How to Build an Awning

How to Build an Awning?

Hot summer days are perfect to sit out in the patio and relax. However, without an awning, this leisure can result in sunburns. A professionally installed awning can cause you to cough up thousands of dollars. The good thing is that awning can easily be built at home and that too inexpensively. Here is a step-by-step procedure to build and install an awning in your patio.

• The first thing that you need to do is to take the dimensions of the area where the awning has to be installed. On the basis of the dimensions, purchase the canvas that is slightly larger than the measurement taken. Also collect other requisite materials like electric drilling machine, sewing machine or a large needle, nylon thread, screw hooks(2), key rings (2), support poles(2), rope(4 sections), stakes(4), and grommets(4).
• With the help of the sewing machine or the large needle, hem the edges of the cloth so as to prevent fraying. It is advisable to use nylon thread for hemming as it is more durable. Once, you have hemmed the canvas, install grommet at each of the four corners of the awning.
• Measure one side of the awning, from one grommet to another, and as per the measurements drill two holes on the wood siding from where the awning will branch out. There are two advantages of drilling holes; one, it prevents the wood from splitting, and the other, it becomes easier to insert screw hooks.
• In the next step, place key rings on two grommets of that side of the awning that will go against the house. Thereafter, attach one key ring to one hook and the other one to the second hook. With this the installation of one side of the awning is complete.
• For the installation of the second side, support poles would be required. To ascertain the actual position of the support poles, the awning has to be stretched. One end of the support pole would be attached to the hook of the grommet and the other end either rests on the flat pavement or is inserted into the ground.
• In the last step, you have to tie two sections of the rope on each grommet where the poles are attached.  Stake one section away from the pole of the awning. The other section of the rope is staked at an angle of 90o to the first stake. The same thing is done for the other pole.

Thus, in a couple of hour, your awning has been erected, and you didn’t even spend thousands of dollars.