Awning and Patio Cover Manufacturing Information

You be assured the aluminum patio cover kit from Awnings Patio Covers .Com you are purchasing will enhance, protect, add value to your home along with more useful outside living area.

When purchasing an aluminum awning there a few things you should pay special attention too. By doing so, then you can be assured that the patio cover you are purchasing will give you many years of reliable service for your needs. We encourage you to view our Gallery of Standard Aluminum Patio Covers and our Gallery of Alumawood Patio Covers to see what true quality aluminum patio products look like. Our Carports are made of the same high quality material with a higher engineering standard.  We also have awning parts for your outdoor awning. The awning aluminum parts and awning supplies in some cases are available to you depending on your awning style.

Awning Patio Covers .Com will supply a set of engineered drawings and spans. Please take note of the states that are listed with an approved engineering stamp. If your state isn't listed contact your local Building Dept. to see if they will accept a state that is adjacent to you. Not all areas require a permit to install a patio cover.

Patio Cover Materials:

The thickness of the awning "pans" depends on your particular application needs. The thickness for an awning pan is generally .018 gauge. This thickness works well with most awnings where there is little to no "snow-load" possibility or shorter
spans. A thicker awning pan may be required or the use of beams must be used for heavier snow loads or longer spans.

Awnings Patio Covers offers four pan thickness .018, .024, .032, and .036.  The thicker awning pans at a slight additional charge. Several types and sizes of beams are also available for your special needs. 

***  Aluminum I-Beams in 4", 7", & 10" 
***  Steel C-Beams in 8" & 10".  
***  3" Steel Cloverleaf Beams
All of the beams have different weight and span ratings depending on the awning, patio cover or carport design you are seeking.

The Awning "Pan" Designs:     

Strength in an aluminum awning pan is accomplished by shaping or  "bending" to form the awning pan. Each manufacturer uses a particular awning pan design. The more bends formed into the pan the stronger the awning. The number of bends which give the awning more rigidity will of course require more metal will be use to form the finished product.

The strength of a "Flat Pan " which is our Super 6 V-Groove has a greater span using the same thickness of standard " V "pans. Our "W" pan is even stronger still because it has still more "bends".

At Awnings Patio Covers, we offer the "W" pans   ,   Super 6 Alumawood Flat Pans   and Alumawood Arbor Lattice. Standard Aluminum "W" pans are available in 2 colors.  The Alumawood Super 6 and Arbor Lattice are available in 5 colors. In order to give our customers the durability we make our awnings stronger by design! When you receive a quote from us you will get the complete Alumawood Style.

Post Style and Strength:

Awnings Patio Covers does not recommend what is called scroll posts: which are nothing more than two pieces of  " 1-1/2 " square aluminum tubing connected  together with an aluminum scroll.

We will only sell this type of post if specially requested by you the consumer and will meet engineering requirements.

Awnings Patio Covers uses a minimum of a 3" square .024 thick aluminum post.  For snow prone areas we use a 3" x .030 or 3" x .040 aluminum colonial post which depends on engineering. The Engineering of the larger projections, heavier live loads, and post spacing will require either a 3" x .040 aluminum colonial post or a 3" x .048 steel colonial post.

All freestanding patios and carports require a minimum of a 3" x .048 steel colonial post. Using these types posts we achieve a better engineered system. Freestanding awnings, patio covers, lattice or carports require the post be poured into a concrete footing for stability.

Perimeter-Integral Raingutter - Header and Side Fascia:

There are 2 different types of perimeters. Rollform which comes from the aluminum coil stock. The aluminum coil is put through a series of rollers to form the finished shape. The thickness of the coil stock used to form the rainguter - header is between .035 - .040 gauge. We generally recommend using the extruded type gutter for Standard Aluminum Awnings.

Rollform perimeter is used as our side fascia also. This type of perimeter requires a little more work when forming the outside corners see instructions.

Extruded raingutter - header and side fascia comes from using a mold and pressure to press the molten aluminum in a form to create it's shape. The thickness of an Extruded raingutter - header is .070 gauge.

An Extruded type of perimeter is easier to install. With very little effort to form and secure the corners. Gives you easy access to clean gutters.

Delivered Awning comes complete:

With an Awnings Patio Covers awning packages you will receive all the necessary components to assemble your awning.

Engineering:

There are some companies that are unaware of the engineering that is required to install an awning correctly. For those of you who are required to apply for a Building Permit (This will vary from town to town) we have Engineering for 37 states (approved engineering for climates such as Florida, California, Colorado, Maine).

If your state is not among the 37 states you may not need a permit or your building department usually will accept the engineering from other states due to the similarities of weather conditions and proximity.

Awnings Patio Covers engineered Patio Covers conform to  National Building Codes in 37 States.  Below you will find a list that gives you specifications that the patio needs to slope for a given span and maximum spanable distance per Live Load to pass inspection for most parts of the United States. Your local Building Department can and will inform you as to the Snow and Wind rating codes for your area. You want to tell them it is an Open Aluminum Patio Cover.  These will be the same as for your local company. They should have this information close at hand. Remember this information is for your benefit. A local non-direct third party is your best attempt as to what is required in your area, ie; if possible your local building dept.---you and your families safety is a concern of ours also.  Span in general is the unsupported distance between the structure and the raingutter - header or an intermediate positioned "C" or "I" beam.) Slope, that is required minimum in inches of drop ( .40" per foot of projection [allow ½" per foot of projection as a safe margin ) An intermediate positioned "C" or "I" beam with posts can be placed at mid-span of projection. By doing this you will reduce the span between supports and this will allow for thinner pans to establish your projection. This sometimes will require you to install footings for the patio cover posts.
Our Patio and Carports can be designed for Snow Loads of up to 60 lbs. per square foot and Wind Factor of up to 90mph.  Snow weights approximately 5.25 to 5.5 pounds per cubic foot of snow ( 12" x 12" x 12" ) which is +/- = 1" in depth of water on a 12" x 12" area. Some areas may have a slightly higher water content than 1".  The Patio and Carport Designed slopes below are based on the 3-1/2" Super 12 Pan ( Standard Aluminum Patio Covers).
Minimum Inches of Slope required for a projection ( the distance you want your awning to extend from your home ) = 3 -1/4 ", 9' = 3 - 5/8", 10' = 4" , 11' = 4 - 7/16 " , 12' = 4 - 7/8" , 13' = 5 -1/4", 14' = 5- 5/8 " , 15' = 6" , 16' = 6- 7/16 ". Remember your concrete patio slopes also. 
Examples are for a 10 pound per square foot and 90 mph wind factor design:
Patio pan thickness for the following projections .018 will span up to 16 '- 2", .024 up to 18' - 8", .032 up to 20'- 6" and .036 up to 21' - 4". We can engineer up to 90 MPH Wind Factor. This may seem quite an extreme for wind but this is designed to protect against the Blustery umbrella effect of the wind. 

Note: 
Exposure "B" has terrain which has buildings, forest or surface irregularities covering at least 20 percent of the ground level area extending one mile or more from the site.  
Exposure "C" has terrain which is flat and generally open.  Extending one-half mile or more from the site, in any full quadrant.