Awnings - keep or discard discussion

So while the color poll is going on. I'm adding a poll for awnings. Should we keep them or remove and discard them? Please vote.

If we keep them, we will still need to decide whether we will paint them or reupholster them.

Per my earlier post. Window awnings can reduce solar heat gain in the summer by up to 65% on south-facing windows and 77% on west-facing windows. A light-colored awning does double duty by also reflecting sunlight. Given a choice I personally would consider my energy bill before I removed the awnings. I also remember when the awnings were removed for the last paint job, a site for sore eyes. Villagio was designed with awnings NOT without the awnings.
An earlier post mentioned washing the awnings, why can't this be an option?

Given the Cost Savings, you will need to 'pry' them off my, with my hands tightly attached!! Putting this to a vote, if that's how its decided, I am sure not the only owner to protest until the 'cows come home'!!.

Living on the lower floor I have to say it helps keep the rain out of a open window in the summer. Instead of replacing all of them wouldnt it be better to have someone steam pressure wash one set of them and see if it makes an improvement before spending a ton on money on replacing them? J

jamesalin wrote:Living on the lower floor I have to say it helps keep the rain out of a open window in the summer. Instead of replacing all of them wouldnt it be better to have someone steam pressure wash one set of them and see if it makes an improvement before spending a ton on money on replacing them? J

That's certainly an option is we were to keep the same colors.

Thanks to everyone who voted and shared your opinions. Last night, the board met and decided that we will keep the awnings.

Thank the HOA Board Very Much for their decision to have the awnings remain.
I do see that Eken has painted an awning, so everyone take a look!
Again, Thanks.

Love the new awning color. It goes well with the building and looks very "updated"

Thanks

Glad you like the colors. We are also looking at painting each building a slightly different tone to break up the look.

I voted to keep them. I know that for boat covers there is "sunbrella" material that can be cleaned and protected and have used "303" products with great success.. I use "303" cleaner and "303" fabric guard on my car's convertible top. I know with proper maintenance our awnings will last years longer.

Whatever paint color scheme is decided on I suggest the paint be able to endure a couple of power washings or the paint be virtually stain resistant. I believe the current appearance of our buildings could be improved with simple power washings. I know that a lot of stucco commercial buildings are painted with a very long lasting paint this must be mixed with an epoxy or some kind of plastic material. It is more of semi-gloss when close-up. It may be worth investigating and there may be something that has more of a flat finish.

Trebor

trebor wrote:I voted to keep them. I know that for boat covers there is "sunbrella" material that can be cleaned and protected and have used "303" products with great success.. I use "303" cleaner and "303" fabric guard on my car's convertible top. I know with proper maintenance our awnings will last years longer.

Whatever paint color scheme is decided on I suggest the paint be able to endure a couple of power washings or the paint be virtually stain resistant. I believe the current appearance of our buildings could be improved with simple power washings. I know that a lot of stucco commercial buildings are painted with a very long lasting paint this must be mixed with an epoxy or some kind of plastic material. It is more of semi-gloss when close-up. It may be worth investigating and there may be something that has more of a flat finish.

Trebor

Thanks for the suggestions.

Hello,
Since the color poll is heavily leaning toward repainting the main color the same as what we have, and hopefully using a more nuetral beige like color as an accent instead of the 1980's peachy color, the existing awnings should continue to work fine. I think if they are power washed to freshen them up that would be great.
Painting them looks pretty bad as the example moss like green example looks really "painted" and is quite uneven.

My vote will be for the same main color on all buildings with a new beige type accent color and clean the awnings. I strongly disagree with having some buildings in different color. It will just look inconsistent to have various colors withing the complex.

Thanks for all your work
Regards
Deborah Hill

I haven't been around for awhile and just now saw this poll. It must be closed; I couldn't figure out how to vote.

I love the awnings, and I especially love the teal color and all the other original colors.

Awnings are really nice when it's raining; the rain falls on the awnings, making the most soothing sound.

Helen Woodson

I thought I responded to this but maybe I posted it in another thread.

The board did decide to keep the awnings. YEA!

