So, you have made the decision to buy a Patio Canopy or Veranda which you are either going to install yourself of have done by a local builder. How do you prepare for the big day?

Check your space

The first thing you need to do is check is if you have enough space. Usually the length refers to the distance along the building line, so if your garden veranda is going to be attached to the house then it is the distance along the house wall. The projection is the distance that the canopy comes away from the house. Once you know you have enough space then make sure you clear all contents out of the area, this will allow you to see more clearly any obstructions that remain.

Make sure your wall fixings are secure

Your canopy or veranda will either be attached to the wall or free standing. A canopy or veranda attached to the wall, (often called a lean to canopy), has two main points of fixing: against the wall and through the font legs into the ground. Both of these points of fixing must be secure.

Let’s take the wall end first. Ideally you will be attaching the canopy, via the Wall Plate into a brick wall. You will want to set the height of the wall plate so that the fixings go directly into the middle of the brick as this will provide the strongest fixing, try to avoid fixing into the mortar joint between the bricks. This is harder to do if your wall is covered with render or cladding where you are unable to see the bricks or blocks beneath. If you are employing a builder they should be aware of different wall types and the most appropriate fixing to use.

Fixing your posts

At the other end of your canopy are your posts or legs. The post fixing is more important than the wall fixing as your house wall is normally very secure and unlikely to move, but the posts have to be securely fixed down. There are two ways of securing the posts to the floor that ensure the front of your veranda is securely tied down:

You can either “bury” the posts into the ground which involves digging a hole around 300mm cubed, inserting the post and then filling with concrete, or securely fixing the posts to an existing solid base using a base plate. If you decide to bury the legs into the ground you may need to ensure the legs you have ordered are long enough to take account of the amount of post now underground. You can, if required, normally buy longer legs to overcome this issue.

When securing the posts using a base plate it is important to ensure that what you are attaching to is secure. Base plates should only be attached to a sold base such as concrete, as the wind will look to lift up the front of the canopy. This means that you should avoid fixing base plates to decking or paving slabs as these may lift under heavy wind. Asphalt also may not be solid enough to attach base plates to, so err on the side of caution or your canopy may end up in your neighbours garden!

Positioning your wall plate and eaves beam

The next thing to check is whether you have enough height on the back wall if it is a lean to canopy you are installing. A combination of the height of the wall plate and the pitch will determine the height at the front of the canopy. Usually you will start with the height at the front of the canopy, decide upon the pitch and that will give you the height of the wall plate.

Problems arise if you have a restricted height the wall plate can go to, for example if you live in a bungalow. Then you will need to work backwards using the height  of the wall plate and the pitch to give you the height of the eaves beam at the front of the canopy. You can find a useful tool for calculating the different measurements here

If the height you can fit the wall plate is severely restricted then you may need to install a gallows bracket which has the benefit of lifting the height of the roof above the height or your building roof.

One other thing to note is that the roof pitch should be a minimum of 5 degrees to ensure water runs off into the gutter, otherwise rainwater may rest on the roof leading to leaks.

If you are installing the canopy onto a bungalow you may not have enough height below the eaves to put the wall plate while ensuring that the lower end of the canopy is a minimum of 2.1m high. In this case you nay need a bracket to lift the height of the roof above the height of the eaves. For more advice us on this call us on 01536 446393

Is there anything else you need to do?

When you take delivery of your canopy or veranda make sure you check off all items to ensure everything is correct. Any shortages or damages will need to be reported within 24 hours so take time to check and ensure items are stored safely until needed.

The final thing to note is that if you are unsure of anything call us on 01536 446393 and we will be happy to answer your questions.

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