The best side awnings, compared.
Top pick: VOUNOT brown side awning, 140 × 300 cm – Title, bullets, and projection agree on 140 × 300 cm, at about £59.99, on the shared 4.5 from 4,655 reviews. Best value: VOUNOT grey side awning, 140 × 300 cm – Lowest raw price of that shared sample, about £56.30, if you confirm the title length rather than the 2.1 m projection field. Updated 22.10.2026.
A side awning is a retractable fabric screen you pull out sideways, or drop between two poles, to block a view, a low sun, or a breeze on a patio, deck, or balcony. Homeowners who can bolt a post into masonry buy a cassette. Renters who must not drill a balcony slab look for a pressure fit between the floor and a soffit. A suitable listing is a side screen, rather than a shade sail or a door canopy. The usual garden cassette is about 140 cm high and about 300 cm long, polyester on a steel post, worked by hand. That height covers a seated person. Standing privacy needs a taller cloth, which is a different size. Listings often say the cloth resists wind, sun, and water, and they do not state a BS EN 13561 wind class. Retract the cloth in strong wind. Supplied screws are a weak fixing for masonry. How mechanism, height, and the fixing you are allowed to make fit together is set out in the [side awning buying guide](/hub/sun-shades/side-awning/sub/side-awning-buying-guide).
A side awning is a retractable fabric screen you pull out sideways, or drop between two poles, to block a view, a low sun, or a breeze on a patio, deck, or balcony.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
Where will the screen go?
The brown VOUNOT cassette pulls out by hand to the 300 cm length and 140 cm height that the title, the bullets, and the projection field all state, and the listed weight is 7.98 kg. Across the shared amazon.co.uk line of 4.5 from 4,655 reviews, UK reviewers use this pattern for seated privacy against a neighbour’s window and as a patio wind break when the post is fixed firmly, and they often say it opens and closes in seconds. The same reviews call the cloth thin and see-through when the sun is behind it, and they report rust at the base of the post, including after a rust treatment, even though the listing says the steel does not rust. Supplied screws are described as too weak, a receiving-post bracket is sometimes not square, and the spring rewind has to be guided or the cloth mis-rolls. One UK review mentions a 12 mm drill for expanding floor bolts. The bullets claim protection from wind, sun, water, and ultraviolet light, with no wind class and no waterproof rating. At about £59.99 it is the top pick in this set because those size fields agree, though beige and grey share the same review text, so the stars are not a separate test of the brown cloth.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A patio where you sit, and you can bolt the post into masonry or a structural frame and retract the cloth in strong wind.
Less suitable: Standing privacy, a balcony you must not drill, or a gap that needs a published wind class.
Specifications
Common questions
What size is the brown side awning?
Title, bullets, and the projection field agree on 300 cm long and 140 cm high. Item weight is 7.98 kg. Minimum clearance is written as 140 cm.
Is it waterproof?
The bullets say it can be protected from water, wind, sun, and ultraviolet light. There is no waterproof rating and no wind class in the specs.
Can you fit it without drilling?
Assembly required is Yes. Reviews describe drilling, including a 12 mm bit for expanding floor bolts, and they tell you to use better screws than the ones supplied.
The grey VOUNOT cassette is listed at about £56.30, the lowest raw price of the three colours that share 4.5 from 4,655 amazon.co.uk reviews, which makes it the best value in this set only if the length you receive is the 300 cm in the title. Title and bullets say 140 cm high and 300 cm long, and the item weight is 7.5 kg, but the technical fields say a projection of 2.1 m, a minimum clearance of 2.1 m, and a depth of 0.01 m. That depth also differs from the 0.3 m on the brown and beige files. The written UK reviews are the same text as those colours: an easy fit, seated privacy, a wind break, thin see-through cloth, rust at the base, weak screws, and a strong spring rewind. Assembly required is Yes, and those reviews describe drilling rather than a tool-free mount. The bullets claim wind, sun, water, and UV protection and a steel frame that does not rust, with no class and with rust still appearing in the reviews. Confirm the projection on the live page before you treat about £56.30 as a 3 m screen.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the grey cloth at the lower raw price, you can drill, and you will check that the page you buy is 300 cm rather than the 2.1 m projection field.
Less suitable: A measured 3 m gap if you cannot confirm the length, or a no-drill balcony.
Specifications
Common questions
What size is this grey side awning?
The title and the bullets say 140 cm high and 300 cm long. The technical fields say a projection of 2.1 m and a minimum clearance of 2.1 m. Those figures are both in the raw file and they conflict.
Is it waterproof?