The only thing to figure out is whether to paint them or redo the material. There are pro's and con's with both options but we still need to figure that out.

Oh, and the reason the painted awning looks uneven is because it's painted in half with 2 colors. We were trying to determine which color would be better. It's our understanding from talking to the painters that painting them is an option that will look good for several years. However, the colors will begin to fade (not flake or crack). How long they last is debatable. We've heard 3-5 years. The good news is that painting them will NOT cost us extra. So in 3-5 years we could decide to retouch them. Reupholstering is the more expensive option but we are STILL waiting for a quote. It's probably in the 50K-75K range but that's just a guess at this point. With the painting option, the awnings won't even be removed. The vendor will paint them in place. If we replace them, the frames must come off. Which means extra work and extra $. However, the color will last much longer.

IMO painting the awnings is not a good option. As mentioned by Tom the paint may only last 3-5 years. Since the awnings are very visible throughout the community, visitors surely would notice any fading and/or cracked paints, and the loss of appeal(and God-forbid property values) can outweigh the cost of replacing the canvas many, many times. Please do it right, or don't do it at all. I assume the awning assemblies have to be taken down if they are not painted, so I would suggest to replace the canvas with good or better quality ones. As for the color, the current canvas green looks pretty cool, the color enhances the green roof tiles, which have faded somewhat.

If it doesn't cost more, let's paint them for now and save up for replacement in 3-5 years.

If the awnings are painted in place, would there be a U-shaped unpainted main body? If the awnings are to be replaced in 3-5 years, we probably still need to paint-match and repaint the area behind the awnings. It is likely that regardless of keeping or replacing, the awnings may still need to be removed for better paint results.

My 1 cent worth.

john wrote:If the awnings are painted in place, would there be a U-shaped unpainted main body? If the awnings are to be replaced in 3-5 years, we probably still need to paint-match and repaint the area behind the awnings. It is likely that regardless of keeping or replacing, the awnings may still need to be removed for better paint results.

My 1 cent worth.

So this is part of the tradeoff. If our vendor paints them for free, they will not remove them. Just spray them as the hang there. We may decide to repaint in 3-5 years and they would just re-spray them. If we decide to re-canvas in 3-5 years then there will be a thin u-shaped outline. However, it may get covered up with the new awnings.

Dismounting and installing the awnings now will be an extra cost. We'll need to decide what's the better option.

Repaint as-is with no incremental cost. (frames stay on buildings)
Repaint but with some additional cost to potentially reduce future costs. (Frames may come off to allow painters to paint behind the frames)
Replace the canvas completely by taking down the frames. This will obviously be the most expensive option.

Once we know the costs and get some more details about the process of each option we can make a decision.

I like the awnings. When I moved into Vilagio, SHEA (builders) said that not all windows had awnings to give the place not such a conformed looked. They were for color and sun. I have one in the dining area and it does help with afternoon sun. I think it would be nice if the awnings matched the metal railings and roof tile, that is all in the same green color. Last time they did them, the repainted the metal and replaced the cloth material. Please keep them.

Yes, the plan is to keep the awnings. Color wise, the awnings and railings will match, once we picked out a color.

I would agree that trying to power wash a couple of the really dirty awnings to see how well they clean up is worth a try. If they clean up well then no need to spend money to replace them. THe painted one looks pretty bad and the color is very uneven.

Glad to hear the awnings are staying! I think the buildings would look somewhat plain without them.

Now for the colors; change them!!!!

Thanks for all your work to provide options. I trust the board and color committee to make the best decision on the color for the buildings, which by forum input from the homeowners who actually gave input, looks like painting using the current cream color on the main building, but elemination of the much disliked peachy color and blue green railing color is the most popular. The 2nd painted example in from the corner shows this. Whatever the board decides for the awnings to go with the new paint job is fine with me. We have elected the board to make decisions and those who do not participate in the forums, attend HOA monthly meetings or serve on the board are simply giving up the chance to give their input. So be it. Great job. I am anxious for the decision to be made soon so painting can begin. The sooner this place is cleaned up the better our property values will be.