A retractable fabric awning on spring-tensioned arms turns a baking north or west patio into a usable room in summer, then folds away to let the winter sun back in.
No posts means no interrupted view of the estate grounds and no clutter around a braai area. Projection runs to roughly three to four metres over wide spans, and solution-dyed acrylic fabrics are built to hold their colour under South African UV — a real consideration on a north-facing entertainment deck that catches sun most of the day.
A full cassette seals the fabric and arms away completely when retracted — the tidiest option and the one we'd recommend for anything exposed to the weather. Semi-cassette and open mounting are lower-cost alternatives where the awning is more sheltered. LED lighting and a vertical drop-valance are available as add-ons on the premium lines, useful for evening entertaining.
A crank handle works, but motorised with a wind sensor is the responsible spec, not an upsell. An awning caught open in a highveld thunderstorm gust can be destroyed in seconds; auto-retract on wind protects the investment without you having to be home, watching the sky. It pairs naturally with the same motorised control running the rest of the house.
It's honestly a shade product, not a rain product — fine for light drizzle at a pitch, never for storm rain or standing water. Wind ratings are real limits, not suggestions, and the fixing substrate (brick, timber or steel facade) needs a proper look before we quote. All of that gets checked at your free measure, so there are no surprises after installation.
An awning is priced on the shade it throws — the width along the wall multiplied by how far the arms reach out. Installed, a crank-handle awning is R3,500 to R5,500 per square metre and a motorised one R5,500 to R7,500. A full cassette, a wind sensor for the summer storms and the deeper projections all sit at the top of their bands.
Even a short awning over one door carries a minimum charge, because the arms, the cassette and the wall fixing are the same work at any width. The wall and its substrate have to be seen before they can be priced, so the written figure for your patio follows the free measure.
Shading patios and braai decks, from Rivonia's shared complex gardens to Illovo's apartment balconies and Atholl's poolside entertaining areas. We measure and fit throughout Morningside and into these neighbouring suburbs:
Free in-home measure, honest advice on projection and wind rating, no pressure to decide on the day.