The bullets say the polyester can be protected from wind, sun, water, and ultraviolet light. There is no waterproof rating and no wind class.
Can you fit it without drilling?
Assembly required is Yes. The listing does not claim a no-drill fit. Shared UK reviews describe screws, drilling, and replacing the supplied fixings.
The beige VOUNOT listing is the same manual 140 × 300 cm cassette at about £59.99, with a listed weight of 8.5 kg, and it carries the same 4.5 from 4,655 amazon.co.uk reviews as the brown and grey files. Title and bullets say 300 cm by 140 cm and the projection field says 3 m, while minimum clearance is written as 55 inches, about 139.7 cm. UK reviewers in that shared text praise a quick fit, seated privacy, and a wind break, and they also report see-through cloth in sun, rust at the post base, weak supplied screws, and a rewind you must guide. The listing field says assembly is not required, yet those reviews still describe screws and drilling, and the bullets do not claim a no-drill fit. A rain cover is not in the bullets; the shared review text mentions one, and another line in that text treats the cover as light protection only. Treat the 4.5 as one parent sample, not a second test of the beige cloth. There is still no EN 13561 class, so the weather bullets are not a wind rating.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the beige cloth, you accept the shared review sample, and you will fit it with your own screws despite the assembly field.
Less suitable: Anyone who reads the assembly field as a tool-free balcony screen, or who needs standing height.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the beige listing need assembly?
The field Is Assembly Required is No. The bullets do not say it is tool-free. The shared UK reviews describe fitting with screws, so the field and the reviews do not match.
What size is listed?
Title and bullets say 140 cm high and 300 cm long. Item weight is 8.5 kg. Minimum clearance is given as 55 inches, about 139.7 cm.
Is it waterproof?
The bullets claim protection from water, wind, sun, and ultraviolet light. No waterproof rating is stated.
The anthracite VOUNOT vertical blind is a hand-crank roller 200 cm wide, with telescopic poles the listing sets from 220 cm to 310 cm, at about £54.92 and 7.5 kg. The bullets claim a no-drill pressure fit without tools, a base that allows up to 3 cm of unevenness, and 180 g/m² polyester with a PU coating for UV and light rain, and they do not state a wind class. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.3 from 165 reviews. The first 50 written reviews in the raw file are not labelled United Kingdom, so that star line is the listing score and not a UK-only sample. Those reviews praise a no-drill balcony fit, some sun filtering, and privacy, and they say placing the poles often needs two people. One reviewer called the pressure fit unstable, the height holes are described as too far apart, the crank is too short at 310 cm without a step, and the cloth can bow in wind. It is the screen in this set when you have a soffit and must not drill, and it has nothing to push against on an open patio with no ceiling.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A balcony with a floor and a soffit between 220 cm and 310 cm, where you must not drill and you can get a second person to set the poles.
Less suitable: An open garden with no overhead slab, a ceiling under 220 cm, or anyone treating 165 reviews as a UK-only test.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this vertical awning need drilling?
The listing says it is a telescopic pressure fit without drilling or tools, for balconies and rented places. Assembly is still required. Reviews in the raw file say two people are often needed to place the poles.
What size does the listing state?
The title is 200 × 310 cm. Poles are adjustable from 220 cm to 310 cm, the cloth width is 200 cm, and the base is claimed to allow up to 3 cm of unevenness.
Does the listing say it is waterproof?
It claims protection from UV and light rain, on 180 g/m² polyester with a PU coating. It does not state a waterproof rating or a wind class.
The four scores restate amazon.co.uk stars already stored for these listings: the star rating divided by five, times 100. This is not a lab test and not a wind-class score. Brown, beige, and grey tie because they share 4.5 from 4,655 reviews and the same UK review text. The top pick is the brown cassette, once, because the title and the projection field agree. Best value is the grey cassette, once, as the lowest raw price of that shared sample, with the 2.1 m projection conflict left on the product. Beige and the vertical blind have no badge. The vertical score restates 4.3 from 165 reviews, and the first 50 written reviews in that raw file are not labelled United Kingdom.
Mechanism and fixing
25%A cassette needs a post you can bolt into masonry or a structural frame. A telescopic blind is a pressure fit and only suits a balcony with a soffit. Supplied screws are not the fixing. A no-drill claim is read against the assembly field and the reviews.
Height and listed size
25%140 cm is seated privacy. A title and a projection field that disagree are not one confirmed length. A balcony blind with poles to 310 cm is a full-height drop, not a garden screen.
