Guide
What installation day looks like
The sequence our installers follow, what has to be true of your wall before they start, and why it is always a two-person job.
Before anyone drills anything
SunPro's installation instructions open with a pre-installation checklist, and it is worth knowing what is on it because the answers come from your house. The crew confirms the location and orientation of the unit, inspects the product against what was ordered, and re-confirms the opening measurements against the unit in the van — before a single hole is made.
Two things on that checklist are non-negotiable in SunPro's own words: fasteners must achieve 1.5 in or more of embedment into the substrate, and two or more people are required to install the screen. We do not put one installer on a screen.
The pre-installation checklist, the 1.5 in embedment requirement and the two-person rule are quoted from SunPro's New Inside Mount and New Outside Mount installation instructions.
Substrate decides the fastener
SunPro publishes a fastener schedule that varies by product family and by what you are fixing into — wood, concrete, block or steel — with a specified diameter, material, embedment depth and minimum edge distance for each combination. A hurricane screen into concrete is a different fastener at a different embedment than an awning into the same concrete.
SunPro's own note on that schedule is worth repeating: the fasteners listed are examples of quality items, not the only acceptable options. Site conditions can call for something else, which is one more reason the substrate gets inspected rather than assumed.
From SunPro's Best-In-Use Fastener Guide, bulletin TR-R-002r0.
Awnings: the extra care
SunPro's awning installation manual asks that the packaging never be opened with a knife or box cutter — a blade through plastic wrap is a blade through fabric. It also fixes a convention worth knowing when you are reading anything about your awning: left and right are always stated as you face the house.
Bracket layouts differ by awning width, and mounting details differ again for roof, bay, fascia, soffit, brick and siding conditions. After mounting, the crew runs the awning through its full travel to test operation before setting the motor limits and the pitch.
From SunPro's Awning Installation Manual, rev. 6.21.21.
Step by step
You will need: Measuring tape, Power saw with a non-ferrous metal blade, Power drill, 1/2 in and 1/4 in long-shank drill bits, T25 Torx bit, Long-nose pliers, Screwdrivers, Utility knife, Wire stripper, Soft mallet, Level, Speed square, Ladder or saw horses
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Confirm location and orientation
The crew confirms where the unit goes and which way round it faces, against the order and against the opening. Motor end, control side and access all get settled here rather than later.
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Inspect the product
The unit is unpacked and checked against what was ordered — size, fabric, frame color, hardware. On awnings the wrap is cut away without a blade, to protect the fabric.
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Re-confirm the opening measurements
The opening is measured again against the unit that has arrived. This is the last point at which a discrepancy is cheap to find.
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Open the housing
On a screen, the housing cover comes off — SunPro's instructions specify a T-25 Torx bit — so the fixings and the roll tube are accessible.
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Set out and fix the brackets
Bracket positions are set out to the layout for that width and substrate, then fixed with fasteners that reach at least 1.5 in of embedment. Edge distances are respected; a fastener too near an edge is a failure waiting for the first storm.
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Hang the unit and fit the tracks
The housing goes up onto the brackets — two people, always — and the side tracks are set plumb down each jamb, with the screen running square between them.
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Connect power and set the limits
The motor is connected and the upper and lower travel limits are programmed, so the unit stops exactly where it should at both ends.
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Test the full travel
The unit is run all the way out and all the way back, more than once, and watched. On a wide awning this is done with particular care — SunPro's manual carries a specific caution for 20 ft units at this step.
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Set the pitch and hand over
On an awning the pitch is adjusted, then the crew walks you through operating it, retracting it, and what to do when weather is forecast. That handover is part of the job, not an afterthought.
Where this comes from
SunPro New Inside Mount Instructions; SunPro New Outside Mount Instructions; SunPro Awning Installation Manual (rev. 6.21.21); SunPro Best-In-Use Fastener Guide (TR-R-002r0)
Published by SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens.
This describes the manufacturer's published installation procedure for these products. It is offered so you know what to expect on the day — it is not a do-it-yourself instruction, and a self-installed unit changes what the manufacturer's warranty covers.
Products this applies to
Questions this did not answer?
Every project starts with a real measurement and a real conversation. Nothing gets built off a web page.
Call (571) 366-7862