DIY Metal Sidewalk Awnings

Create an awning for customers who are looking in your store windows from the sidewalk.

Metal awnings are constructed in order to provide protection from sun, rain or snow. A sheet of fabric, like canvas, can be stretched across the top of the metal awning to act as a type of umbrella. However, metal will withstand weather better than fabric. Awnings are often constructed on sidewalks, particularly on storefronts. A “canopy” is an awning that stretches all the way down a sidewalk. Awnings are relatively simple to construct and are attached to the exterior of a building. The most reliable material to use when constructing an awning is corrugated metal.

Things You'll Need

• Corrugated metal
• 1-by-4-by-8 ledger board
• Hammer
• 16-penny nails
• 1.5-inch screws
• 8-foot, metal, L-shaped ledger
• Heavy-gauge C-channel metal header
• Screw gun
• 5/8-inch screws

Instructions

1. Decide how large you want the awning and cut pieces of corrugated metal to size.

2. Place two markers on the ground to show where the awning will extend to. Dig holes where the markers are and put two 8-foot square metal posts into the holes. Fill in the holes with concrete; the concrete will need approximately 24 hours to dry completely.

3. Secure a 1-by-4-by-8 ledger board onto the exterior of the building by hammering in 16-penny nails.

4. Use 1.5-inch screws to attach an 8-foot, metal L-shaped ledger to the exterior of the building.

5. Secure a C-channel metal header (heavy-gauge) horizontally on the two posts, from one to the other, by screwing it in. The screws can be inserted with a screw gun into the holes that are pre-drilled in the header.

6. Lay the pieces of cut corrugated metal on the post header to the wall ledger. Use 5/8-inch screws to attach the corrugated metal to the ends of the header.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase pieces of corrugated metal that interlock. These should be about 18 inches wide each.

• An alternative to making a sidewalk awning from corrugated metal, or metal of any type, is to make one from wood. Use wood posts and wood headers, and be sure to use wood screws and wood nails, not metal ones.

• Before starting to construct an awning, check your local zoning laws and the building code. The last thing you want to do is construct the entire awning and then find out you have to remove it because you didn’t following the local zoning law.

• Make sure that the corrugated metal pieces are tightly secured to the awning. Failing to do this could result in the pieces of metal blowing off the awning when winds get heavy, or falling off the awning if heavy snow sits on them for too long.

References

• Simplified Building: Awning Frame
• "The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling" by Charlie Wing