Products · Folding-Arm Awnings
Patio shade built for the south-easter.
Retractable fabric awnings on folding arms — no posts, no permanent roof, real shade on demand over a patio or braai area.
Shade when you want it, gone when you don't
A north- or west-facing Somerset West patio can go from perfectly usable to a hotplate within an hour of direct sun. A folding-arm awning winds out to turn that space back into a room for the afternoon, and winds in to let the low winter sun through when you'd rather have the warmth — a seasonal flexibility no fixed roof structure can match.
No posts means no interrupted mountain view and no obstacle in the braai area. Solution-dyed acrylic fabrics hold their colour under Cape UV, and projections run to roughly 3–4m over wide spans.
- Full cassette (fabric and arms sealed away) for exposed, weather-facing positions
- Motorised with a wind sensor — the responsible spec here, not an optional extra
- Solution-dyed acrylic fabrics for long-term UV colour hold
- LED lighting and vertical drop-valance add-ons available on premium lines
Honest limitation
An awning is a shade product, not a rain product — fine at a pitch in light drizzle, never intended for standing water or a Cape storm. Wind ratings are real limits, not suggestions, which is exactly why the sensor matters.
The south-easter changes the brief
Cape Town's defining summer wind funnels down through Sir Lowry's Pass and across the Helderberg basin on most afternoons in season, and an awning caught open in a gust is a matter of when, not if, it fails. We only specify motorised units with a wind sensor for exposed Somerset West patios — the auto-retract protects the investment before the wind gets serious, no one needing to run outside and wind it in by hand.
Also worth a look
Often specified alongside folding-arm awnings
Where we fit them
Awnings across the Helderberg belt
Wind-sensored awnings go up from Somerset West through to Erinvale, Gordon's Bay, Strand and Stellenbosch — the same rated spec and written quote wherever your patio faces the south-easter.
You pay for shade, and shade is width multiplied by reach. Fitted with a crank, the band is R3,500 to R5,500 for every square metre covered; fitted with a motor, R5,500 to R7,500. Cassettes, wind sensors and the longer arms all belong in the upper half of both.
Folding-arm awning pricing in the basin
A minimum applies to very small awnings, because two arms, a cassette and the wall fixing are needed whatever the width. The wall gets checked before a number is given, and your quote follows the free measure in writing.
Very small awnings carry a minimum charge, since the arms, cassette and fixing work hardly change with the width. The figure for your terrace follows the free measure and the on-site check of the fixing points, in writing.
Ready when you are
Get the patio back this summer.
Send the form and one of our expert consultants will contact you shortly to arrange your free in-home measure.
Request my call-back