached building.
Other size-related aspects may include clearance/height (underneath), rise (pitch) of a roof, and post or rafter spacing. However, these aspects are more important to awning installation companies, which have the tasks of planning and reviewing these processes.
Width
When discussing the maximum width of a retractable awning, that’s the awning frame’s outside dimension, end cap to end cap. Measuring your awning from left to right provides accurate awning dimensions. Measuring the actual fabric width is incorrect. One recommendation is to install a retractable awning on a flat vertical or horizontal surface.
When measuring your awning, pay special attention to whether there are chimneys, downspouts, light fixtures, or other barriers in your path. It’s good to avoid them, but if this isn’t possible, you can usually customize your retractable awning.
The perfect retractable awning is the one whose width matches the width of the patio, deck, or existing wall. If this exact width isn’t possible, you can customize your awning’s width. If the width of the deck or patio is extremely wide, personalized solutions are best. For example, you can use multiple retractable awnings butting side by side, keeping in mind you will always have a gap between awnings of +-5 or 6 inches as the fabric does not extend to the end of the awning. It extends to the end of the roller tube.
The folding lateral arm retractable awning width can usually be custom made to the inch, and the maximum width available varies by manufacturer:
- 1 to 15 feet (0.30 m to 4.57 m) wide
- 16 to 20 feet (4.87 m to 6.09 m) wide
- 21 to 30 feet (6.40 m to 9.14 m) wide
- 31 to 40 feet (9.44 m to 12.19 m) wide
- 41 to 52 feet (12.49 m to 15.84 m) wide
Projection
You can measure the extended retractable awning’s size by measuring its projection. You’ll measure projection from back to front if you have a flat or angled awning. If it’s vertical, you’ll measure an awning’s projection from top to bottom. The maximum projection of the retractable awning is the distance from the wall to the front bar. For this purpose, measuring the protrusion or depth of your deck or patio floor is necessary to choose the right awning dimensions.
For most retractable awnings, the projection can vary depending on the selected manufacturer and model, and it can be:
- Up to 5 foot (1.52m) projection
- 6 to 10 foot (1.82 m to 3.04 m) projection
- 11 to 16 foot (3.35 m to 4.87 m) projection
Can companies make awnings in non-standard or custom sizes?
Today, you’ll find a wide variety of different retractable awning sizes and models. With so many models available, you have many options to choose the perfect solution for your outdoor space.
Regardless of the size of the product and whether it’s for your business or home, the most important applications of awnings are to provide shade and more comfort for you, your family, friends or your customers.
The larger the size of the chosen retractable awning, the larger the shadow/shade. Because of that, I advise you to adjust your awning according to where you want to install it.
Sometimes, a patio or deck is too wide and large for an awning, or a client wants a retractable awning installed somewhere more specific. In this regard, questions often arise as to whether the size of a retractable awning can be non-standard.
Fortunately, there is an option to customize an awning. That means you can order a retractable awning in a more non-standard or custom width size to perfectly fit your outdoor space. Please note that retractable awning projections are always standard sizes and cannot be customized as the arms are manufactured in factories to pre-determined sizes.
To do this, you may need to contact your chosen company for professional advice. Ask this company what size and model are your best options to get the best possible fit and shade coverage.
Which Companies Offer the Best Awnings?
When choosing a retractable awning size, the company that will manufacture it is a significant choice. In this regard, I recommend carefully researching any company offering retractable awnings.
Please pay special attention to a company’s:
- Designs, frames, and fabrics
- Where do their offered products/components come from? Europe or China
- The various options and accessories they offer
- Engineering certifications
- Cycle testing of awning arms
- Included warranties. Are the warranties prorated like vehicle tires?
- Overall business reputation
In addition, look for reviews about awning companies from their past customers. These reviews help you understand more about a company.
One of the best companies offering fantastic options is RetractableAwnings.com. It is an awning manufacturer, distributor, and installer. The company provides you with best-in-class products because they offer many models and retractable awning sizes. So, you can find the best awnings for your home or business.
All of its products use high-quality European certified, engineered materials, which is crucial when choosing a retractable awning. They also only use the best components and vendors in the world, none of which are from China.
I advise you to learn more about awnings and how they work. Also, ensure you find a professional awning company that gives you helpful, expert advice so that you find the perfect-sized retractable awning.