A commercial on TV right now has a couple complaining about how the sun made their patio so hot they couldn’t enjoy it. But then they bought a SunSetter retractable awning, and it keeps their patio and house nice and cool.
In the five years since I relocated to the PNW, I’ve noticed that these commercials always come on in the dead of Winter.
Ar?
I want the sun to make my patio hot this time of year! It never happens, but it would be nice. (The summers up here are glorious, and there’s no need for an awning.)
I’ve seen this commercial during the summer, and it always seems like one of those, “That’s a cool idea, although I can’t imagine paying for it” sort of deals. I’ll be curious to see if anyone has actually purchased one.
When my friend had her house in Hoquiam she had a retractable awning. I don’t know if it was a SunSetter. It let her get out on the patio when it was raining (a frequent occurrence up here). If the commercial talked about being able to use one’s patio in the rain, I could understand it. Especially if they had a super-nice awning that would stand up to snow. But seeing people complain about the heat when it’s literally freezing outside strikes me as odd.
We have a really good awning over our deck. We call it a tree.
I can’t imagine paying that much for what is basically a piece of canvas and some sticks. I’d have to buy a canvas tarp, paint it, cut down some volunteer ash saplings, and make my own.
I do find it interesting that their awnings are assembled in the US, but there is no mention of where the components are made. That kind of misdirection makes me crabby.
Well, SunSetter probably runs ads when it cheap to do so; like the winter. They also want you to order now because business is slower in the winter. You can get better deals in the winter.
We thought about getting a SunSetter awning for our 40 x 9 foot concrete patio on the south side of our house because it gets so hot in the summer. But then we decided we wanted a dry patio in the winter as well (I hated shoveling that huge patio). So mr.stretch built a kickass roof.
Some friends of our have a SunSetter and they love it. They can’t leave it unattended though…they live in Ellensburg and the winds would kill it in short order.
Our neighbors have one and we’ll probably get one. My back deck is south facing and gets sun all day. I’ve planted trees on the east side of the deck but can’t on the west side because that’s where our driveway is. So after 3pm in the summer really uncomfortable.
I like pergolas but I don’t want a permanent structure because it would darken the kitchen.
If you come out this way, he can build one for me! I have a concrete/asphalt patio by the French doors (a deck outside of the back bedroom doors) with a small covering over it. Basically a wood frame with clear corrugated plastic panels on top. It only gives about 6’ of protection. What I’d like to get someday is an actual roof structure that covers the whole patio, and that is faired into the roof of the house. I’d lose the sun, but gain a lot of rain protection.
Sometimes it gets a little breezy here. In 2006 winds hit 84 mph one day. But usually it’s not very windy. Last year I saw one of those free-standing frame-and-tarp structures that had existed on someone’s property for a couple of years, that was severely tweaked by the wind. But again, it usually doesn’t get that bad.
It’s a little more than canvas and sticks. It’s got a motor for one and special synthetic fabric that won’t rot or need painting. Some people don’t have trees yet and don’t want to wait 20 years to enjoy shade near the house. I know someone who has one and it’s great and seems to be well made. I’ve looked into ordering one for my patio and the price seem reasonable if you can catch one of their sale times.
Maybe this spring we can work something out. Mr.stretch needs something to do, and he excels at building stuff. I’ll ask him if he wants to spend some time living the good life with you.
