What a folding-arm awning costs by width
Price follows width first and projection second, because the arm carries the whole load in the air with nothing under the front edge. A 3m unit projecting 2m is the common Pretoria patio size; beyond 5m the frame moves to a heavier extrusion and the price per metre steps up rather than climbing smoothly.
| Width | Projection | Manual crank | Motorised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0m | 2.0m | R9,000 – R14,000 | R14,000 – R19,000 |
| 4.0m | 2.5m | R12,500 – R18,000 | R18,000 – R25,000 |
| 5.0m | 3.0m | R16,000 – R23,000 | R23,000 – R31,000 |
| 6.0m | 3.0m | R20,000 – R28,000 | R28,000 – R38,000 |
Bands are supplied-and-installed on a sound face-brick or plastered-brick wall, in acrylic canvas on a powder-coated aluminium frame. A motor adds R5,000 to R10,000; a wind sensor that retracts the awning on its own adds R2,500 to R4,000.
Acrylic canvas, not PVC, on this side of the country
Solution-dyed acrylic holds its colour under Pretoria UV for eight to ten years. PVC-coated polyester is cheaper by roughly a third and goes chalky and brittle in three to four summers here, because the pigment sits on the surface rather than through the fibre. The frame matters less than the fabric: a powder-coated aluminium arm outlives both. Fabric is the part that gets replaced, and a re-cover on an existing frame runs R3,500 to R9,000 depending on width.
Wind is the failure mode, not sun
A folding-arm awning has no front posts, so the whole wind load goes back through the arms into the wall brackets. Most units are rated to Beaufort 5, about 38km/h, and a Pretoria summer thunderstorm gusts well past that in the ten minutes before the rain. An awning left out in that storm bends an arm or pulls a bracket out of the brickwork, and neither is covered by the fabric warranty. Two answers: a wind sensor that winds it in unattended, or an adjustable louvred roof, which stays up in wind because its blades are carried on a fixed frame.
Where the awning is never going to be retracted, a fixed structure is cheaper and lasts longer — a window or door awning over glass, or a patio cover over the whole area.
Fitted with the rest of the structure
A retractable awning needs a wall with sound brickwork at the right height and a clear swing under it, which is worth settling on the same visit as the carport rather than afterwards. KB quotes it alongside carports in Pretoria and the other awnings for sale in Pretoria, so one measure covers the whole property.
Retractable awning questions
How much is a retractable awning in Pretoria?
R9,000 to R14,000 for a 3m manual folding-arm unit and R28,000 to R38,000 for a 6m motorised one, supplied and installed. That is roughly R2,800 to R6,300 per metre of width, with a motor adding R5,000 to R10,000.
Can a retractable awning stay out in wind?
No. Most folding-arm awnings are rated to about 38km/h, and a Pretoria summer storm gusts past that before the rain arrives. Fit a wind sensor that retracts it unattended, or choose a louvred roof, which is carried on a fixed frame and stays up.
How long does the fabric last in Pretoria sun?
Solution-dyed acrylic holds colour for eight to ten years under Pretoria UV. PVC-coated polyester costs about a third less and goes chalky in three to four summers, because its pigment sits on the surface instead of through the fibre. A re-cover on the existing frame runs R3,500 to R9,000.