we have the same problem here in south florida. our pool will have shade in the morning only. dinnertime we are getting killed with sun. we are going with the sunsetter retractable awning. one of our nieghbors has it and it works great. many color choices and you pick your size,order it and its delivered to your house. our nieghbor is going to help us with the install. we are not getting the motorized version as the only time we will be retracting it is when a hurricane is approaching. our nieghbor has the manual version and its simple to crank the awning back. there not cheap but they give you great sun protection, are sturdy and are a space-saver. as soon as we saw it we knew we had to have it.

Shauney--- I am also thinking of getting a Sunsetter but I am worried about our Florida thunderstorms that can get quite gusty at times and I was worried the sunsetter couldn't handle a storm if I wasn't home to close it. You said you will leave yours open unless there is a hurricane--are they really strong enough to handle our everyday weather?

My neighbor has this product from www.shadetree.com. It is basically a pergola with some shading fabric on top on a pulley system that you can have overhead, or in your case when the sun sets you pull it to shade from the side. Pretty cool deal and looks quite attractive as well!

Here is a link that might be useful: Shadetree awnings

I looked at the Shadetree awnings at a home show last year. Now they phone me every couple of months wanting to come out. I wanted to wait and see what areas might need additional shade. They also look really nice. But, the back of my house is on the east, so I don't have a problem.

The only thing I didn't like about the Sunsetter awnings is that the cover is actually an acrylic vinyl. I called and spoke to the company and they told me it does have a "shiny" look. I really didn't want that. I am pretty set on the Sunbrella fabric. Costco sells the Sunsetter as well though, and it's pretty inexpensive.

Okay, now we are also looking in the Sunsetter product. It has many seals of approval and a great 5yr. manufacturer defect AND weather damage warranty. The Sunsetter states you can use the awning when it is raining out, but the King Canopy says specifically NOT to use it due to water gathering on the fabric and the threat of it collapsing. King Canopy also does not have any kind of weather damage warranty. We are waiting on swatches of the Sunsetter fabric to come in the mail and then we will see if we can live with that fabric as opposed to the Sunbrella fabric. The Sunsetter also doesn't have that big white bar right above the valance that the King Canopy one has.

Shauney, any feedback on how the Sunsetter fabric looks on your neighbor's?

i thought the canopy looked fine. although the acrylic vinyl material may not look as good as other materials i would think it would do best in a heavy downpour as the water would just slide off of it. if you get any material which soaks up the rain then it will get heavy and it will come down. are main concern is getting shade. my nieghbor was able to retract his in less than a minute. we are also going big- probably 15 ft. across- so sunsetters price is friendly. my nieghbor said the install was pretty friendly. you are obviously looking at other products which is great and i would appreciate you sharing any other info. we are so busy with so much for this pool and my nieghbor was just so happy with his that i just thought this was one thing i could decide on quickly. if there is a negative about the sunsetter i would like to know before i buy it. i was not aware that you could buy through costco so maybe i will go over there. sunsetter sent me a cd in the mail and i have not seen it yet so this is something i need to do.

We have two of the Sunsetter motorized awnings from Costco. You really can't keep them open in the rain, and you will get sore arms if you plan on cranking them closed manually. If it rains heavy, the water collects on the awnings, then you have to push up on them to get the tons of water off, splashing all over.
We do love them for the sun, though, as we also face west!! We have two 18 ft ones and installed them ourselves. Very heavy to lift, but possible with help.
Good luck!

thanks florida gal- i am going to go over to my nieghbors and use the crank and see how difficult it is. i thought you could leave the awnings extended during normal rainfall but apparently not. if we are going to be retracting it alot then i may want to get the remote controll. whats the advantage to getting it from costco vs. ordering it directly from sunsetter?

Advantages: Costco is selling it MUCH cheaper. We will need an 18' one as well and for the size we need, motorized, it is $1569 which includes the remote, manual crank (it case you lose electricity and need to close it), 5 yr. manufacturers warranty, the all weather 5-year warranty (which is usually an option and covers the awning due to weather damage), AND SHIPPING!!! This all-weather warranty is offered at no additional charge to Costco members only. Otherwise, through Sunsetter is is $100+. So not only are you getting it cheaper through Costco, but you are also getting some additional bonuses.

