best patio awning material to get

[wedge542]

time to replace my old acrylic awning, looks original so i guess 17yrs not bad but was wondering if nowdays theres something better in material, some say vinyl some say acrylic,  whats your choice and how long has yours lasted so far?

 

[Tom]

You can't go wrong with Sunbrela fabric.

 

[wedge542]

thanks tom, i looked around, looks like the sunbrella is twice the cost of the other choices but im guessing it will last 2-3 times longer too,  how long do these thing normaly last used weekends in summer only and washed regular?

 

[captsteve]

Sunbrella is a marine.grade.canvas.  using as you will it should outlast you, barring the normal damage from wind  or meteorites! ;D

 

[driftless shifter]

15 seasons, moored on a salt water bay in New England. The stitching and edge bindings rotted. I got a couple more seasons out of the stitching with super glue on the loose ends. The sunbrella was pretty thin by then but hadn't torn or just plain wore through. Custom made by the same man twice,15 years apart, price went up about $500.

Bill

 

[Wavery]

thanks tom, i looked around, looks like the sunbrella is twice the cost of the other choices but im guessing it will last 2-3 times longer too,  how long do these thing normaly last used weekends in summer only and washed regular?

I used to make custom covers, awnings, dodgers etc for boats. I used Sunbrella exclusively. It will last 5-years in the Sun full time. However, one seldom parks their boat under a tree.

The down-side to Sunbrella is that it doesn't deal with chafing well. For instance, if you have your awning out and there is a tree branch touching it, it could very well chafe through the awning in 1 night of wind blowing. The vinyl awnings are far more resistant to chafing. I personally would not use Sunbrella for an RV awning for that reason alone.

Take a look at pop-up tent campers. Most use Sunbrella on the sides because it's breathable, strong, it keeps it's shape and the windows sew into it nicely. However they usually use vinyl on the top, around the edges and in any area that might experience chafe.

 

[Tom]

My other half uses Sunbrella extensively in her business, mainly because of the durability and the fact that they stand behind their product.

There's one alternative that I wouldn't normally recommend, but I'll throw it out there as a way to save money ....

If you google sunbrella and click on the links to various distributors, you'll see that some mention 'first run', usually in small print. Fabric manufacturers/mills such as Sunbrella use a different grade of fabric to set up their machines; This fabric is likely to have a lower thread count and not be of the same quality as their main product. When they're done with the setups, the 'first run' fabrics are wholesaled off.

Most resellers of first run fabrics will sell them at much less than the regular Sunbrella, but there are resellers out there that charge 'almost' full price. So, be sure to read the small print on these folks' web sites.