The entrance to a house, shop or other establishment should always be clean and tidy, attracting the eyes of visitors or customers. The more aesthetically decorated the entrance, the more pleasant it is to visit this place. A mandatory element of the entrance design should be a visor, the size of which should be sufficient so that in case of bad weather you can safely stop under it and open an umbrella or wait out heavy rain. Recently, more and more often, polycarbonate is chosen as a material for making entrance visors, which allows you to give the product the most diverse look in color, shape and size.
Types of awnings and their benefits
Depending on the type of material, visors can be of two types: made of cellular or monolithic polycarbonate. The choice depends on the purpose of making the visor. For good light transmission, it is better to use cellular polycarbonate. In other cases, canopies are made of monolithic polycarbonate. The advantages that polycarbonate canopies and canopies have over the entrance are easy transportation and installation, reliability, aesthetics anddurability if monolithic material is selected.
The variety of color solutions, the degree of tinting and the structure of polycarbonate, the possible materials for the manufacture of the visor frame and their shapes allow you to create real works of art from the appearance of the facades of houses.
The frame of the visor can be made of wood, metal, wire structures. Forged metal frames are a real eye-catcher.
Why polycarbonate?
Polycarbonate meets a wide variety of requirements for aesthetics and reliability. Its color and shades can be matched to the appearance of the facade - in tone or in contrast. According to its technical characteristics, it is unique: it has excellent light transmission, withstands severe snow and wind loads, is durable, environmentally friendly, easily bends and takes the shape required by design. The size of the visor can be from the most modest to solid sizes, up to covering the area of the entire yard in front of the house in order to install, for example, a car under it or shelter a recreation area from bad weather.
The low cost of polycarbonate, determined mainly by its thickness, density and color of the material, determines its widespread use for various purposes, including for the manufacture of visors over the entrance area of the house. If you decide to make this design element yourself, then it is better to choose polycarbonate with a thickness of 4 to 16 mm, and in the cost of the visor, provide for amounts for connecting and end profiles,silicone gaskets and thermal washers, with which the sheets are attached to the frame.
Shapes of visors
The plasticity and strength of polycarbonate make it possible to produce visors of any shape. The most "common" are a simple straight roof made of monolithic polycarbonate, one- and two-slope canopies with a valance, dome-shaped canopies that protect from slanting rains and strong winds, elongated arched canopies with additional support on poles and other types.
The simplest in execution are monolithic polycarbonate visors, which are made in the form of a direct canopy. Usually it is arranged on consoles with fastening to the wall. In order for it to withstand not only the load from precipitation, but also blocks of ice and snow that have fallen from the roof, the slope of the slope must be more than 10 degrees. In addition, you can set the name of the organization, the sign of the store, promotional materials or just a colorful picture that adorns the facade on the valance itself.
Very convenient, especially in private households, a gable canopy in the form of a roof of a house, adjoining the end side to the wall above the entrance. Such polycarbonate canopies over the porch fit perfectly into the architectural appearance of the cottage building. The canopy can be made on a large area and cover the entire porch with steps, relying on specially installed pillars.
Very aesthetic dome visor, especially made in the form of a multi-layer complex structure,additionally decorated with forging elements.
Frame options for visors
When considering how to equip polycarbonate canopies over the porch, you need to take into account the overall architectural appearance of the facade of the building and the style of the surrounding landscape. Naturally, the financial component also plays an important role. When developing the frame structure, it is necessary to take into account the wind and snow load in the region. For this, there are special tables that allow you to determine the required values of the thickness of polycarbonate, the material and the manufacturing step of the rafters in the visor frame.
The most budget option for private households is a wooden frame, including supports, crossbeams and rafters. It is easy to do it yourself. For the individuality of the performance, you can decorate the supporting pillars with carvings. For the durability of the building, all wooden parts must be carefully treated with antiseptics and hydrophobic impregnations before installation. Properly installed and carefully crafted, the wooden frame of a polycarbonate canopy will serve you well for up to twenty years.
A more difficult option to manufacture, but also more durable, is a polycarbonate visor with a metal frame, which is welded from profiled pipes of square, rectangular or round section. Combined frames are often used, consisting of metal supports and crossbars with a wooden crate. Metal or combined frames with polycarbonate coating create an airy impression, giveThe structure is modern in style. Most impressive are the polycarbonate canopies over the wrought-iron porch. This is an expensive pleasure. But they give the facade of the building a prestigious and luxurious look, an exquisite style. Forged frames are manufactured by specialized blacksmith organizations. It can be assembled from ready-made stamped elements that are commercially available. Of course, the most expensive order will cost you hand forging.
There are also frameless canopies mounted on brackets to the wall. But such products can only be made in small sizes - up to two meters.
Polycarbonate visors: price
The cost of products for the aesthetic design of your home or place of work cannot always be junk. It depends on many factors - the type, thickness and color of polycarbonate, the material and complexity of the design of the brackets and frame, and finally, on the manufacturer. In any region of our country there are firms specializing in the production of such products as canopies and canopies over the entrance. As already mentioned, the most expensive version of the visor is a forged frame of complex design with monolithic polycarbonate. In any case, the cost of manufacturing the described product to order will cost at least 2-3 thousand rubles. The price may increase significantly depending on the factors listed above.
However, you can significantly reduce the cost if you make the visor yourself. It is not so difficult if you choose a not very complex design,understand the manufacturing technology and carefully follow all the steps.
Little secrets
When self-assembling polycarbonate products, you should remember a few tricks. In order for polycarbonate not to warp with changes in air temperature, the mounting holes in it must be made with sufficient clearance, taking into account the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of polycarbonate and the material from which the frame is made. In order not to damage the polycarbonate during assembly, it is necessary to use plastic or rubber washers of large diameter (1.5-2.5 cm) so that the screws and metal washers do not come into contact with the polycarbonate. Then your polycarbonate canopies over the porch will please the eye at any time of the year.
