So you decided to have an awning, walkway, or patio cover built for your property.  Great!  Now you need to decide on the proper fabric to cover this structure.  There is great news!  During the last couple of decades, measurable advances in outdoor fabrics have been brought to market.  Especially in the last 10 years.  Most quality outdoor fabrics have incredibly long warranties, and in our experience and with minimal upkeep, usable life spans that can exceed the warranted life by double.

So how do you pick the correct fabric?  The first step is to determine what kind of structure you have.  A door or window awning will have a different set of needs than a walkway or patio cover.  As a general rule of thumb, a window or door awning with reasonable pitch, can benefit from an acrylic canvas or some other woven fabric.  Those will generally not be waterproof, but will shed water very well, and will provide shade. Woven fabrics like acrylic canvas are also available in countless colors, stripes, and now patterns…..yes patterns.  From geometrical shapes to plaid.  Lots of neat fabrics to pick from.  In addition to patterns, woven fabrics are also available with specialty coatings that allow them to self-clean, or pass more rigorous flame retardant standards that exist in some municipalities.  Also available to the market in recent years are mesh fabrics designed for rigorous outdoor use and exposure.  Choose from mesh that lets in a little light, or a lot of light.  Also choose from countless colors and textures.

Let’s say you have walkway cover, large patio cover, or parking lot structure at your home or place of business.  Or maybe you just want a waterproof fabric for your window/door awning because it isn’t quite steep enough to quickly drain water.  If this is you, it is time to consider a vinyl product.  Many of the recent advances in fabric technology have benefited the vinyl fabric market.  Gone are the days of only a handful of plastic looking fabrics.  Today you can pick from many different textured vinyl products made to look like woven fabric.  There are also matte finished fabrics of different performance levels engineered for structures of different sizes and with different characteristics…..for instance, we have available a performance vinyl that is semi-translucent.  This has been popular for patio covers that are, perhaps, in a location that doesn’t get much natural light.  Vinyl fabrics are also used on VERY large structures such as long walkway covers and parking lot covers.  Another benefit to most vinyl fabrics are that they include a flame retardant performance certificate.  As a general rule of thumb, we will use only flame retardant fabric on patio covers, structures that also have posts supporting them, or any structure that is used as a walkway cover.  State and local ordinances will vary some, but we usually error on the side of caution.

Do you have special/specific branding, artwork, or graphics needs on your awning or patio cover?  Welhener – H.B. Wall Awning and Kansas City Tent & Awning are fully equipped to design and apply your artwork to virtually any fabric that is available on the market.  We digitally print, cut, and apply logos and branding to awnings and canopies every day.  We even hand paint on projects that digital artwork is not viable.  We have worked with nearly every retail, office, or business establishment in the Midwest that has company specific branding requirements.  We have designed, developed, or crafted artwork/advertising for nearly every local business establishment in our area that has an awning with graphics on it.  Perhaps you want a stripe or multi-colored awning or patio cover in a pattern that isn’t factory produced.  We can custom make anything you desire.  Our facilities are fully equipped with state-of-the-art RF and wedge welding machines made specifically to join fabric panels permanently and nearly invisibly.  When you get into the branding and graphics discussion, you also have to consider some special fabrics that usually only get utilized in applications like these.  I am referring to back-lit vinyl, eradicated vinyl, and digitally printable fabrics.  Back-lit vinyl usually has a shiny appearance and when used with lights contained within the awning, will glow the color of the fabric.  Eradicated vinyl is similar in appearance to back-lit vinyl but with the added feature the color can be stripped off where needed to expose the white base color.  When used as is, or with alternate colored adhesive vinyl placed over the white background, the contained lights will allow this awning to glow in all the different colors that have been used.  Ideal to give your business some real night time pop!  Another special option are some vinyl and woven fabrics that allow us to directly print complex artwork and logos directly to them.

Are you looking for a special structure like a fabric wall, or outdoor curtain?  While those do often utilize the same fabrics as listed above, they also tend to incorporate special fabrics such as mesh and clear polished vinyl.  Curtains and walls, most often used in conjunction with a patio cover, give your covered patio a more 4-seasons friendly environment.  We typically use the same material that is on the cover, but weld in clear vinyl windows to allow sun and give your customers a view outside.  Clear vinyl comes in various thicknesses, clear or tinted, and also flame retardant.  Performance requirements will be determined after thorough discussion.  Mesh fabrics have been very popular in recent years, used mostly in curtains.  This is a great option for areas around your home or business that need some protection from evening sun and heat, but can be rolled up the rest of the time.

As you can see, it takes a knowledgeable staff to narrow down the fabric that is just right for you.  As important as performance is, so is cost.  Some of these fabrics are expensive and might not be the best suited for you needs.  Please consult one of our staff members for details, specifications, and opinions.  We are here to help!  Let’s maximize the outdoor living areas you have at your home or place of business.  Give your customers shelter and shade.  Enjoy that nice deck on your house without getting a sunburn this summer.