Thursday, 11 July 2013

Awnings – What Are They And How To Use Them?

If you are not familiar with what awnings are, these are coverings that either protect a building’s external walls or advertise products and/or services much like a billboard or signboard would.


They are most often attached over windows, doors and sidewalks aside from walls, and can be used as a protective cover against the elements. Poles can be used to support awnings so that way they stretch much longer.


The material used for awnings is acrylic cloth or canvas. It is possible to print visually appealing designs on awnings for aesthetic purposes. Today an awning can be made to almost any design, shape and color.


Aluminum, iron, steel and wood are the common materials used to create awning framework. Aluminum is the most common of these four, largely due to its relatively light weight. The framework consists of trusses, border frames or space frames.


For those looking to cool down their homes and keep the sunlight out, awnings attached over windows can help. Rooms with air conditioning can also use awnings, as a means to reduce electric bills by close to 25%. Interesting fact!


A lot of companies specialize in creating awnings. Free quotes and estimates are done by most of these firms. Awnings are quite useful in business, as marketing campaigns often involve awnings with different designs and fonts as a way to draw attention to the product.


Awnings make a sleeping place come to life in an instant. You can opt for back lit or front lit awnings. Backlit material for awnings is different than front lit material. Vinyl laminated or coated polyester is used for backlit awnings. Types of materials used for awnings would cover the following: PVC coated mesh, Acrylic, Vinyl or resin coated polyester, Acrylic painted cotton/polyester, and many more.


It is prudent to insist on fire retardant material/paint on awnings. Typically, insurance does not cover damage to awnings. Some awnings are temporary and can be retracted. Snow can damage awnings when it accumulates on top of them, so retraction makes good sense when done in the winter. Awnings can be retracted manually or mechanically.


The cleaning of awning for removing mildew and stains is fairly easy. Just be sure you are using the right type of soap (must be a mild variant) and the brush also must be soft to touch. Vinyl awnings are especially prone to mildew.


The frame of awnings must be designed specifically to avoid water pooling on the surface of the awning. This is because the pooling of water on top of awnings can damage both the cloth itself and the printed graphics. Another factor that may cause damage to awnings is the speed of the wind, should it exceed 25 miles per hour. During strong winds it is vise to retract them.


The graphics on awnings can be printed on by special machines interfaced with computers. The print quality depends on the number of columns per inch (cpi). A 10 cpi print gives a good finish on most awnings. For an even finer and more exquisite finish, 25 cpi would be most recommended.


In some states you need a permit for putting up awnings. Most of the time, however, a permit is not necessary for residential areas and would only be required for commercial awnings.


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