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Bill_Diana's avatar
Bill_Diana
Explorer
Mar 23, 2015

How to secure patio awning

Ok folks...please put on your thinking caps. Here is the situation & challenge.

On our motorhome there is a 16 foot, manual operated A&E awning. We are parked along side a huge concrete patio. When extending the awning we never detach the awing legs....thus someone is always bumping their head. We constantly have to warn, "watch your head".

I would like to detach the awning legs from the motorhome and secure them to the cement patio. Easy enough to do. Simply drill holes in the cement, install anchors and bolt the awning foot. But this would cause a trip hazard when the awning is stowed away on windy days.

So I looking for a clever way to secure the awning legs to the cement and to be able to easily & quickly remove the securing method.

I hope I'm explaining this in a manner that you can all understand.

I'm looking forward to your creative solutions. Thanks.
  • Unless you "own" the campsite, I don't think you'll want to drill holes and put anchors in the concrete patio. If you do own it, then by all means, that is probably the best.

    How about using a concrete block at the base of the awning (leg) and then bungie cord the leg to the block? But then you run the risk of stubbing a toe. Maybe bumping your head is less painful.
  • How far out is the edge of the patio from where the awning legs would sit? We can anchor our awning with regular awning tie downs out to about 5 feet from the awning to the screw in "dog ties". Further if I added more cord to them.
  • downtheroad wrote:
    I'm not in favor of anchoring the awning down...slows down the roll up process if a sudden wind or storm comes in.

    How about brightly colored pool noodles on the arms?



    downtheroad....

    Yes those noodles have spared many from "bumping their noodle". LOL


    Here in Florida over the years as a snowbird I have become quite efficient at stowing the awning in windy and severe storm conditions.
  • This year we had too many people bumping heads so I installed swim noodles on the rafter arms. Click here for noodles. I kept the noodles in place with ball bungees. Click here for ball bungees. This is a good solution when the patio awning legs are till attached to the motorhome. The bright noodle signals caution.



    I'm familiar with the vast variety of cement anchors available at all the big box home centers. I looking for an method to anchor the foot assembly to the cement patio and then to very quickly remove the foot assembly. I would like to be able to remove the foot assembly quickly and without the use of tools.

    Our campsite is a seasonal in Florida and each year we return to the same site. At the end of the season we take the motorhome with us. So the next challenge would be how to lineup the motorhome and awning with the exact same spot so the anchors in the cement line up with the awning.

    As I'm sitting here on a rainy Florida day I just had a thought. Maybe I should get two 5 gallon buckets and fill them with cement. Then install the foot assembly kit inside the bucket.
    On windy days when the awning has to be stowed away the buckets could easily be moved aside. Click here for foot assembly.

    I guess the buckets could be painted so they do not look terrible. maybe leave room for some dirt and flowers.

    Please keep the clever solutions coming.
  • I'm not in favor of anchoring the awning down...slows down the roll up process if a sudden wind or storm comes in.

    How about brightly colored pool noodles on the arms?
  • You could use an anchor like THIS.

    The anchor installs flush with the concrete and provides a threaded insert for a bolt. When you want to detach the awning from the slab, simply remove the bolts and there will be no trip hazard.

    There are other wedge-type anchors like this at the local home center that drive in with a hammer but work the same way providing a flush, threaded insert in teh concrete.
  • Two Possible Solutions:

    To solve the bump your head we used a very brightly colored cloth wrap on the arm with an obstruction (big flower pots) below the arm on the pad. These work to alert you to the arm so you wlk around.

    There are anchors for cement that you drive into a hole in the cement. The anchor ends up flush and then use a bolt to secure the awning leg. Anchors here:
    http://www.sears.com/simpson-strong-tie-simpson-strong-tie-dia62ss-drop/p-SPM7202014909

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