A covered patio tucked under a second story balcony, with a paver floor, outdoor sofas and a heater. Two vertical shades drop between the stucco columns when the sun gets low.
What kind of retractable awning works under a balcony?
A vertical one. Under a balcony there is no room for an arm awning to project out, so the shade drops straight down from the beam instead. Some people call them drop awnings. Others say vertical awnings or exterior patio shades, and they all mean the same thing.
On this Oceanside home the patio sits right under the second floor balcony, the one with the black iron railing and the string lights. Two square stucco columns split the front into a wide opening and a narrower one on the side. The balcony slab already blocks the midday sun. What it cannot stop is the low sun later in the day, which slides right under the slab and across the sofas.
So each opening has its own retractable exterior awning shade. The roller sits in a cassette on the face of the beam, in a color close to the stucco, and the fabric runs down in side tracks fixed to the columns. Rolled up, the cassette almost disappears into the trim line. Our exterior patio shades are built to the exact opening, so there are no light gaps at the edges.
Why use exterior shades instead of a standard retractable awning?
Because the problem here was low sun from the side, not overhead sun. A standard awning throws shade straight down in front of the house. A vertical shade blocks the light that comes in sideways.
A classic retractable awning is great over an open deck or a window with nothing above it. It extends out on folding arms and gives you a roof of fabric. This patio already has a roof, the balcony itself. Adding an arm awning would only push shade out over the pavers where nobody sits, and the sofas would still catch the glare at golden hour.
A vertical shade drops into the opening. With it down, the patio turns into a shaded room you can still see out of, since the screen fabric keeps a soft view of the yard and the palms. It also blocks a lot of heat before it hits the back wall of the house. And it keeps a pale outdoor sofa from fading quite so fast. When the shade is up, the patio looks exactly like it did before, which matters on a house with this much trim and tile.
How do exterior shades hold up to coastal wind in Oceanside?
Side tracks are the answer. When the fabric edges ride in a channel, the wind cannot get under the shade and whip it around the way it would with a free hanging one.
Homes near the coast get a steady afternoon breeze, and in Oceanside it often picks up right when you want the shade down. A loose shade on cables can sway and slap the columns. The tracked shades on this patio stay flat because both edges are captured from the cassette to the bottom bar. In the photo from the yard, the fabric hangs dead straight across the big opening, with the bottom bar stopping just above the pavers.
Salt air is the other coastal factor. Exterior hardware near the ocean does best with a rinse now and then, the same way you would rinse outdoor furniture. The fabric is an outdoor screen weave. For homes in very exposed spots, we also carry wind resistant shades with heavier tracks. Our post on the best window treatments for the San Diego climate covers how coastal and inland homes differ.
Can you add patio shades to an existing house exterior?
Yes, in most cases. If the patio has solid posts or columns and a beam or header above, we can usually mount retractable shades to it without changing the structure.
This house is a good example. The patio was already framed by the balcony overhead and the stucco columns, so the shades fit the architecture instead of fighting it. We matched the cassette color to the warm beige stucco and kept the side tracks slim, so from the yard the house still reads as tile roof, iron rails and arched trim.
The details we check first are simple. Is the beam deep enough to hold a cassette? Are the columns plumb, so the tracks run true? Is there power nearby if you want to raise and lower the shades with a remote or a wall switch? Stucco hides a lot, so we confirm what is behind it before we drill. Oceanside, Carlsbad and the rest of North County have plenty of patios like this one under a second story deck. If yours gets too hot to use in the late afternoon, book a free in-home consultation and we will measure the openings and bring fabric samples outside to try in your own light.