I, too, am concerned about being able to keep it open in the rain. I understand not to use it in heavy weather conditions, but what is now steering me toward the Sunsetter is the material in the cover. I've heard the Sunbrella fabric will leak over time because it is woven and that was one thing about the Sunsetter...it is 100% waterproof. Plus, Sunsetter states that you can use it in rainy conditions as long as it is not a heavy pouring rain. Sunbrella is only water resistant and will need teflon coating of some sort to keep water from draining through. The manufacturers for the Sunbrella awning products also state not to use them in any rainy conditions and the fabric must dry out before retracting. I like the look of the Sunbrella fabric better, but the main purpose is for functionality. If I can live with the look of the fabric, I'll get the Sunsetter instead. They are sending me the color swatches in the mail to see and feel. I'll let you know what I think.

Personally, I would never get one of these non-motorized.

Florida gal, what color did you choose through Costco? They say the linen color is exclusive to Costco, but I think it may be too light for us. We are trying to decide between the evergreen color or the taupe.

dischnell- thanks for the info. that free all-weather warranty is nice. are you getting the swatches through costco or sunsetter? also, does costco have the same color choices as sunsetter? my wife really likes the coffee stripe. for me its all about functionality/durability and appearance comes 2nd. with a motorized unit how will you hide the power cord?

Sunsetter is sending me the swatches free of charge. Costco has some sort of contract with Sunsetter in order to give their customers the lower price that they only offer three colors...linen, evergreen, and taupe. The linen color is exclusive to Costco. If your wife likes the coffee stripe, you have two options...see if she can live with the taupe color (it's on the same color cast), or since you'd be getting a significant discount already, price the coffee stripe cover separately through Sunsetter. The covers are easily replaced by sliding them out from what I hear. Also, during the warranty period you get half price off new covers. That is something to look into. I don't have any idea how much they cost.

Personally, I liked the coffee stripe at first, but look closer and it has a lot of orange in it. I don't know if that is something that would go with your outdoor area, but I noticed it and just thought I'd point it out. I had this really fancy striped pattern picked out through Sunbrella for the other awning we were going to purchase for $2800, and I LOVED the pattern, but the $1200+ that we'd save ordering this through Costco, suddenly made the fancy pattern not so important anymore. Another thing to consider is the lighter fabric will show more dirt. DH and I are leaning toward the darker colors for that reason. It's nice that their striped patterns let the light in, but I'm just afraid of the lighter colors I guess and how they'll look over time.

DH is very good at this stuff. The power cord will not be an issue. He plans on running an electrical outlet at the top of the wall to plug the awning into. The cord won't hang or anything. We also have the option of pluging it into an existing outlet at the ground level. If we do that I can see DH running some sort of conduit type thing to run the cord through and painting it the same color of the house so it doesn't show. I don't know. I'm sure he'll just run a new outlet up at the top of the wall.

We know shade here in Vegas. Those sunsetter awnings are cheap and we take our share of them down. They don't stand up to our heavy winds. The king awing from Costco looks like a deal with sunbrella fabric and a somfy remote motor too. You cannot leave any sunbrella fabric awning extended in the rain, the rain will collect and sag the fabric and possibly break the awning arms. I like the sunbrella fabric as it stands up to the sun and looks the same year after year. I would stay away from light fabrics as they show the dirt and the dark ones are hotter underneath. A neutral or taupe color is the best for the dirt/heat question. If you do go with a sunsetter awning, I would still recommend retracting it when you are leaving home or not using it to preserve the life of it. Also these awnings are heavy, you need good strong help to install one. Our 20 foot awnings weigh roughly 180 lbs. Hope this helps, Barb

Airborne, the Sunsetter has the same Somfy remote motor as the King Canopy. Would you only recommend the King Canopy over the Sunsetter just because of the Sunbrella material used?

Also the King Canopy has that big white bar showing right above the valance and the Sunsetter has it hidden underneath the fabric. Plus no all-weather warranty with the King Canopy. I don't know. I just want to make the right choice and I've never had one of these before.

