Hello everyone,
Summer is just around the corner, and we’re facing the issue of sunlight exposure.
We have a large window wall (southwest-facing) measuring nearly 8m by 2.5m (26 ft by 8 ft), and now we want to install some kind of sunshade.
An awning is currently our choice: what should we consider here? Which color is most suitable? I wanted a solid red, but apparently that color has the most problems with fading outdoors. Anthracite? Would that be too dark, and does it fade a lot?
What about dirt and stains — does it get warmer under a gray awning compared to, for example, a yellow one? Should we go for a full cassette or a half cassette awning? The half cassette seems to have the advantage that I can retract it just enough to stop at bird droppings and then wipe them off easily.
We have already arranged the electrical setup. The requirement is that it must protect the terrace and living room from the sun. We would also like to be able to sit under the awning during light rain. Does a rain and storm sensor make sense? Would you recommend having a light installed in the awning?
The windows will be replaced — the frames will be anthracite and fitted with external venetian blinds (is that the correct term for those slatted blinds?). But this will take a while and is quite expensive.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I don’t want to have the friendly salespeople come to the house unprepared.
Best regards,
Claudia
Summer is just around the corner, and we’re facing the issue of sunlight exposure.
We have a large window wall (southwest-facing) measuring nearly 8m by 2.5m (26 ft by 8 ft), and now we want to install some kind of sunshade.
An awning is currently our choice: what should we consider here? Which color is most suitable? I wanted a solid red, but apparently that color has the most problems with fading outdoors. Anthracite? Would that be too dark, and does it fade a lot?
What about dirt and stains — does it get warmer under a gray awning compared to, for example, a yellow one? Should we go for a full cassette or a half cassette awning? The half cassette seems to have the advantage that I can retract it just enough to stop at bird droppings and then wipe them off easily.
We have already arranged the electrical setup. The requirement is that it must protect the terrace and living room from the sun. We would also like to be able to sit under the awning during light rain. Does a rain and storm sensor make sense? Would you recommend having a light installed in the awning?
The windows will be replaced — the frames will be anthracite and fitted with external venetian blinds (is that the correct term for those slatted blinds?). But this will take a while and is quite expensive.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I don’t want to have the friendly salespeople come to the house unprepared.
Best regards,
Claudia
This issue has been the biggest frustration for me in our new build.
We have a terrace with a full south-facing orientation. Last year, we installed an awning there. However, I’m still not really happy with it. In summer, it gets way too hot despite the awning, whereas under the adjacent walnut tree, it’s much, much more comfortable. Also, I don’t like that the patio furniture and the grill are exposed to the weather all the time. In early drafts of the house, an overhang was planned on the upper floor, but unfortunately, we had to remove it for cost reasons.
Now, after a year with the awning, we are getting quotes for a fixed roof. It will be a flat roof with greenery on top. Especially because of the green roof, I hope the terrace will not heat up as much in summer. We know this will make the adjacent kitchen/dining area darker, which is our biggest drawback, but the advantages outweigh this for us. We are not interested in glass roofs at all, so those are off the table.
The money spent on the awning was sort of a lesson learned. If we sell it, we’ll get back only about a quarter to half of our approximately 4,000€ initial cost. Luckily, we have space for it on the rooftop terrace, so it will be moved there. However, we actually hadn’t planned to install an awning there.
Conclusion for anyone still in the planning phase: include something like this in your build from the start. I (especially) deeply regret not pursuing this more consistently back then...
BTW: If anyone needs a Markilux 5010 awning, 5 m (16.4 ft) wide and 4 m (13.1 ft) projection, I have one for sale.
We have a terrace with a full south-facing orientation. Last year, we installed an awning there. However, I’m still not really happy with it. In summer, it gets way too hot despite the awning, whereas under the adjacent walnut tree, it’s much, much more comfortable. Also, I don’t like that the patio furniture and the grill are exposed to the weather all the time. In early drafts of the house, an overhang was planned on the upper floor, but unfortunately, we had to remove it for cost reasons.
