Awnings and snow are not good campanions

We haven’t had much of the white stuff so far down south this winter but the weather doom mongers are now saying it may not be far away. If this is indeed the case then we should make it clear – sun awnings and snow do not make good partners.

The photograph here shows what might happen if you leave your awning open in the snow. Snow is very heavy and even a light covering can weigh many kilograms. If you allow snow to accumulate to any degree on your awning there is a real danger it may collapse under its own weight so precautions must be taken if you expect snow.  In this case the front bar of the awning has snapped in the middle where is appears to have been joined – not one of ours I hasten to add but the point is still valid.

The primary rule  is not to  leave the awning extended if snow is anticipated and, if for some reason you forget, then brush the snow off before it can accumulate.

Equally you should not leave your awning open in freezing weather. Ice can form on the awning making it impossible to retract and then it is at the mercy of anything the elements of the local pranksters might throw at it.

Passing through London late at night recently I was amazed at how many retractable awnings were extended even though the premises were clearly closed. It says a lot for the quality of awnings that there are relatively few incidents but the advice is always, if you have a retractable awning then retract it when the premises are unoccupied.

It was a long time ago but some of us at Deans remember that  in October 2007 it took us three days to collect the broken awnings littered all over London after the great “Michael Fish “hurricane.

Perhaps we are due for another.