DIY Awnings for Your Restaurant or Home

Even as we are finally starting to return to normalcy, the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting the way people interact with each other and do business. One of the biggest industries that’s being widely affected by this is the restaurant industry. While restaurants are thankfully starting to slowly open up, a lot of restaurants are looking into outdoor seating as an option to keep their lights on and doors open.

However, what happens when the weather outside is frightful? Hopefully, you’d have some sort of covered structure and heating or cooling elements to combat the poor weather. It’s relatively simple to find fans or heaters, but a custom awning set-up? That can be a daunting task. You’ll want something that will last more than one season, hold up to the potentially harsh outdoor conditions, and ideally be easy to set up and tear down. You would also definitely want something that patrons of your restaurant would feel comfortable sitting under. There is a solution that meets all of these conditions and more.

Kee Klamp structural fittings make building seemingly complex structures like outdoor awnings stress-free. Their modular design allows a pipe to be joined without the need for special equipment or welding. This also means that you can tear it down and set it up as needed simply by tightening or loosening some set screws. They are composed of heavy-duty galvanized steel or anodized aluminum and will withstand the harshest of weather conditions for years to come.

Let’s take a look at McNally’s Tavern in Philadelphia, PA for example.

McNally’s Tavern Heated Outdoor Awning Project

As seen in the above image, this particular awning is quite a bit simpler than it seems at first glance. In fact, it only used six basic types of fittings. They are:

While these are only six types of fitting, there are many more types of fittings that make building any sort of shape or structure incredibly uncomplicated.

Photo Showcase!

Information on McNally’s Tavern

McNally’s Tavern was founded all the way back in 1921 and has been a Philadelphia staple ever since. Located in the city’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood, McNally’s Tavern is a quaint, family-friendly pub famously known for its Schmitter® sandwiches.

You can learn more about their extensive history directly through their website.

Here’s what Joe with McNally’s Tavern had to say about the completed project:

"[We are] beyond delighted. It's only been up since Sunday but everyone who visited loved the look & feel of the space… Thanks for your help with this project."

Looking to Create Your Own Awning Structure?

We get it, even with the simplicity of Kee Klamp fittings, building a large awning structure can be an intimidating endeavor. The good news is that we here at Simplified Building have a team of projects and design specialists that are eager to assist you every step of the way.

If you’d like to attempt building something like this and don’t quite know where to start, please feel free to reach out our team for design assistance. We have built many different types of awnings and shade-structures over the years and we would be happy to assist with your project as well!