The linen color is the way to go in FL. The green is very dark, makes it seem dreary underneath. Ours is the linen, looks ,like our cheap umbrellas thea we got from Lowes. It all blends in. If you want to have another color, you can order a replacement piece - the part that hangs down and is scalloped - in all the colors and it comes right off easily.

That looks very nice fl gal. Like the additional shade you get. Love your pool!!

Florida gal, The awnings look great. They don't appear to be as shiny as I thought they'd be and the material seems to be thick. Is this true? I think if we go with the Sunsetter brand that we are going to get the taupe color rather than the evergreen. That will blend with our pavers and all. I'm still waiting on the color swatches from Sunsetter. Since the linen color from Costco is exclusive to Costco, is it the same vinyl acrylic material?

Thanks for posting your pictures!

Yes, the material is thick. At the time, the only colors offered by Costco were linen and evergreen. We paid $1150 each(!!) last year. I guess it is the same material, feels more like vinyl than fabric, but no one actually looks that close or really cares!!
Abby

Dish, I hope to help you here. I would only ever use Sunbrella fabric in the desert. It is fabric, so it breathes, lets air through and doesn't fade or rot. I would assume you have the same issues in Fla. I like Abby's awnings, they look nice, about the same color as the linen from Sunbrella. The linen from Sunbrella has a nice 2 tone rougher look, like DUH linen. It has a woven look. The sunsetter awnings we have taken down looked so bad, beat to heck and were frankly vinyl PLASTIC looked like a bad Kmart job . BUT they were obviously used incorrectly, you cannot leave those out in the rain and wind, it beats the hell out of them and the arms are too small to bear any weight, either uplift from wind or downweight from rain. Not knowing what you are paying for either one, I would go with the sunbrella fabric since the motors are the same. DONT leave them out when you are not home/using them and they should last you for years. Sunbrella just rinses off the dirt, use mild soap if there is grease around from a grill. I just had an umbrella and chairs recovered in Sunbrella frabric teal colored, newest trend here. My old ones were off white, and while it was a bear to keep them clean in the desert, there was no obvious wear to the chairs or umbrella tops after 6 years in the elements with no covers at all. CLARIFY read don't leave them out as in DON'T leave a retractable awning out in the wind and rain, kind of like a dog. Bring it in and it will last a lot longer. Your bid of $3800 was in line for a custom awning with labor. Just make sure your DH has a good strong laborer to help install it and overgo on bolt size into lags or studs. My DH always overbuilds or overstrenthens and it has never failed us in business. You will love the shade,,,,,,, ahh from great Las Vegas which was 116 yesterday, and yes they worked all day, ugh Barb

Barb,

I heard Vegas was REALLY hot lately. We've been in the high 80's low 90's here and are still uncomfortable with all this humidity. I am assuming you have dry air.

Have you ever heard of the King Canopy brand? If I weigh my pros and cons between these two awnings, it seems the only pro the King Canopy brand has is the Sunbrella fabric. Everything else is basically the same, the motor, the size, the price. But Sunsetter does have that bonus warranty, is well a known company, states you can still use it in light to moderate rain (not under heavy rain conditions or gusty winds...when I wouldn't be sitting outside anyway), and doesn't have the ugly white bar exposed right above the valance. I just never heard about the King Canopy brand. That worries me. If I could get a Sunsetter with Sunbrella fabric my decision would be so much easier! URGH! The Sunsetter fabric samples didn't come in the mail today so I guess we'll wait until next week to order.

Di,

Have you looked at the NuImage awnings at Home Depot? They are Sunbrella and come in several different colors.

I looked into Home Depot at the beginning of my search. I called the store and they no longer order them through the store, you have to call a special order number. From what I researched on their website, the ones Home Depot carries don't come in 18'.

