Best Window Awnings Australia

Online, October 9, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Technically, an awning is a covering attached to the exterior wall - it could be over the window (hence window awning) or it could be over the porch or an extension in the backyard of your home.

The making of window awnings

A window awning is usually made from canvas woven of polyester or acrylic or cotton or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric. The material is put between a light structure of wood, iron or aluminium or steel. These days aluminium is the favourite frame for the Commercial Awnings because it is light weight, easy to work with, maintenance free and powder coated aluminium stays as good as new for many years. Of course, instead of using fabric you could use aluminium sheets or as some folks prefer removable aluminium sheets. So you can have fabric during summer, acrylic during monsoons and aluminium in winter (to take care of snow load). If this sounds like bit of a bother, remember you would be changing the material only once every four months or so.

Types of awnings

Although this article covers window awnings, an awning could be placed above a door, above say a sidewalk or even attached to the wall leading to the balcony. It could cover the entire length of a wall. Some folks like to attach an awning on the length of their kitchen wall so kids can play in the shade where mom can keep an eye on them while in the kitchen. Restaurants, especially garden restaurants on the other hand, usually place columns leading in the garden and using an elegant fabric awning to cover the entire top. Awnings are especially popular with street side cafes.
Commercial establishments usually have a combination of window, door and store front awnings with corporate logos, phone number etc. printed on it. In regions with wintry weather, most window awnings are permanently fitted. These External Awnings tend to have a kind of lever that enables the window awning to be retracted against the building during winter.

Window Awnings were first used by Egyptians

The ancient Egyptians are credited with inventing window awning. The harsh sun probably brought about a need to shade windows and doors so a visitor felt the coolness even before entering the house. Window awning ensured that direct rays of the sun did not enter and heat up the room. Back then, thick cotton fabric or woven mats were used for window awning. Often an entire inner court yard would be covered with semi-transparent cotton or linen awning creating a cool, pleasant atmosphere. Ancient Romans too used window awning in much the same way as the Egyptians did - perhaps they carried the idea from Egypt?

Window awning became popular in Europe during the 19th century - this was when industrial revolution took place and factories brought down the price of canvas. Shops along sidewalks set up window awning covering the entire store front. Back then canvas was used as the material of choice for awnings as it was available in abundance (canvas was used to make tents and sails).

Modern day window awnings tend to be bright and colourful reflecting new age technologies, materials and design sensibilities.

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