Choose the right awning materials, and you’ll have a beautiful work of art that lasts for many years. Choose improper or poor quality awning materials, and you’ll face years of disappointment and unnecessary expense. The key is knowing the best types of awning materials for your particular project.
There is almost no end to what you can do with awnings and canopies. They can give your building a facelift or a complete exterior makeover. They tell the world about your business and make you stand out handsomely from the competition as well as the business next door. They can cool your customers in summer and protect people from the rain and snow in winter. The best types of awning materials can do all that, and then some.
Where can you find the best types of awning materials?
The only way to learn more about awning materials is to do your homework. But this is the fun kind of homework. To some extent, the best types of awning materials are the ones that appeal most to you, so look around and see what catches your eye.
Above all, though, you’ll want to get advice from a well-established commercial awning company . Nothing can replace their expertise when it comes to knowing the pros and cons of various awning materials. Here are some of our favorites:
Best types of awning materials: Pick #1
Tough enough for the job at hand. If your awning will be permanently installed, you’ll need materials that can stand up to harsh winter weather as well as beaming sun and humidity in the summer. Rain, snow and occasionally vicious winds can take their toll, as can urban grime, if you choose inferior materials or simply the wrong materials. You need materials that are strong as well as durable.
Best types of awning materials: Pick #2
Awning fabric you can print on digitally. Don’t want a solid color, stripes or a tiny tweed background on your awning? With digital printing, you can literally put any image anywhere on your awning – create your own all-over design, use a photo or huge graphics to create a truly unique look. Not all awning materials work for digital printing, so talk to your awning expert about this.
Best types of awning materials: Pick #3
UV protection. Whether you’re sheltering children, seniors or simply patrons who want to get out of the sun, many of today’s awning materials provide near-100% protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays as well as the heat. Providing shade is a time-honored role for awnings, and UV-resistance protects merchandise and furnishings inside your windows, too. For restaurants and bars, shading outdoor areas expands your service area, so you can generate more revenue.
Best types of awning materials: Pick #4
Go dimensional. You can fabricate awnings in nearly any shape or size. That means you can take the extra step and go 3D, augmenting your awning with something fun – a larger-than-life football, taco, fish or flower that unmistakably marks your business.
Best types of awning materials: Pick #5
All metal. Most people think of fabric-covered framing when they consider awnings and canopies, but sometimes only metal will do. Mapes awnings are aluminum, so they’re super-strong and comparatively lightweight, ideal for very large applications, where awnings need good long-distance visibility or where you need superior weather resistance. They can also give a different kind of contemporary look to a traditional storefront.
So what’ll it be? There’s an element of personal preference involved in identifying the best types of awning materials. Fabrics come in a mind-boggling array of colors and textures. Maybe you like the old-fashioned look of canvas. You can get that, in a thoroughly modern synthetic that will perform rings around your grandpa’s cotton fabric awning.
Whatever you choose, pick the highest quality awning materials, because that’s your assurance of best appearance and best performance.