Dish, If you are getting a weather warranty thru costco from sunsetter, that sounds like a better deal than the King awning. I have never heard of that brand. And again, sunbrella fabric is the best for us here, so thats why I lean in that direction. Florida gals awnings look nice, and really who is gonna get up close to them to look at the fabric vs vinyl. As long as you roll them in you should get years out of the hardware and can always get a new top. All of the ones we replace we have put up alumawood patio covers with a 90 mph wind rating. Makes more sense here. Sometimes clients just want or can only have a retractable style awning, thus the occasional sale of them here.
And Florida gal, great pool area, love those pavers. Barb

Thanks so much for all your help Barb :)

Glad to help anyone out with shade ! Post some pix when you are done, I have seen your pool, looks great. Also, since the valance comes off like Abby said ( on her sunsetter) you could always add a sunbrella valance and have the best of both worlds : ) Barb

dischnell- what did you end up getting and are you happy with it? florida gal- did you get yours from costco? i would like to know if the taupe color you get from costco is the exact same as the one you get from sunsetter. with the free shipping and the free weather-damage warranty it seems like its better to order from costco. i was going to get the non-motorized awning so i would only have 2 choices (evergreen or linen). sunsetter sent me some swatches. i am wondering if costco could send me a linen swatch. florida gal- is the linen color too light?

shauney- We ended up getting the Sunsetter Motorized from Costco. We did get the color "taupe" and yes, it is the same color as you would get if you went directly through Sunsetter. The awning is actually shipped to you directly from the Sunsetter factory and Costco is really only the middleman who takes and processes the order for you. We had a delay in our shipping and it was just shipped the middle of last week (we ordered it the second week in July. DH just installed it this weekend. The 18 footer is VERY heavy and DH needed a second person to help him lift it. After using this for just shy of a week now, I would NEVER recommend getting the manual version. It is so easy to just hit the button and open and close it to your desired projection when the sun changes or it begins to rain. We used it Monday evening in a light rain and it worked wonderfully. My dog will actually sit out there now and not be panting and laying on the deck like she is dying of heat exhaustion. She lays out there proud with her head held high, enjoying the comfort of the shade. She does bark at it when we open it and close it though. It really keeps the breeze from the ceiling fan from escaping too. You can see how dark it is under the lanai now. It has immensely cooled off the back of our house on the inside too. If you look to the left of the first picture, I had an umbrella sleeve installed between my chaise loungers since we won't be using the umbrella in the lanai anymore. Here are some pictures...

dischnell- thanks for the pics. was it difficult to install? we were thinking of going with the non-motor unit. the wife went to a nieghbors house and retracted the awning by crank fairly easily. only problem is that taupe is not offered in the non-motor version. probably we would go with the linen color (like florida gal). how much money did you save by going through costco? also, was the taupe darker than you thought it would be?

Having installed an 18' Sunsetter this past spring (Sacramento), we couldn't be happier! We purchased from Costco when they had a 25% off sale. The Sunsetter, the light kit, and shipping came just under $1300. I hired an electrician to run an outlet for the remote control option and he also installed the thing. By the way, the installation did not look fun. Hats off to those who installed themselves! We are considering purchasing a second one this next spring.

Good deal Tubaruba! I just received a 12' from Costco today and it was $1300 And I have to pay someone to install it. It was still cheaper than going directly through Sunsetter plus it came with the 5 year all weather warranty and remote. I went with the green one since the taupe would not go with my house color(light grey with green trim).

Since your DH is handy, have you considered building a pergola over the deck? You can find plans for them that encorporate fabric. I decided to grow ivy and string clear lights over mine.

tubaruba- how is the light kit? I bought some bamboo string lights from Target and want to try to install them on the awning. Do they plug into a separate outlet or somehow connect to the awning?

DH installed it himself. He hung the soffit brackets one night and then had my dad help him lift it up into place the next day. He says it wasn't difficult to do himself as long as you have someone when you need to lift the awning into place.

it seems like the concensus is to go through costco even though they have limited color choices. i like the evergreen although i am afraid it will be too dark. the linen looks nice. i think i read that if you go through costco down the road you can order any material color at a reduced price. can anybody confirm this?

