Carport awnings are a great alternative to garages as they are more affordable and require less maintenance. What’s more, a garage often doesn’t offer enough space for keeping your car and storing extra things or furniture. Most Americans treat their garages as a storage room, and only some can fit a car inside.
Investing in a carport awning will offer you space to keep your car hidden from sun, rain, and snow. And when the car is moved temporarily, , the space under the awning can be used to create a beautiful outdoor patio.
Keep reading to find out the difference between a carport awning and a carport canopy, their benefits, and drawbacks, and which material is the most durable.
Differences Between a Carport Awning and Carport Canopy
Both carport awnings and canopies are great to protect your vehicles from various weather conditions like heavy rain, snow, and sun. Parking your car under the carport will save you time and money cleaning it from snow or waiting for the A/C to cool the car down inside. Even during a heatwave, your vehicle will not heat up as much being in the shade.
As with any structure, awnings and canopies have features that you can benefit from but also drawbacks that may change your mind about choosing a different type of cover. Outdoor canopies are only freestanding, while you can opt for awnings that can be installed both attached to the building and freestanding.
A carport canopy can be portable and it may be both an advantage and a disadvantage. You can choose the size you want and fit it in your yard, and in addition, portability is a great plus since you can transport it to another location or simply move it aside if required. However, it makes a carport canopy less sturdy. The structure can be vulnerable to harsh weather conditions like a gale.
A freestanding pergola or an awning is more durable and comes in many designs that can suit private houses and commercial locations like restaurants and hotels. Another way of installing an awning is by attaching it to the building. This is a great option as well because when you leave the house, you can access your vehicle freely. The same can be applied to offices, cafes, wedding halls, etc.
Carport awnings are multifunctional and can be adjusted to any building. Depending on the model you pick from RetractableAwnings.com, you can choose whatever frame and fabric color and style to coordinate with your company building and logo.
Benefits of Using Carport Awnings for Cars, Boats, and RVs
If you decide to invest in a carport awning that is attached to your building, it will be retractable and adjusted to be used only when needed. During the hot season, you can always keep it open to shade not only the vehicle or your clients who go outdoors but also the building itself. Keeping the office or room cooler will save you money, as your A/C will use much less electricity.
When opting for retractable awnings, you need to think twice about where to place them. A freestanding pergola or an awning can provide protection against precipitation and hot sun, and it can become a patio cover.
Most carport awnings have a gutter and water drainage. Some have innovative design technology and use an invisible gutter and downspouts. All awnings and pergolas sold by Retractable Awnings are Beaufort wind load tested. To make a pergola or an awning more attractive, you can order it with LED lights and choose different frame and fabric colors along with your choice of sensors including wind, sun, rain and temperature.
If you are afraid that a freestanding awning cannot fully shield your visitors or vehicles - nothing to worry about. There is an easy solution to it - vertical drop retractable screens that cover the sides and provide ultimate protection from the sun’s damaging UV rays and rain.
Last but not least, the reason to opt for a carport awning is aesthetics. Thanks to their numerous designs, an awning gives your home or business a trendy look, expands its outdoor living space, and provides many benefits for any season. You can also equip your awning with sliding glass doors or side overhang.
Carport Awnings Materials
When choosing a carport awning, pay attention to its material. Fabrics look great and they are lightweight, but considering bad weather conditions, they are not very durable and can be torn apart. This will incur additional costs to purchase new fabrics and frame for the car or patio cover.
Steel awnings are extremely durable but also prone to corrosion, especially in regions with high humidity levels. Thus, if the material is damaged, it cannot be as durable compared to when it was first installed. Having a steel carport awning, you will need to constantly inspect it for damages or scratches which should be fixed before rust appears.
It is best to purchase aluminum awnings that are naturally resistant to rust and corrosion. It is a more advanced investment; however, the frame requires significantly less maintenance and works smoothly in the long run. Unlike steel , aluminum awnings seldom require maintenance since weather cannot damage the powder coating or frame
Retractable and Freestanding Carport Awnings
Both types of awnings provide shade and enough protection from snow and precipitation. Look at the available area around your house or business to decide where you would place an awning.
If you choose a retractable awning, it should be easily accessed by a car and close to the home or business entrance. Retractable awnings can also provide full enclosure, creating an outdoor space for your car. A fixed awning has the same function and can be transformed into another room if needed. A freestanding model can be a better option if you don't have enough installation height to install an attached version.
Both carport awnings can be adjusted to the size of your car or an entrance in front of a hotel or restaurant, or even an open parking lot. In big spaces, only fixed structures can be installed, since retractable carport awnings are usually limited in length.
Freestanding carport awnings come at a higher price, mainly because they use more legs/posts as compared to an attached version. You can expect to use awnings for multiple years without any problems assuming quality components are used for the build. It is a different story with retractable awnings if you opt for a cheaper material and fabric design.
RetractableAwnings.com has a vast selection of retractable options that are suitable to the climate of your region and feature different retractable roofs with innovative designs that can assist you in keeping the structure clean.
Maintaining both types of awnings is relatively easy. Both have an opening roof that sheds all rain water, so you don't have to climb up to remove it manually. Additionally, RetractableAwnings.com sells frames made of aluminum that are rustproof and don’t require you to regularly check for scratches.
Excellent Choices of Carport Awnings
Here are a couple of excellent awnings that are custom made for your business or home. Every carport awning comes in custom sizes and all are only available retractable due to the advantages of a retractable over a fixed awning.
Malatya
Malatya awning can shade vehicles, an outdoor patio, or an eating area, thanks to its curved roof. You can easily control the awning with a remote control and install optional l HDD LED lights to set the right mood. The structure is very durable and can protect vehicles and people from inclement weather.
Mersin
Mersin is another great choice for both business owners and homeowners who want to protect their pools, vehicles, or dining areas. This awning can be adjusted to the size of your property, and it can be installed either attached or free standing. . It has a lot of options that can be purchased additionally to enhance its usability and design.
Izmit
Izmit is a multifunctional awning for both people and vehicles, and it can only be installed either as a retractable freestanding structure. The retractable roof is double sided, angled and waterproof, and the membrane fabric is resistant to heat, rain, and moisture. There are invisible gutters, downspouts, and drainage. The awning has an innovative design that makes it both extremely durable and easy to clean.
Adana
The aluminum framed Adana awning features a flat, sloped, or classic cover for your patio or car and is designed to be attached to an existing pergola, trellis or any other square or rectangular structure. It is the most chic-looking of all and offers the same protection from sun, rain, and hail. As with any awning, this one can be adjusted to your area and purchased with additional features that will make the awning look sleek in your yard or cover a dining area in your restaurant, a swimming pool in your hotel, and more.
Conclusion
Purchasing new carport awnings will greatly improve the overall look of your property and increase its value. Your customers will also appreciate the protection when parking or entering your establishment. Homeowners can use the added covered space to make a summer patio, and restaurant owners can open and close the awnings to cover the tables from rain or let the warm sun in.
Shop for carport awnings at RetractableAwnings.com! You will find high-quality and durable structures that can be custom made to coordinate with your property design and color. Our experienced, European factory trained experts will be assisting you throughout the whole process!
Contact our retractable residential and commercial awning, pergola, screen and canopy experts using our contact form, our live help chat or call us in the USA or Canada toll-free at (866) 438-2964 or outside the USA or Canada at (305) 628-2424.
