Do-It-Yourself Patio Awning

Cut a piece of canvas to 3 inches more on all sides than the size you want the patio awning to be. For example, if you want an awning 60-by-60 inches, cut the canvas to 66-by-66 inches. The awning will hang partially from the side of the house, partially from poles.

Fold the cut edges of the canvas into a 1/4-inch seam and sew it together with a heavy-duty sewing machine. Fold the edges over once more into a 2 3/4-inch seam and sew together.

Fix a grommet to all corners of the awning inside the limits of the seamed edges. Cut out the material inside the grommet to make a reinforced hole at each corner.

Use a stepladder to get to the height on the wall where the awning will hang from and attach an eyebolt to the wall at the distance between the corner grommets on the canvas.

Attach an eyebolt 4 inches in from one end of each metal pole you are using to suspend the other side of the awning. The poles should be 2 1/4-feet longer than the hanging height of the awning.

Place the awning out flat on the patio in position, with one side lined up with the eyebolts in the wall. Connect a turnbuckle to all of the grommets and extend the turnbuckles out as far as they go. At the turnbuckle end positions on the opposite side of the wall is where you need to set up the poles.

Use a post-hole digger to dig a hole 2 feet deep for each of the metal poles. Fill the holes three-quarters full with quick-dry concrete and insert the poles, eyebolt end up. The concrete will take about 15 minutes to set and 5 to 6 hours to cure.

Connect a D-shackle to the end of each turnbuckle. Connect the other side of the D-shackle to the eyebolts on the wall and on the poles. This will lift the awning over the patio. Tighten the turnbuckles to achieve the desired tautness in the patio awning.