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QUESTIONS TO ASK AN AWNING COMPANY

Awning work is a process you may not be familiar with until you want one for your own home or business. And even then, there’s a lot to learn about which products to use and what procedures best meet your individual awning needs. Therefore, it is vital to know that you can rely on the awning contractor you choose to give you good advice about his products and procedures that may be new to you. The key is to find the right awning contractor for your job.

A top-notch, professional awning company will be only too happy to supply you with answers to these questions. Being confident you’ve selected the right awning contractor will help assure you get a quality awning and that your hard-earned money has been wisely spent.

1. Is the company a full-time awning company?

Some companies advertise themselves as an awning company (contractor) when awnings are really only a small portion of their business. The awning company you select to do business with should have full-time employees trained exclusively to manufacture and install custom awnings. Their employees should be familiar with awnings of various shapes and sizes and should be hired and trained as awning professionals, not general laborers. This will help to ensure that they are equipped to handle your individual awning needs.

2. Can the company design custom awnings?

Can the awning company design your awnings to meet your needs, and to fit the architecture of your business or residence? Can the awning company provide you with a colored rendering of the proposed work to be done?

3. What is the company’s workmanship warranty?

A good awning company should provide a lifetime warranty on framework and a five or more year warranty on the materials. While the length of warranty is important, the intent and ability to stand behind their warranty is even more important.

4. Does the company carry insurance?

An awning company should carry comprehensive liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance to protect you in the event of an accident.

Worker’s Accident. Be aware that if a worker is injured on your property, the homeowner can be held liable for all costs unless the worker is covered by worker’s compensation insurance.

Uninsured Contractors. Companies who do not carry insurance will most likely be cheaper to hire since they do not have the large insurance premiums to pay; however, this leaves you very exposed in the event of an unfortunate accident. There are a variety of reasons why full insurance may not be carried, such as:

* Not a full-time awning company
* New in the business
* Can’t afford insurance premiums
* Doesn’t stand behind the work

5. What are my product choices?

No one awning fabric, frame, or design is well-suited for all applications. (e.g. Do you have aluminum and galvanized frames available? Do you manufacture awnings using the lace on system and the staple system? Do you have a choice of fabrics?). If that were the case, there would be only one fabric manufactured and one awning style offered. All awnings would then look alike. Ask to see different styles and fabrics that might work on your business or residence.

See Also: Frequently Asked Questions