How to fit a side awning
Updated: 22.10.2026
The box is open and the screws in the bag look ready for the deck boards. That is where these screens go wrong. A manual cassette has to be plumb, the receiving post has to sit in something structural, and you have to keep hold of the rewind. How to fit one follows UK review notes on the cassettes in the [side awning comparison](/hub/sun-shades/side-awning), the wall-mount line on vounot.co.uk, and the pattern in a trained fitter's notes for a specified side screen. Those notes are not a bolt schedule for this parcel. We did not fit one.
The box is open and the screws in the bag look ready for the deck boards. That is where these screens go wrong.
The box is open and the screws in the bag look ready for the deck boards. That is where these screens go wrong. A manual cassette has to be plumb, the receiving post has to sit in something structural, and you have to keep hold of the rewind. How to fit one follows UK review notes on the cassettes in the side awning comparison, the wall-mount line on vounot.co.uk, and the pattern in a trained fitter's notes for a specified side screen. Those notes are not a bolt schedule for this parcel. We did not fit one.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Drill expected | Spring rewind | Wall cassette | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VOUNOT VOUNOT brown side awning, 140 × 300 cm | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 | about £59.99 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  VOUNOT VOUNOT grey side awning, 140 × 300 cm | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 | about £56.30 | View offer |
| Alternative |  VOUNOT VOUNOT vertical awning, 200 × 310 cm | No | No | No | 8.6 | about £54.92 | View offer |
On this page
Before you drill: wall, concrete, or a real frame
Name the substrate before you charge the drill. Brown and grey say assembly is required. Beige says it is not, and the shared UK reviews still describe screws, so plan to fix it properly. vounot.co.uk says the 140 × 300 cm screen is designed for wall mounting. One UK reviewer finished a sound brick wall in under 20 minutes with four screws. Another needed a 12 mm drill for expanding floor bolts. Lightweight block may need the load spread. That warning comes from folding-arm guidance, so it is not a hole size for VOUNOT.
Deck boards on their own are not a foundation. Bolt through to a joist, or set a post in a footing you are allowed to make. A concrete pad, a solid existing post, or a pergola post can work when it is already structural. Listed weights are about 7.5 kg to 8.5 kg. If you are still choosing height, use the side awning buying guide.
Cassette, receiving post, and a rewind you do not let go
Set the housing first, plumb, on the wall or base you have accepted. UK reviews treat the receiving post as the weak point. Its bracket or base weld is sometimes not square, and the location slot can be too small. Offer the post up and look along the cloth before you commit every hole. A post out of line leaves the cloth slack at the top. Extra metal ties to stop a wobble mean the base is already wrong. In one review those ties then snapped in the wind.
Pull the cloth out slowly and hook it. Brown's projection is 300 cm, and a longer gap needs a second cassette. Then retract it once while you still have both hands free. The spring is strong, and reviewers say you must guide it or the cloth mis-rolls. Do not adjust the spring from a guide for a different product. Discard the supplied screws. A rain cover appears in the UK review text and not in the bullets, and one review calls it light protection only.
Wind, winter, and when you stop
Retract the screen when the wind is more than a breeze you are happy to stand in, when you leave, and when the cloth is wet if you can dry it later. vounot.co.uk says to fold this screen into the housing in moderate or strong wind. There is no miles-per-hour number. UK reviews contain both a useful wind break and a screen blown down on poor brackets. Rust at the base shows up within weeks or months in some reviews, including after a rust treatment. A does-not-rust line is not a coating test. At least one reviewer stored the unit indoors over winter rather than trusting the cover.
If you cannot drill at all, the pressure-fit blind still needs two people and a soffit. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What you bolt a side awning to
Bolt the cassette and the receiving post to a sound wall, a concrete base, or a structural timber post. Match the fixing to that material, and do not use the screws in the box as the plan. Stop when the wall is shared or listed, when you do not own the slab, or when the only upright already leans. A fitter can plumb a specified screen. They cannot grant a landlord's consent.
Common questions
Can you fix it only to deck boards?
You can screw into boards, and the post will still move, because the boards are a floor. Fix through to a joist or add a post with its own footing. A cassette of about 8 kg works as a lever once the cloth is out. If the deck is the only structure, change the structure before you trust the screen.
Should you use the screws in the box?
No. Reviewers on the shared UK text say the supplied screws are too weak and tell you to use your own. Treat that as the normal advice for this cassette, not as one unlucky parcel. Choose a fixing for brick, concrete, or the joist you have found. The beige assembly-not-required field does not cancel those reviews. There is no single branded bolt we are telling you to buy.
Why does the side awning slam back?
The spring rewind is strong, and if you let go the cloth can mis-roll or smack the housing. Guide it in by hand, as reviewers say they have to, and as a specified side screen's notes tell a fitter to keep hold of the handle. Do not take the cassette apart to slacken a spring using a guide for a different product. If it snatches on the first retract, walk it back slowly while you can still stand beside the post.
When do you retract it?
Retract it when you leave, and when the cloth is wet if you can dry it afterwards. A breeze you are using as a wind break, with the post firmly fixed, is the use reviewers praise. A gale and a wet roll left out are how bases rust. There is no Beaufort number on these ASINs.
When do you stop and call someone?
Stop if the rewind snatches and you cannot guide it, or if the base rusts through in the first weeks and you need the seller rather than another hole. An English screen that would enclose a boundary over 1 metre next to a road used by vehicles is a council question, not a longer screw.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.
- Planning Portal: awning and gazebo FAQ (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GOV.UK: permitted development rights for householders (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- BSI: BS EN 13561:2015 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1188, wind-class pressures (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- amazon.co.uk search: Retractable Side Awning (retrieved 22.10.2026)