Common Mistakes People Make When Buying External Blinds and Awnings

Buying external blinds or awnings is a bigger decision than most people realise. Get it right and you'll have a product that lasts 15+ years and genuinely transforms how you use your outdoor space. Get it wrong and you could be spending money on a replacement far sooner than you'd like — or worse, living with something that doesn't do what you needed it to do.

After years in the industry, here are the most common mistakes we see — and exactly how to avoid them.

This is the big one. Every product type solves a different problem, and confusing them leads to disappointment.

• Ziptrak® blinds are the right choice when you want to fully enclose a space — blocking wind, rain and insects while still letting in light with a mesh fabric. They're not cheap, but they're the best product for a fully weather-protected alfresco.
• Straight drop blinds are better suited to areas that need shade and partial weather protection, but don't need to be sealed against wind. They're more economical and very versatile.
• Folding arm awnings project outward from the wall to shade a patio or deck — but they don't seal the sides and aren't designed for high wind situations. They're about shade, not enclosure.
• Pivot arm awnings are designed specifically for windows — they're compact, fold flat against the wall, and are ideal for reducing heat gain on north and west-facing windows.

External blinds and awnings are made to order from your measurements. There's no standard size — what you order is what gets made. The two most common measurement mistakes are:

• Measuring the opening instead of the reveal — whether you're face-fixing or top-fixing changes what you need to measure. Many customers measure the glass opening when they should be measuring the total width including the frame.
• Forgetting to account for stacking height — when a Ziptrak blind or straight drop is fully raised, the rolled fabric (the "stack") takes up height at the top. If your headrail is going under an existing beam or roofline, you need to factor this in.

External blinds and awnings are designed to handle a certain level of wind loading. Exceeding that creates problems — from flapping fabric and bent arms to actual structural damage.

If your property is exposed — coastal, on a hillside, above ground level — you need to think carefully about wind ratings. Products like Ziptrak use a track-guided system that significantly outperforms open-drop designs in wind. Folding arm awnings should always be retracted in strong wind, and motorised versions can include wind sensors that do this automatically.

Don't just look at your average conditions — think about your worst-case days. A south-westerly squall on a coastal property is going to test your product differently than a sheltered suburban courtyard.

Fabric choice affects every aspect of your blind or awning — visibility, weather protection, UV blocking, and longevity. The three main options:

• PVC (clear/tinted) — maximum weather protection and visibility. Ideal for areas where you want to keep rain completely out while still seeing the view. Can heat up in direct sun.
• Mesh/Shade cloth — allows airflow while blocking sun and UV. Doesn't keep rain out. Perfect for shade-focused applications.
• Acrylic / Solution-dyed acrylic — the premium option for folding arm and pivot awnings. Highly UV-resistant, colour-fast, and available in a wide range of tones and weaves. Resistant to mould and fading.

A common mistake: choosing PVC for an area that gets direct afternoon sun and then finding the heat buildup makes the space unusable. In that case, a quality shade mesh would have been the better call.

Many customers only consider adding a motor after they've been using their blind or awning for a year — and wish they'd done it from day one. Motorisation isn't just about convenience: for products installed at height, above a roof, or behind furniture, a manual operating system can become genuinely impractical.

Motor systems from brands like Somfy are reliable, quiet, and controllable by remote, switch, or smart home integration. The cost difference between manual and motorised is not as large as people expect — especially when you factor in the frustration of a hard-to-reach cord or crank handle.

In most standalone homes, external blinds and awnings don't require council approval. But strata-managed properties (apartments, townhouses, duplexes) often have appearance rules about what can be added to the exterior — including colour, type, and fixing method. Some councils also have heritage or bushfire overlay requirements that affect what's allowed.

Before ordering, check your strata by-laws or contact your local council if there's any doubt. It's a five-minute check that could save a lot of hassle later.

External blinds and awnings are exposed to Australian sun, rain, coastal salt air, and UV every day. A cheap product will show its quality within two or three seasons — faded fabric, broken mechanisms, tracks that corrode or warp.

The right approach is to buy the best product you can afford from a supplier who stands behind it. At Awnly, every product is made to order in Australia using quality components and fabrics — and we don't sell anything we wouldn't put on our own homes.