When springtime rolls around and the weather outside turns delightful, few things in life can compare to the pleasure and comfort of sitting outside on your porch or patio with a hot cup of coffee or a nice jug of homemade iced tea. Sometimes, however, the weather may get in the way of your good time: you won't get a lot of enjoyment from hanging out on the porch with the sun blasting its rays straight in your face. What’s more, the scorching summer heat in some areas of the US is too much to handle without any sort of protection or added shade.

Porch and patio covers from Retractable Awnings are the answer you're looking for if you want to turn your patio or porch into a place you can relax and entertain your guests, regardless of the weather. However, in order to get the most out of your porch awning, you'll need to know how to find the right model for your house or business, as well as recognize the differences between various cover options for your patio or deck. After all, there is no point in getting a brand new porch cover if you're going to have to replace it on a seasonal basis.

Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before Getting a Porch Cover

Before making an important home improvement purchase, you always have to weigh the pros and cons of each available solution, as well as make sure that these options can be easily installed onto your porch or patio area. While the full list of factors to consider is much more extensive, we have prepared three key questions to help you get started with the process of finding the perfect porch cover that will last for years.

Manual or Motorized?

This is the very first question you should be asking yourself. While motorized retractable awnings can certainly be a lot more convenient for daily usage, they also tend to be more expensive than their traditional, manual counterparts. 

Aside from the budgetary and convenience considerations, you should also consider the fact that motorized patio covers require more maintenance, which can sometimes be a pain, especially if a malfunction occurs when you have some guests over. To minimize the risk of that happening, you should only purchase these kinds of products from reputable companies specializing in manufacturing retractable patio cover systems.

Is the Patio Cover Appropriate for Your Local Climate?

Another crucial factor that should influence your decision-making process is the climate you live in. For example, if you're based in an area that gets a lot of rainfall on a regular basis, all year round, you might want to go for a fully waterproof patio cover. Be particularly careful when picking out the models, as the phrasing in some of them may be slightly misleading. 

Some awnings are advertised as water-resistant, which may sound like exactly the thing you're looking for. However, water-resistant awnings don't provide full protection from rainfall, especially if it rains heavily on a daily basis. In other words, their water protection capacity is only partial. In order to stay fully protected from water leaking onto your porch, you need to look out for a waterproof patio cover.

Partial or Full Cover?

Unlike in some other areas of life, size does matter when it comes to picking out patio covers. Depending on your needs, you may want to go for an awning that fully covers your porch or one that leaves some open space, which is particularly useful if you have some potted plants or flowers on your patio, as growing them requires a lot of sunshine and water. 

Measure your porch/patio area and choose a cover that fits these measurements so that you don't have to deal with having to replace an ill-fitting patio cover later on.

Find the Right Patio Cover for Your Budget at RetractableAwnings.com

All of the factors mentioned above affect the price of your new porch cover. Staying within your budget range can be difficult if you're shopping with a supplier who does not provide a wide enough range of options for you to choose from. At Retractable Awnings, we strive to keep a regularly updated, wide array of products that will meet your needs to the dot. Regardless of whether you're shopping for a patio cover for your home, or you need a commercial retractable awning, our offer of weather protection systems surely covers whatever you're looking for.