# DIY Shade-Cloth Awnings
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Post hole digger
- Gravel
- Shovel
- 3 posts, 4-by-4 inches, 10 feet long
- 2-by-4-inch lumber
- Nails
- Hammer
- Quick-drying concrete
- Power drill
- 6 large screw-in eye bolts
- Galvanized wire
- Wire cutters
- No-fray lightweight shade cloth fabric, 4-by-20 feet
- Fabric scissors
- Heavy-duty grommets
- Grommet tool
- Rope
Instructions
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1
Select a location to install the awning against a pre-existing building or wall. Measure 10 feet away from the wall. Dig three, 3-feet-deep post holes spaced 4 feet apart and 10 feet away from the wall.
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2
Shovel a small amount of gravel into the bottoms of the holes to help with water drainage. Place a 4-by-4-foot post upright in each hole. Support the posts by nailing 2-by-4-inch boards to the sides of the posts on an angle to the ground. These boards are temporary and don't have to be perfect.
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3
Mix a batch of quick-drying concrete. Pour the concrete around the three posts. Allow the concrete to set overnight, then remove the 2-by-4-inch lumber.
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4
Drill three holes in the wall 8 feet from the ground directly across from the three posts. Drive a screw-in eye bolt into each hole. Drill a hole in the top of each of the three posts. Screw eye bolts into the holes on the posts.
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5
Cut four lengths of galvanized wire measuring 12 feet long. Bend each of the wires, 1 foot from one of their ends.
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6
Cut the canvas fabric into two 4-by-10-foot pieces. Use scissors to cut a small slit in the long sides of the fabric pieces every 12 inches. Use a hammer and a grommet tool to install a grommet into each slit.
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7
Weave one piece of the wire through the grommets on one side of the first piece of fabric. Weave another piece of wire through the other side of that fabric. Repeat with the other piece of fabric.
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8
Wrap one end of the wire on the first side of the fabric around the eye bolt on top of the first post. Tightly stretch the same wire over to the first eye-bolt in the wall and twist the wire to it. Twist the end of the wire on the other side of the fabric to the top of the middle post, then to the middle eye bolt in the wall. Repeat with the other piece of fabric, attaching the first wire to the middle bolts, and the second wire to the last bolts.
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9
Cut two 6-foot lengths of rope. Tie one rope to the last grommet on the first piece of fabric. Repeat on the other piece of fabric. These ropes will allow you to open and close the awning.
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