How to Build an Awning Over a Balcony

Measure the length and width of your balcony. These measurements will be the dimensions for your awning. The height at which you install the awning is up to you -- use the measuring tape to determine the height you prefer.

Divide the total length of your balcony by four. You will be incorporating cross-braces into the awning frame every 4 feet. This calculation will tell you how many sections you will divide your frame.

Cut 4-foot lengths of 1-inch PVC pipe with a pair of PVC cutters. Use the calculation you made in Step 2 to determine how many pieces of PVC to cut. Cut twice as many pieces of PVC as your calculation. This will provide you with the horizontal pipes for the top and bottom of the awning frame.

Use the PVC cutters to cut two pieces of 1-inch PVC to the desired width of the awning frame. Refer back to the calculation you made in Step 2 to determine how many additional pieces of 1-inch PVC you need to cut to the width of the frame for cross-braces.

Arrange the pieces of PVC you cut into a large rectangular shape. Line up the pieces you cut in Step 3 end to end and arrange them in two horizontal, parallel lines in front of you. The two lines should be equal in length.

Sandwich the pieces of PVC you cut in Step 4 vertically between the ends of the horizontal pieces. When finished, there should be one piece of PVC positioned perpendicularly between the two lines of horizontal pipes on either end. Additional pieces of PVC should be positioned perpendicularly as cross-braces spaced approximately every 4 feet in between.

Connect the pieces of PVC in the top two corners with 1-inch tee fittings. Position the tee fittings so the unused connection points away from the awning frame. Connect the bottom two corners with 1-inch three-way PVC elbows. The unused connection on these fittings should face downward.

Use 1-inch tee fittings to connect the interior horizontal pieces of PVC to the vertical cross-braces. Use the horizontal connections in the tees to connect two adjacent 4-foot sections of PVC and insert the end of a vertical cross-brace into the only vertical connection. When finished, you should have a large rectangular framework divided into 4-foot sections.

Cut a piece of heavy canvas or outdoor upholstery fabric 4 inches wider and longer than the measurements of your completed awning frame. These additional 4 inches will allow for a 1/2-inch seam when hemming the awning cover and will leave room to attach the cover to the frame.

Hem all four sides of the awning cover with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. When finished, lay the hemmed canvas over the top of the awning frame. Center the cover over the frame so it overhangs the frame by about an inch on all four sides.

Wrap the excess canvas around the PVC pipes in the awning frame and secure the awning cover in place with PVC snap clamps. Use one clamp for each horizontal 4-foot section and use two clamps on the two outermost vertical sections of PVC.

Have someone hold the completed awning frame up against the wall over your balcony at the desired height. Position the frame so the horizontal side with the tee fittings in the corners is flat against the wall over the balcony.

Slip 1-inch conduit clamps over the unused connections on the tee fittings at either end of the awning frame. Drive 2-inch wood screws through the holes in the clamps into the wall above the balcony to attach the awning frame. Install one additional conduit clamp along each 4-foot section for added stability.

Cut two pieces of 1-inch PVC to the height of the awning and insert them into the unused connections on the PVC elbows in the bottom corners of the frame. These pipes are the vertical supports, or legs, for your balcony awning.

Attach a 1-inch five-way PVC connector to the end of each leg. Place each of the legs into a large plastic bucket and fill the bucket at least halfway with sand. The legs will support the weight of the awning frame, and the bucket full of sand will keep the legs from moving.