A Do-It-Yourself Mobile Home Porch Awning

Assembling the Frame

• 1

  Measure the length of your front porch using a measuring tape to determine the necessary length of your awning. If your porch has a concrete foundation or a foundation made from some other material, measure its width to determine the width of your awning. If your porch does not have a defined width, use the tape to measure out from the side of the mobile home and select the width yourself.

• 2

  Cut two pieces of 1-inch PVC to the length measurement you just determined using a pair of PVC cutters. Cut two additional pieces of 1-inch PVC to the width measurement of your awning.

• 3

  Divide the two pieces of PVC you cut for the length of your awning into 4-foot sections if your awning is longer than 4 feet. Trim an inch from each of the 4-foot sections to accommodate the width of the PVC fittings you will use to connect them.

• 4

  Arrange the pieces of 1-inch PVC into a rectangular shape. Position the pieces you cut to the length of the awning horizontally, parallel to each other. Place the width pieces perpendicularly between the ends of the length pieces to complete the rectangular frame.

• 5

  Connect the length and width pieces at the bottom corners of the frame using 1-inch three-way PVC elbows. Position the elbows so the unused connection is pointed downward. Install 1-inch PVC tee connectors in the top corners of the PVC frame with the unused connections pointed outward from the frame.

• 6

  Attach 1-inch four-way tee connectors to the 4-foot horizontal sections of the awning frame. Position the connectors so one of the open connections faces in toward the center of the frame and the other faces down toward the ground.

• 7

  Cut additional pieces of 1-inch PVC to the width of the awning frame and insert them into the open tee connections facing toward the center of the frame. These pieces of PVC will serve as dividers between the 4-foot sections.

Making the Cover and Installing the Awning

• 8

  Cut a piece of thick outdoor canvas to the length and width of the awning frame you just constructed. Add about 3 inches to the length and width measurements when cutting the canvas to account for a seam allowance and leeway for installing the cover. Hem all four sides of the canvas using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

• 9

  Lay the awning cover flat on top of the awning frame. Center the awning cover so the extra fabric overlaps the edges of the frame evenly on all four sides. Wrap the extra canvas tight around the PVC pipes and secure it in place using PVC snap clamps. Use one clamp approximately every 12 inches along the frame.

• 10

  Have someone help you hold the completed awning frame up against the mobile home in the desired position. The side of the awning frame where you installed the tee connectors should be flush with the wall of the mobile home. Adjust the angle of the awning until you are satisfied.

• 11

  Slip a 1-inch conduit clamp over the open end of the tee connectors on both ends at the top of the awning frame. Screw the clamps directly into the side of the mobile home. Install additional conduit clamps every 4 to 6 feet along the length of the awning frame.

• 12

  Measure the distance between the ground and the bottom edge of the awning cover. Cut the legs for your awning frame out of 1-inch PVC pipe using this measurement. You will need one leg for each side and an additional leg for each divider you installed.

• 13

  Insert one end of each PVC leg into the open end of the three-way elbows and the final open connection on the four-way tee connectors along the bottom of the awning frame. Attach a 1-inch five-way PVC connector to the other end of each leg.

• 14

  Sink the bottom of each awning leg in a large plastic bucket filled at least halfway with sand. You may choose to let the legs simply rest on the ground but anchoring them in a bucket of sand will result in greater stability for your awning.