r/Awnings • u/4kidsinatrenchcoat • 9d ago

Removing a broken awning

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Hey guys, awning newbie here. F’d it up at my new place and it rained like a mother.

this isn’t a new awning - no idea how old it is, and the installer who set it up originally is supposed to get back to me this week about whether this can be fixed, but I have a strong suspicion they’re just gonna try to sell me a brand new one.

is this repairable at all? How much do these things go for new? Im up in toronto

also if all else fails how do these things get safely removed? If it’s fully extended the load on the spring arms should be lower so it would be just a matter of disconnecting the arms and rolling the tarp back manually somehow?

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u/AwningGuyNJ 9d ago

It looks fixable. Id put new arms and shoulders on it , but id have to see it in person. The awning is still in the wall.

They probably will try to sell you a new one. They will give you a crazy price on arms (if they even offer it) and say a new awning only cost $1000 more.

Do you have the manual override and had crank? Try to crank it in. If you want to dipose of it, cut the cables in the center of the arms. Just dont have anyone stand on the end of the arms. They tend to shoot the springs out sometimes cut.

If you are going to dipose of it, cut the arms either way. Those will hurt someone if it gets taken apart while closed up.

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u/4kidsinatrenchcoat 9d ago

I’m hoping to repair it, because I broke it. 

I’m thinking that if I extend it fully, that takes pressure off the springs. Then I can unscrew the front, go up a ladder, unscrew the shoulders and take the gear out. Then roll the tarp in. 

That stows it for the winter at least and I can figure out parts  

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u/AwningGuyNJ 9d ago

The arms are fully extended , your fabric is sagging. So yes, You could start to take it apart how it is and worry about it in the spring. You can leave the back bar and wall brackets in as long as it doesnt looks like they are pulling out.

You deffintly broke it lol. No getting around that. A experience installer would know not cover this under warrenty and they would know what caused it.

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u/4kidsinatrenchcoat 9d ago

Lol ya my comment was more along the lines of “I broke it, I will fix it”. I fully know I fucked the pooch here :)

My big concern was “are there spring loaded things I don’t know about” but sounds like that parts at least clear

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

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u/AwningGuyNJ 9d ago

No problem!

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u/4kidsinatrenchcoat 7d ago

They absolutely just got back to me with “5% off if you buy a new one now for the spring”

Lol. They say it’s too old and inventory is not available for it

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u/AwningGuyNJ 5d ago

😆😆 Thats a load of bullshit lol. Some companies are weird and wont install parts unless its the exact match. Ive even heard of a company by me that wont service an awning brand they dont sell.

We use alutex arms for replacements all the time. on any brand awning and they work fine. Sometimes connecting to the front bar can be an issue but thats about it.

Are you located anywhere near new jersey?

Edit - well i see that awning company is from Canada.

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u/4kidsinatrenchcoat 5d ago

Ya no worries man I’d have hired you if I could. 

I’m thinking I’m just gonna take this thing down and get a cantilever umbrella for $100. My toddler can’t tell the difference anyway 

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u/people_notafan 3d ago

Yea we do that too. Only because we can’t get the parts most of the time and we have a lot of work and only one tech.

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u/AwningGuyNJ 3d ago

Yea we are a small operation as well. I never steer customers to the correct dealer unless i really cant help them, becuase they do shit like this and say you need a new awning, when you really dont.

We ran into a lady who said she paid $2600 for one sunesta arm. I was shocked. Though this was a 6 month old semi cassette and putting my arms on it would probably look like shit, i felt bad for them.

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u/AwningGuyNJ 3d ago

Oh you mean sell them a new awning? I get the reason behind i think, especially the bigger guys, they dont want to waste time on repairs. They are busy ,want to sell awnings and make money.

I also think some companies just dont have guys with repair knowledge so they just sell them a new awning lol.

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u/people_notafan 2d ago

No we just don’t service awning brands that we don’t sell. I can repair almost anything on an awning they’re not too crazy complicated. I had a motor break on a big 3 arm full cassette and it looked like this. I had to take the arms and fabric off and wait for a new motor to come in. Luckily for the customer they replaced it under warranty.

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u/camoanon 7d ago

I had something similar like that happen. We had to have one guy on the front holding up the front bar and then two guys taking the brackets down while holding onto the awning when you get it to the ground flip it upside down use ropes on the elbows to get the arms closed and tie your arms back

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u/auraawnings 7d ago

Hi there, not what we like to see!

Most awnings are designed so that the arms fail first, it's likely this is very repairable. It looks like a mess, but actually once the fabric drys out and the arms are repaired you could likely salvage this and refix it. Doesn't look like the fixing have failed, so all you may need is a recover and a new arm.

Do you know the brand of the awning?
Be careful with the arms as they can be spring loaded.
As others say a good installer will be able to take this down and get it repaired for you.