Golfgar4
Elite Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2002
- Messages
- 4,342
- Location
- Janesville, Wisconsin
- Tractor
- None -yet. Until then FunBuggy (EZ-Go) will have to do!
Poor Man\'s Air Conditioning
For the last few years, my wife and I have been debating on what to do with our patio. It has a westerly exposure, so it is unbearably hot in the afternoon. Just about the time we'd want to use it, of course!/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif
We talked about building a screened in porch, or building a purgola over the patio to give it some shade. We also discussed putting up one of those retractable awnings.
Well, we finally decided to look into getting an awning. We didn't want to sink a lot of money into the house, since we plan on selling it in the next 3 years. So I called a buddy of mine who owns an awning company and had him come out.
Our patio area measures about 17 x 17, and when he saw that, he said forget the retractable. For one reason, they only come out 12' from the house. Besides that, they are so sensitive to the wind, that they have to be retracted in anything much over 15 mph. And because of the way they're designed, they can't be out in any kind of heavy rain. It puts too much strain on the support arms.
So, that pretty much left us with no choice but going with a fixed awning. I've attached a picture. It completely covers the patio, and as you can see, it has wings on each side. We can even add zip-on screening in the future if we want. And because we have it covering our patio doors going into our dining room, it has cut our air conditioning bill by at least 5%. We're actually setting the thermostat at a warmer temperature but maintaining the room temperature we want because we don't have the sun pouring in through all of that glass.
What did it cost, you ask? Well, the whole thing went for about $2,100.00 installed. And that includes having the company come every fall (when we call them) and take it down and store it for us and then put it back up every spring. That's standard service with any fixed awning they sell. If we had gone with a retractable, it would have only been 12 x 17, and it would have cost about $3,000.00.
So far, we are delighted with this awning. We just hosted a large family gathering last weekend, and had about 25 people. I think everyone was out under the awning enjoying the shade. I know we wouldn't have been out there without it!
If you're looking for an inexpensive way to dress up your home and add a little more "living" space, take a close look at doing something with an awning. You might be pleasantly surprised!!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
For the last few years, my wife and I have been debating on what to do with our patio. It has a westerly exposure, so it is unbearably hot in the afternoon. Just about the time we'd want to use it, of course!/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif
We talked about building a screened in porch, or building a purgola over the patio to give it some shade. We also discussed putting up one of those retractable awnings.
Well, we finally decided to look into getting an awning. We didn't want to sink a lot of money into the house, since we plan on selling it in the next 3 years. So I called a buddy of mine who owns an awning company and had him come out.
Our patio area measures about 17 x 17, and when he saw that, he said forget the retractable. For one reason, they only come out 12' from the house. Besides that, they are so sensitive to the wind, that they have to be retracted in anything much over 15 mph. And because of the way they're designed, they can't be out in any kind of heavy rain. It puts too much strain on the support arms.
So, that pretty much left us with no choice but going with a fixed awning. I've attached a picture. It completely covers the patio, and as you can see, it has wings on each side. We can even add zip-on screening in the future if we want. And because we have it covering our patio doors going into our dining room, it has cut our air conditioning bill by at least 5%. We're actually setting the thermostat at a warmer temperature but maintaining the room temperature we want because we don't have the sun pouring in through all of that glass.
What did it cost, you ask? Well, the whole thing went for about $2,100.00 installed. And that includes having the company come every fall (when we call them) and take it down and store it for us and then put it back up every spring. That's standard service with any fixed awning they sell. If we had gone with a retractable, it would have only been 12 x 17, and it would have cost about $3,000.00.
So far, we are delighted with this awning. We just hosted a large family gathering last weekend, and had about 25 people. I think everyone was out under the awning enjoying the shade. I know we wouldn't have been out there without it!
If you're looking for an inexpensive way to dress up your home and add a little more "living" space, take a close look at doing something with an awning. You might be pleasantly surprised!!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
