Attaching a folding-arm awning to weatherboard house

[McBrain]

I have a folding-arm awning 4m wide by 3m projection that I want to install.

The awning comes with brackets and expanding bolts for brickwork, but no details about fixing to weatherboard.

The wall is a gable-end wall and I'm wondering If I should make some sort of backup structure in the roof cavity to distribute the load into the ceiling beams - although I'm not sure if I can mount the awning high enough to do this.

I'm assuming that the wall studs will not be strong enough to take the load directly?

Does anyone have any advice about the best way to fit?

Regards
McBrain.

[Barry_White]

McBrain

I used to sell folding arm awnings and they certainly need very secure fixing.

Depending on what sort of timber frame you have you could fix it to the studs using coach screws. The coach screw diameter needs to be a neat fit in the holes in the brackets. If the timber frame is hard wood you would probably fine. If it is pine I would be hesitant to fix it to the studs through the weatherboards.

If they are pine studs you could coach bolt a hardwood beam to the wall fixing it to all the studs with 2 coach screws to a stud along the 4 metres and then fix the awning brackets to the beam. You would need the beam to be at least 50 mm wider than the brackets are in height.

You would need the coach screws to be at least 3/8 diameter with a washer under the head and to go into the studs by at least 50mm and the beam needs to be at least 50mm thick

Folding arm awnings need to closed in very windy weather as the pressures on the brackets are immense.