Heat and Glare Too Much of a Pane? Help Windows Take Cover : Awnings: Aluminum and acrylic styles both cool off the inside without ruining the view outside.

Sheldon and Elaine Greenhill were pleased with the beautiful view they had of Dana Point Harbor through westerly facing windows in their home high on a hill.

But they were not pleased with the heat and the glare the afternoon sun brought through those same windows.

Sometimes, the Greenhills found it difficult to stay in their kitchen for any length of time because of the harsh glare. Even with air conditioning it was too warm there because of heat absorbed by their black counters.

How did they solve this problem without obstructing the beautiful view?

Awnings.

The Greenhills’ stucco home, which is painted in a soft peach/salmon tone, is now adorned with aqua-colored acrylic awnings that have reduced the glare and heat, but do not interfere with the lovely view.

Awnings also seemed the ideal solution when members of the board of the Cascade Homeowners Assn. in Tustin wanted to update the look of their town home units and make them cooler.

Made in the Shade

It took more than three years from the approval of the money to the installation of the awnings, which cost $5,000 for about one awning for each of the 20 units. But Joy Elliott, president of the association and the person who spearheaded the effort, says the wait was worth it.

The gray-toned Cascade units now have tailored, acrylic awnings in a monochromatic gray stripe with accents of white and rose and a scallop on the bottom edge. Two sizes of awnings were used, 5 feet long for windows and 7 feet long for patio doors.

“Our units are a little older and they are very hot,” she says, “so the main consideration was the heat factor, that it would reduce the heat, and it has. And then the second (consideration) was appearance.”

More homeowners in Orange County are discovering awnings and their two-fold purpose. They add an attractive architectural accent, especially for sometimes stark, stucco tract homes, and they reduce heat and glare.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and every year it seems to get bigger and bigger,” says Russ Rinner, owner of Creative Canvas Co. in Fullerton, which manufactures and installs fabric awnings.

He says part of the increase is because many designers and architects are now including awnings in their plans for homes.

Jimmy W. White, chief executive officer of Awning Masters in Garden Grove, which manufactures and installs aluminum and fabric awnings, says that awnings used to be a seasonal item. Now he has a backlog of orders year-round, though he is still busiest during summer months.

Second and third trips out to homes to add more awnings are not unusual when homeowners discover how much awnings can lower interior temperatures, according to White and Rinner.

“They may put them (awnings) on the front of the home on a couple of windows to doll it up a little bit,” White says. “Then, they find out that it’s dropped the temperature in that room 25 degrees during the direct sunlight.”

Then, he says, they want more awnings.

“If you’ve got a south- or west-facing window that doesn’t have an eve over it, you would be surprised at how much cooler the awnings keep it,” Rinner says.

Elaine Greenhill says the side of her house with the awnings is shady all day now and she’s delighted. “I’m now able to work at the sink in front of the window,” she says, and that part of the house now has “a much more tranquil effect.”

Two of the bell-shaped awnings on the Greenhill house had to be fitted to a curved wall, which spans about 20 feet. A third awning was placed over a window on an adjoining flat wall. The cost was about $5,000.

Most awnings are custom made and are available in a wide variety of colors in either aluminum or fabric. White with an accent trim color is a popular choice for aluminum awnings, while aqua, peach, burgundy and blue are frequent choices in canvas awnings.

Most of the fabrics are acrylics, similar to what is used in more expensive patio umbrellas, although people use the expression canvas awning when referring to them.

Styles available in fabric awnings include a rounded quarter-barrel style, domes with an umbrella look, one with triangular-shaped sides and a European-style with horizontal bows (metal pieces) instead of vertical ones.

But all kinds of variations are possible.

“If someone wants an awning that looks like a derby, we’ll make one,” Rinner says.

Prices depend upon design and style. For a 4-foot window, a standard canvas awning, such as the one with triangular sides, would run about $175, according to Rinner. More intricate designs could take the price up to $275.

Canvas’ Popularity

A canvas awning for a 3-foot-square window would be about $200 to $225, depending on the fabric selected, White says, and an aluminum awning for the same size window would start at about $150.

White says the popularity of canvas over aluminum or vice versa seems to go in five-year cycles, with one or the other seeming to dominate. “Right now fabric awnings are all the rage,” he says. But he believes that “we are now on the downside of the fabric five-year cycle” and says he expects aluminum to become dominant again.

He says aluminum is generally less expensive “because it’s custom-made to fit your home in a matter of a few minutes . . . versus canvas or a fabric that takes hours and hours to sew and fit.”

On the other hand, he says, fabric is more versatile because “if you can draw it, it can be made. You can’t do that with aluminum. It has set, standard patterns that are acceptable and available.”

Like a Buggy Top

Retractable canvas awnings are also available for windows. These consist of a flat piece of fabric mounted on metal arms at each side of a window. The arms retract and fold up the awning like an buggy top, White says. These might be desirable on a contemporary-style home with an east window that gets morning sun, but is in shade in the afternoon.

Durability is another factor where aluminum and canvas awnings differ. White says aluminum awnings might need to be repainted “20 years from now.” Canvas awnings might need to be replaced in five years or so, at about half the cost of the original installation, according to Rinner.

However, White says, the life of canvas awnings can be extended considerably with proper care. Wear starts when dust settles into canvas fibers and wind agitates the dust. The solution, according to White, is to hose down canvas awnings once a month and remove stains from birds or leaves with a special canvas-cleaning solution available at home supply stores.

If they are properly cared for, he says, “you’ll get many, many more years out of them.”

AWNINGS IN ALL SHAPES TO SERVE ALL PURPOSES

Awnings are custom-made because of the variety of styles available and the variance in the variance in the requirements. The length of an awning, how far it projects from a wall (18 inches to 2 feet for windows) and how deep it comes down on a window all depend on the size of the window, how much sun a window gets and how much shade is desired.

Most awnings are aluminum or fabric, and even though the term canvas is commonly used, it is somewhat of a misnomer, Most of the fabrics are really acrylics, similar to what is used in more expensive patio umbrellas.

Aluminum awnings are created by fastening together 3-inch slats of aluminum and are available in a variety of configurations. One style allows 1/2-inch gasps between slats for filtered sunlight and to avoid obscuring a view with an awning that has considerable depth.

For fabric awnings, a stationary frame is welded together out of metal tubing. The frames are then powder-coated (a finish often used on patio furniture) for a durable finish and mounted on the wall. The fabric covers the frame, secured by a rod slipped into a pocket in the fabric and screwed onto the frame.

Source: Awning Masters of Garden Grove