What’s the Real Difference Between Buying an Awning and Buying a Pergola?
The popularity of outdoor living spaces in residential and commercial properties across the globe is directly correlated with increased interest in retractable covers. From expanding space to protecting homes and buildings from weather, and from saving on energy bills to enhancing a property’s curb appeal, the benefits linked to installing one of these products are virtually endless.
What Is The Difference Between An Awning And A Pergola?
Both are outdoor structures designed to provide shelter from sun and/or rain. The difference between the two products is that an awning is attached to the house or building while a pergola is an attached or detached structure (to a house or a building) with posts, beams, and rafters. When buying a pergola, with or without a retractable roof, it will make your search easier and faster if you limit it to suitably designed models that fit your house or building and your plans.
When you include the different models, materials, and styles available to today’s consumers, the range of retractable cover products is so extensive that it can be tough to choose. Before you make such a purchase, you should consider your needs closely and understand exactly what you are buying. A pergola gives you different options than an awning. This article puts together a few essential factors regarding the differences between buying an awning and a pergola.
Materials And Material Durability Can Differ
If you’ve almost decided between a retractable awning or pergola, you’ll want to choose the right material. Pergolas are usually long-term installations, so it is worth selecting durable materials like wood or 6063 aluminum. For retractable awnings, however, different materials are used, including different kinds of durable fabric and frame materials like steel, galvanized steel, or aluminum.
Retractable Awnings Are Best For Sun Protection
It is so pleasant on a hot summer day to sit in the shade, read a book, drink tea, and just relax. Or invite your friends over for a little talk or an impromptu gathering. If you’re buying a pergola for these purposes you may want to consider how much area you want to protect, since this kind of structure may give you only a limited area for large numbers of people or many pieces of furniture.
Aesthetics Are Different
Buying a pergola or buying an awning is a decision that can change the look of your property or backyard. Not only do they cover an area from the sun, but they also enhance your yard’s appearance or the front or back of your house. It is hard to say which will look more beautiful, and the final decision, which is personal, will depend on your imagination and taste.
The pergola will possibly take up more space due to the posts, but it can become a nice and cozy corner in your garden. Besides, you can decorate the pergola with flowers or surround it with climbing plants. The design of the awning also can be very different: from modest to very pretentious. You can apply different styles, colors, and materials to create the desired atmosphere.
Adjustability And Mobility Differences
When buying a pergola, you can select between a model that can be picked up and moved or one that is attached to a fixed, non-movable surface like your porch, patio, deck, or the side of your home or building, which will offer very little adjustment. Fold out awnings are usually attached to a single wall, fascia, soffit/eave/overhang, beam, or roof and can be folded and adjusted in different ways.
Consider The Place Of Installation
Unlike an awning, a pergola can be fixed or free-standing, so before buying a pergola make sure you know exactly where you want to install it. Even free-standing models can present some difficulties if you want to move them later.
Retractable patio or porch covers like awnings need to be installed in an area that offers a wall or a similar support structure. In some cases, when you buy an awning, you can also attach the awning to tall, strong trees in your garden or use a special frame to support it.
Retractable Awnings Are Open And Can Provide Less Privacy
The area under an awning is more open since its support is provided by a nearby wall. Therefore, it’s best suited for spending time with large groups of people. Whereas, if you buy a pergola and put it in a quiet far corner of the garden, you can enjoy privacy in beautiful surroundings.
Consider the Location
When the seasons grow cool, having an enclosed space that is protected from the wind is preferable to an open area, regardless of the sun. This is entirely consistent with the pergola features, which can be enclosed and transformed into a small room in your garden where you can have a warming tea or coffee on fall evenings. In this case, buying a pergola is preferable. When you buy an awning (retractable), it usually only provides shade in an outdoor area and cannot be enclosed.
Consider The Cost
In many cases, due to a more complex design, a pergola may cost more than residential awnings. But this is not always true. The final cost can differ greatly for both types of products due to special features (privacy screens, sliding doors, sensors, and lighting), the style (complex vs simple), the materials it is made from (wood vs stainless steel vs aluminum), and fabrics (special fabrics cost more). Other factors include custom features you may want to install during the construction process and difficulties encountered during installation.
Consider The Size
When buying a pergola, make sure you consider the size you want to cover. For example, are you working with a small patio or a large space in your backyard that needs a free-standing option? Retractable pergolas can be made much larger than awnings, and different models of each are often available in a variety of sizes. Make sure you measure the space you need to cover in order to protect your furniture and create a comfortable space.
Which Installation Can Be More Complex?
It’s important to know what kind of job you’re looking at before buying an awning or buying a pergola. Any option that requires attachment to a single wall will usually be a lot easier than building a structure from the ground up. Because it needs support structures like posts, or even partial walls for some models, constructing a pergola can be more complex. But building this kind of framework in your yard may turn out to be an advantage you can work in your favor, especially if you have plans to install electricity, plumbing, or similar options. And it can increase the value of your property.
Conclusion
Many factors should be considered before buying a pergola or a retractable cover, and good planning is essential. Our installation professionals and customer service personnel can help you. RetractableAwnings.com is proud to have been in business for over 37 years, providing unmatched retractable patio and deck products for clients of all kinds in many parts of the world. Our frames and components come from Europe and we source nothing from China. We have the experience, the knowledge, and a wide variety of styles and models that can suit almost any requirement in any location.
If you or your client is interested in buying a pergola or buying an awning, contact our experts in the USA or Canada toll-free at (866) 696-0714, or (786) 751-3796 if you are outside of this area. Or use the live help chat tool for more information or for help in selecting the right model that will provide full benefits for you or your client!
