Installation Guide

Every product family below also has its own detailed installation guide, with hand-drawn diagrams and a printable PDF you can take onto the job. Two of them — fixed canopies and shopfront awnings over a footpath — are not DIY jobs, and their guides explain exactly why.  others do require a certain amount of skill.  Take your time to review the guides and ensure you get the right support for your installation.

Folding Arm Awnings — Detailed Guides

A folding arm awning is the heaviest thing we sell, and it is the one product where getting the mounting wrong can hurt someone. These two guides go well beyond the general process below. Read the first one before you buy, and keep the second one with you on the day.

Ziptrak & Track-Guided Blinds — Detailed Guide

A track-guided blind is the only product here where the fabric is held on all four sides. That is what makes it feel effortless to use, and it is what makes it unforgiving to install: the two tracks have to stay the same distance apart down their whole length.

Straight Drop Awnings — Detailed Guide

A straight drop is the simplest outdoor blind and the one with the most operating options — rope and pulley, rope and spool, gearbox and crank, spring top roller or motor. Most of the decisions come down to how you hold the bottom down.

Cable Guide & Side Retention Blinds — Detailed Guide

Cable guide, deep channel and zip-track side retention all solve the same problem — stopping the blind blowing about — in three different ways. They need different amounts of solid masonry either side of the opening, and the slimmest system needs the most.

Pivot Arm, Auto-Lock, Convertible & Florentine Awnings — Detailed Guide

These are window awnings, not patio awnings. They hang off brackets barely bigger than your hand, and because the fabric sits at an angle the wind gets underneath and tries to lift the whole thing off. Almost everything that matters is what those brackets are fixed into.

Fixed Canopies — Detailed Guide

Every other awning on this page can be wound in before the weather arrives. A fixed canopy cannot — it stands there through every storm of its life. That changes what it has to be designed for, and it is why this is the one product family we do not treat as a DIY job.

Shopfront Awnings — Detailed Guide

A traditional shopfront awning is a straight drop, not a projecting canopy — long J hooks run down its face and catch the bottom, doing the job that hold-down straps do at home. If yours projects over a public footpath instead, you are into permits, engineering and public liability, and that is not a DIY job either.

General Installation Process

What You'll Need

• Power drill with masonry or timber bits (depending on your wall/fascia material)
• Spirit level
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Appropriate fixings for your wall type (masonry anchors, timber screws, etc.)
• A second person for larger blinds and awnings

Before You Begin

• Check your product against the packing list — all components should be present before you start.
• Identify your wall or fascia material — brick, concrete, timber stud, or Colorbond. This determines your fixing type.
• Check for pipes and electrical cables before drilling.
• For motorised products, identify your nearest power point and whether you need an electrician for hardwiring.

General Installation Steps

1. Mark bracket positions — Use your tape measure and level to mark the bracket positions on your wall or fascia. Check that your marks are level before drilling.
2. Drill and fix brackets — Drill your holes, insert anchors if required, and fix the brackets securely. Give each bracket a firm tug to test it before hanging the blind.
3. Hang the product — Most blinds and awnings hook or clip onto the fixed brackets. You'll typically need a second person for this step on anything wider than 2m.
4. Attach guides or tracks — For Ziptrak® blinds, the side tracks are fixed to the wall and the fabric feeds into them. For straight drop blinds, fix any bottom bar guides if included.
5. Test operation — Run the blind or awning through its full range before making any final adjustments.
6. Connect motor (if motorised) — Plug-in motors need a weatherproof outdoor GPO. Hardwired motors require a licensed electrician. Pair your remote following the instructions in the motor documentation.

Wall Types & Fixings

General guidance for light blinds only. Folding arm awnings and fixed canopies carry far higher loads — use the fixings specified in their own guides above (typically M10–M12 anchors into solid masonry or framing), never the light-blind figures below. Fixings are generally not supplied.

• Brick/Concrete — Light blinds: M8 masonry anchors, at least 50 mm embedment, into solid brick or concrete (not the mortar joint, and not hollow or cored brick without the right anchor).
• Timber fascia — Light blinds: 10g × 75 mm timber screws into solid timber, not just cladding — a fascia board alone is not a structure for an awning.
• Colorbond/steel — Use tek screws rated for the steel gauge. If the purlin is hollow, use a backing plate.
• Timber stud wall — Fix directly into studs. If studs don't align with bracket positions, fix a horizontal timber nogging first.

Need Help?

If you get stuck during installation, contact us with a photo and description of the issue. We're happy to walk you through it.