Now, after a year with the awning, we are getting quotes for a fixed roof. It will be a flat roof with greenery on top. Especially because of the green roof, I hope the terrace will not heat up as much in summer. We know this will make the adjacent kitchen/dining area darker, which is our biggest drawback, but the advantages outweigh this for us. We are not interested in glass roofs at all, so those are off the table.
The money spent on the awning was sort of a lesson learned. If we sell it, we’ll get back only about a quarter to half of our approximately 4,000€ initial cost. Luckily, we have space for it on the rooftop terrace, so it will be moved there. However, we actually hadn’t planned to install an awning there.
Conclusion for anyone still in the planning phase: include something like this in your build from the start. I (especially) deeply regret not pursuing this more consistently back then...
BTW: If anyone needs a Markilux 5010 awning, 5 m (16.4 ft) wide and 4 m (13.1 ft) projection, I have one for sale.
DieScholz´ens3 Apr 2020 09:17Oh, I love that too. We also have a bench right outside the front door where I sit (when the temperatures allow) in the morning and enjoy a coffee. In the garden, we have a large dining table, and at some point, a separate terrace for a lounge area is planned. Garden planning is still far from complete... Ideally, I would love a Sunball from Rosenthal, but that will probably remain just a wish (likely not possible for various reasons).
The awning doesn’t dominate our space (I was surprised myself because the cassette awnings looked extremely bulky in the store), but when closed, it’s barely noticeable. Open, well, it’s huge but somehow cozy. I’ll try to share some photos later.
We chose anthracite for the frame (to match the windows later) and light gray fabric (not particularly exciting or creative, but you don’t get tired of it and it’s more flexible with the rest). For the chairs, I went with red again.
The awning doesn’t dominate our space (I was surprised myself because the cassette awnings looked extremely bulky in the store), but when closed, it’s barely noticeable. Open, well, it’s huge but somehow cozy. I’ll try to share some photos later.
We chose anthracite for the frame (to match the windows later) and light gray fabric (not particularly exciting or creative, but you don’t get tired of it and it’s more flexible with the rest). For the chairs, I went with red again.
H
hampshire3 Apr 2020 09:33matte1987 schrieb:
In summer, it’s still way too hot despite the awning, whereas under the adjacent walnut tree it’s immediately much, much more pleasant. There are several reasons for this:
- The leaf canopy of a tree creates multiple layers of shade, while an awning provides only one.
- A tree’s leaf canopy allows air circulation, whereas an awning attached to a wall can cause air to stagnate.
- The tree additionally provides evaporative cooling. For example, a beech tree can transport up to 400 liters (106 gallons) of water through its leaves per day during summer. The awning, on the other hand, stays completely dry.
Even with a fixed roof, you won’t get the pleasant shade of a tree or forest—so don’t make the same costly mistake. Green roofs are great (we also have one on the middle flat roof section), but purely for temperature-related reasons, I find them too expensive. In the forest behind our house, it was over 10°C (18°F) cooler on hot days last summer than in front of the house.
DieScholz´ens3 Apr 2020 14:47ypg schrieb:
Did you choose a light gray?
We’re also selecting a color tomorrow. I already mentioned our 1970s orange awning. That won’t match anymore. I want to be independent from cushions and such, so I’ll probably go with light gray.
I’d appreciate a photo. Here’s my attempt at some photos. Unfortunately, I could only capture the awning like this, but we’re quite happy with it. We didn’t get wind or sun sensors (those will be added later with the new windows including external venetian blinds). It just rolls up and down electrically… and that’s it. We mounted the remote control on the wall so it doesn’t get lost.
I hope this helps you with your decision! Best regards.
Alternatively, cream or beige fabric was an option, but I felt the risk of it looking dirty quickly was too high.
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