Folding Arm Awning

Where can awnings be installed?

Almost anywhere you want shade and comfort outdoors. Folding-arm awnings are most often fitted over patios, decks and alfresco areas to create a cool, useable outdoor room in summer, and they work equally well shading windows and doors to keep the heat off the glass — a real difference on Canberra’s hot north- and west-facing walls.

Because a retractable awning extends only when you want it, you get sun protection on a scorching afternoon and open sky the rest of the time. The right position comes down to the aspect of your home, where the afternoon sun falls, and how you use the space — which is exactly what we assess before we recommend a solution. And wherever your awning goes, how it’s fixed is just as important as where.

Image, Markilux 5010, folding arm awning. Installed in Hackett.

Custom-engineered mounting — including above the roofline

Not every home offers a straightforward wall to fix to, and that’s where our fabrication experience sets us apart. Where a standard mount won’t work — or won’t look right — we can custom-engineer a raised mounting structure to fit your awning above the roofline.

This lifts the awning to a higher resting position that clears the roof and sits out of sight when it’s retracted, so you get full shade when you want it and a clean, uncluttered roofline when you don’t. Every custom structure is engineered for strength and fixed back to your home’s framing, so a better look never comes at the cost of security.

Image. Markilux 3300 installed in Reid, ACT.

Markilux 5010, installed above roof line, in Redhill, ACT.

Markilux Planet — the freestanding awning

The Markilux Planet is a freestanding awning that works where there’s no suitable wall to fix to — half parasol, half folding-arm awning, mounted on a slim column set into its own foundation.

Image courtesy of Markilux

How big can an awning go?

Bigger than most people expect. A single Markilux 6000 folding-arm awning can span up to 7 metres wide with a projection of up to 4 metres — enough to shade a large patio or entertaining area from one unit, with no posts to interrupt the space or the view.

For even larger areas, units can be coupled together to cover wider spans again, up to 14m. The right size for your home depends on the area you want to shade and the wall or structure available to fix to — which is exactly what we work out with you before recommending a solution. And the bigger the awning, the more the strength of the installation matters.

This awning pictured is 12m wide and is made from one continuous width of fabric and required a custom build onsite.

Markilux 3300, installed in Googong, NSW.

Markilux 6000 roof mounted, installed in Forrest, ACT.

What’s the difference between a full-cassette and an open awning?

The difference comes down to how well the awning protects itself when it’s rolled up. A full-cassette awning closes into a sealed housing that completely encloses the fabric, arms and roller when retracted — shielding everything from rain, dust and UV, giving a much longer life, and leaving a sleek, tidy box on the wall. An open (or open-cassette) awning has no full housing: the fabric rolls up but the arms and roller stay largely exposed to the weather, which keeps the cost down but means the awning is best suited to a spot that already has some overhead cover, like a balcony above.

A semi-cassette sits in between — a top cover that partly shelters the fabric for more sheltered positions. For Canberra’s climate — hot sun, frost and the occasional wild wind — we generally recommend a full cassette: the extra protection pays for itself in how long the awning lasts and how good it keeps looking.

Markilux 1710. Image courtesy of Markilux

Markilux 5010 roof mounted, installed in Narrabundah, ACT.

Helioscreen full cassette. Installed in Ainslie, ACT.