Yes that's true. If you get the 5 year all weather warranty (which you get for free if you order through Costco) Sunsetter sends you the paperwork and it says you can order any of their replacement fabric covers at a reduced price. My 5 yr. warranty states "the purchaser may purchase, for any reason, a replacement 9 ft. projection fabric for $99 (reg. $349) or a 10 ft. 2 in. projection fabric for $149 (reg. $399)." So it is still a great deal to just order one of the colors that Costco offers and then just spend the $99-$149 more to get whatever color you want through Sunsetter. It still comes out cheaper by ordering through Costco and then doing that rather than ordering directly through the manufacturer. Plus you get the 5 yr. all weather warranty AND the awning cover at no extra charge.

Thats an awesome deal on those Sunsetters, just remember to roll them in when it will be windy or heavy rain. Looks like they have upgraded the look of them too. Dish, pool looks so inviting, nice job. Barb

airborne101- I am really surprised at the quality of the awning. I was expecting a thinner material but was pleasantly surprised at the thickness of the material. It lays nicely too. I really like the taupe color. It matches perfectly with our pavers and the natural colors of our pool. So far so good!

dischnell

To be honest, I haven't put them up yet (keep forgetting to buy light bulbs). Now that it is getting darker earlier, I hope to get them up soon. I will post again once they are installed.

Just to let you all know. Sunsetter customer service is pretty darn good, I'll tell you that. After installing the awning, DH noticed a small hole slightly larger than a pinhole in the fabric. It wasn't a huge deal, but concerned that it may run or become a weak spot as time went on and the sun continues to beat down on it, we called Sunsetter to see if there was an easy fix for this. They offered us #1 a clear patch to go on the outside of the awning, making it less noticeable from underneath or #2 an entirely new awning fabric.

We didn't want a patch for a couple reasons...First, the people behind us are elevated slightly and have perfect view of the top of our awning. Also, over time, we were concerned the patch would loose adhesive, curl up on the sides and just look bad. Plus, we just got this awning and can't see spending the money we did to just patch it, not matter how small the hole, and then it wouldn't even match the color. The hole is obviously a defect in this particular roll of material since there was not damage to the package and the thing was packed up unbelievably well. Maybe if there was some type of tube of acrylic that hardened to the same color and you couldn't notice it, we would've chosen something like that, but not a clear plastic patch.

Another surprising fact about this whole thing...Sunsetter asked me if I wanted the same color fabric! They were ready to allow me to order whatever color fabric I wanted from their selection. We stuck with the taupe because that is our favorite color fabric anyway and aren't fans of the striped awning fabrics. But I thought that was pretty impressive on the part of Sunsetter customer service. They really seem to want to make the customer happy.

dischnell- thats good to hear. even though you went through costco you had to contact sunsetter directly for this issue? also, did they require that you return the original fabric? i would think they would want proof of the damage.
was it difficult to change the material? how do you like the remote and how often are you retracting the awning?

No, Costco was just the middleman for ordering at a reduced price. The warranty is through Sunsetter so you would contact them for any issues. I was really looking for some type of tube of acrylic or rubberized material in the taupe color that would harden and you wouldn't even see it, but Sunsetter doesn't have a fix like that. It is a defect in the material where it just didn't fuse properly. They did not ask for me to return the original fabric. They just apologized for the defect and asked which I'd prefer, the patch or the material. They say it is not difficult to change the material out and there are instructions in the package with the new fabric. They even emailed DH and told him our fabric was on backorder and they are going to send the patch as a temporary fix until they are able to send out the new fabric. They are really a pleasure to deal with.

As for the remote... We *LOVE* the remote. It has a "my" button on it which allows you to program your favorite stopping point so it will open right to that point by pressing the button. It also allows you to stop it at any point. We retract it EVERYDAY multiple times throughout the day depending on the sunlight. I couldn't imagine having to go outside and crank it every time we decide to adjust it.

Finally got around to hanging the lights over Labor Day weekend. They are outstanding! Easy to to put up and look great. If you need outdoor lighting, I can recommend these.

Do you have a pic of the lights?

Hi. Anyone from Colorado area who has experiences with these awnings? CO is very dry and sunny. Rain is not a major issue.

I can't get Costco's installation in CO, but perhaps still can buy them and install myself.

Thanks.