We are having our patio poured in the coming weeks when things dry out, but wanting to do an awning that won't break the bank at some point. I wouldn't be opposed to helping erect said awning to save some money, but this is new territory for me.
I don’t do them but I have some insight- my FIL was a roofer for 55 years and they spent a lot of time replacing those sheet metal ones for Bear River insurance claims. Those things and our snow load apparently do not get along.
I would stick build and match the shingles/fascia/soffit to the rest of the house. My dos pesos.
My parents had an aluminum one fall last winter my dad has since framed up a much bigger one and strongly urged me against one when we were building ours last summer. I wasnt really considering doing aluminum but he felt the need to urge me anyways.
Long story short: Do it the way that sounds hardest and the most expensive and in the end you will be much happier
I have an aluminum/sheet metal of some kind one. No ragrets, I like it a lot.
Mine is "insulated", meaning it sandwiches foam between two layers of metal making it 3"-ish thick. Supposed to be stronger and quieter than the corrugated kind. 🤷♂️
I feel like I've offended everyone on here that has an aluminum one
Just like everything else, I'm sure there are varying degrees of quality in the wide world of aluminum patio covers. I watched a neighbor at my old house install one and I bet it's not there anymore. I'll have to drive by. It was single wall corrugated aluminum (bending in the middle while they lifted it up) and it was screwed into a chincy aluminum frame. Those ones also look really bad IMO but yeah... YMMV
Yeah my folks is of aluminum construction and is at the top of Lehi where all the wind is and it has been holding up great. I am sure there is varying quality and materials though.