There are few things more disappointing than opening an awning after a long winter, only to hear the tearing and grinding sounds of the fabric becoming jammed in the mechanism. Fortunately, this problem is mostly avoidable if you service your awning regularly. Most customers simply do not think about servicing an awning until it is too late.
Unlike the typical garden umbrella, a retractable awning has a more complex design that discourages long periods of neglect. They have arms and fabric under tension as well as a motor that assists in the deployment of the awning. For retractable awnings, small, manageable service problems can grow to be an issue that can be very costly to remediate.
What Service for Awnings Entails
It is easier to understand the value of a service visit once you understand what is being checked. Of course the fabric is wiped down, but that is only a small part of the service. A complete service includes checking the tension in the arms as well as the mounting brackets and the fabric for mold or sun rot and the motor and gearbox if it is an electrically deployed awning.
Most of this work can be done by the owner if they can get access to a ladder (and have a bit of patience). The other parts of the service, especially those that involve the motor and gear, are best left to a skilled tradesman.
The General Rule
For home retractable awnings that get typical usage of the awning in the spring and summer, at least an annual service visit is recommended. It is best to service the awning prior to the summer season so that you can be sure to fix any problems that may have occurred during the winter months prior to the awning being deployed for an extended period of time.
Commercial installations, which are the kinds of awnings you will find outside cafés and restaurants, will require more frequent maintenance. Because they are extended and retracted multiple times a day and are exposed to regular handling, these types of awnings will need to be serviced roughly twice a year, although some manufacturers will check as often as once a month.
Indicators for Unscheduled Maintenance
Annual servicing is a recommended timeframe, and there are exceptions to every rule.
If you start to hear a motor making a straining or hesitant sound as it opens or closes a fabric awning, this should not go unaddressed. Sagging fabric should be attended to since this is a sign that the tension is uneven and off balance. Should you notice pooling water on a fabric awning, this is an indication that the awning has lost its slope and the fabric is at risk of retaining moisture.
With retractable awnings many people will overlook the early signs of rust that form around a fabric awning’s brackets, since they believe that the brackets merely need some cosmetic maintenance. Brackets are what holds the entire fabric awning system to the wall, and losing integrity of the brackets is a serious concern.
Most people underestimate how severe weather impacts the integrity of a fabric awning.
A fabric awning that is installed in a coastal area has to be maintained much more than a fabric awning that is installed in an inland area due to the more corrosive nature of the air. A fabric awning that is extended during windy days will have more wear and tear than a fabric awning that is promptly retracted during the windy weather.
When determining a regular maintenance schedule, it is important to be realistic about how the awning is actually used as opposed to how the awning was intended to be used.
Why Bother At All
The real answer is cost. A loose bolt caught early is a 5-minute fix. If left unattended, it could cause a bent arm, a ripped canopy, or, in the worst case, the entire unit coming off the wall. None of these are cheap, and none of these happen suddenly. This is the reason for checks of the system.
Retractable awnings are generally a permanent fixture for homes and businesses. When properly maintained, retractable awnings will last over a decade. However, the company is not responsible for them lasting that long. This is the result of owners checking retractable awnings and not assuming there are no problems.
You can either book a service to check the awnings or check them yourself and set a reminder to check them every spring. The awnings need a little care, and neglecting them will result in fixable problems that will be much more expensive.