Awning manufacturers have a shorthand jargon which succinctly describes their awnings’ characteristics, quality, function, even fashion. Knowledge is the key to having an efficient and enjoyable online shopping experience for retractable awnings.
These simplified common terms can allow you to know in advance what you are looking at, so you know how to get exactly what you would like terms.
A lateral arm retractable awning is an awning which can be wrapped up and closed; unlike fixed awnings and canopies, a retractable awning has no support articles. A retractable awning has an intrinsically easy design:
- Length – the skeleton of the awning; the framework is comprised of the mounting arms, and roller tube.
- Mounting bar – the bottom of the retractable awning that dismounted in place, if the awning is retracted, the awning fabric rolls round the roller tube connected to the mounting bar.
- Arms – the region of the frame which folds shut in the elbow when the awning is retracted rolls in and opens when the awning is extended rolls out.
- Shoulder – the joints on the retractable awning arms where arms attach to the mounting bar.
- Front pub – the extrusion in the very front of the awning frame.
- Hood – a cover that fits over the retractable awning frame and cloth, if the awning is fully retracted, the hood protects the exposed cloth, frame, and engine from the components.
- Valance – a strip of cloth, usually a few inches high, which hangs from the front bar of the retractable awning.
- Rib – the cross bars of the framework which encourage the awning fabric. Not every awning design has ribs, because ribs are frequently utilised to make a contour to the awning frame; for instance, lateral arm retractable awnings do not have any ribs.
- Canopy – an elongated, dome, or waterfall style retractable awning
- There are dozens of styles of retractable awnings, determined mostly by the framework shape:
- Lateral arm awning – the most common, and earliest, tende da sole verona style, consisting only of at least two arms, front bar, mounting bar and the cloth. This is the most popular style for houses and commercial buildings, this is also the most scalable fashion, extending projecting up to seventeen feet without external supports.
- Dome – an awning with curved ribs, which creates a rounded shape when fully extended, those often have a significantly shorter expansion projection than lateral arm awnings, extending only about five feet outside maximum from the mount point. An elongated dome can get a longer projection compared to a normal dome style, nearly double. Dome awnings are typical for commercial properties and for door and window awnings.