Weather claim versus a class
15%Wind, sun, and water in a bullet are not BS EN 13561. No listing here states a wind class. Only the vertical listing states 180 g/m² PU-coated polyester and limits rain to light rain.
Review sample
20%The shared 4.5 from 4,655 is one parent sample, not three tests. The vertical 4.3 from 165 is the listing score. Those written reviews are not treated as a UK-only sample.
Price
15%Best value is the lowest raw price inside the shared 4.5 sample, not a different mechanism, and not a length the technical fields contradict without a check on the live page.
You are choosing a side screen for a view, a low sun, or a breeze, not a roof. The four amazon.co.uk listings stored here are three 140 × 300 cm cassettes and one 200 × 310 cm vertical blind, from about £54.92 to about £59.99. A cassette suits a patio if you can bolt the post. A pressure-fit blind suits a balcony with a soffit if you must not drill. The top pick is the brown cassette, because the size fields agree.
A side awning is a retractable fabric screen. You pull it out sideways from a cassette to a second post, or you drop a cloth between two poles. On a patio, deck, or balcony it blocks a view, a low sun, or a breeze. It is not a shade sail, a door canopy, a gazebo sidewall, or a caravan awning wall. Those products share the word awning and solve a different job. If the sun is overhead, you want a sail or a roof awning.
The word awning on a title is not a side screen. A shade sail and a door canopy solve overhead sun. A gazebo sidewall, an awning carpet, and a caravan side wall are different products.
The cassette height in this set is about 140 cm. That covers a seated person. Standing privacy wants a taller cloth. A 310 cm balcony blind is a full-height drop, not a garden screen.
UK reviews on the shared cassette text report rust at the post base and tell you to discard the supplied screws. Brown, beige, and grey share one 4.5 from 4,655. That is not three tests. Leave the cloth out in a storm and the spring rewind can snap back.
The first split is the mechanism. A cassette pulls out to a second post and needs a solid fixing in masonry or a structural frame. A telescopic vertical blind wedges between floor and soffit, and it only suits a balcony where that soffit exists and the lease allows a pressure fit. Height comes next. About 140 cm suits seated privacy. It does not hide you when you stand. Standing privacy wants about 160 or 180 cm, which appear on amazon.co.uk outside this four-listing set.
“Protects from wind and water” is not BS EN 13561:2015. Regulation (EU) 2019/1188 sets the wind-pressure classes, and none of these listings states a class. Retract the screen in strong wind. Do not give any of these products a miles-per-hour limit or a UV percentage. Only the vertical listing states a cloth weight, 180 g/m² polyester with a PU coating, and it limits rain to light rain. The cassette bullets use weather words and do not state a waterproof rating.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want seated privacy and a roll-away wind break, and you can bolt the post into masonry or a structural frame. The brown cassette is the top pick at about £59.99 because the title and the projection field agree on 140 × 300 cm. UK reviews in the shared text still report thin cloth, rust at the base, and weak supplied screws.
You want the grey cloth at the lowest raw price of the shared 4.5 sample, about £56.30, and you can drill. Best value only if the page you buy is the 300 cm in the title, not the 2.1 m projection field. The stars are the same parent sample as brown and beige.
You have a floor and a soffit between 220 cm and 310 cm, and you must not drill a slab you do not own. The anthracite vertical blind claims a pressure fit, at about £54.92, 200 cm wide, with a hand crank. Reviews say two people are often needed to place the poles. It has nothing to push against on an open patio.
The top pick is the brown VOUNOT cassette at about £59.99. Title, bullets, and the projection field agree on 140 × 300 cm, and the score of 90 restates 4.5 from 4,655 amazon.co.uk reviews. Those stars are one parent sample shared with beige and grey, not a separate test of the brown cloth. UK reviews in that text report thin see-through cloth, rust at the post base, and weak supplied screws. Best value is the grey cassette at about £56.30, the lowest raw price of that sample, only if the cloth is the 300 cm in the title rather than the 2.1 m projection field. Beige has no badge: the same price and the same review text, with an assembly field that says no while the reviews describe screws. The vertical blind has no badge. It is a different mechanism, 4.3 from 165, and the first 50 written reviews are not labelled United Kingdom.
VOUNOT brown side awning, 140 × 300 cm
Title, bullets, and projection agree on 140 × 300 cm, at about £59.99, on the shared 4.5 from 4,655 reviews.
VOUNOT grey side awning, 140 × 300 cm
Lowest raw price of that shared sample, about £56.30, if you confirm the title length rather than the 2.1 m projection field.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures already stored for this set. This is not a laboratory test.
