Our signature product
Louvre Awnings
Control sunlight, airflow and shade with a turn of the handle. Open the blades to 82° for winter sun, close them completely and the rain stays out, in Cape Town, Johannesburg and everywhere we work.
Blades open to 82°
How it works
Sun when you want it, weather-tight when you don't
The louvres open and close with a perfect-ratio gearbox, light enough that even children can operate it. One and a half turns takes the blades from fully open to fully closed.
Open them to 82° for all the summer sun, part them to let light in while keeping direct glare out, or close them completely to stop the rain. In winter the low sun still angles in under the blades to warm the house.
About the gearbox & drainage
Marine-grade aluminium
Built to last
Corrosion-free and maintenance-free
Every louvre is pre-painted, baked aluminium in your choice of 23 colours: no rust, no repainting, no maintenance. It protects your windows, curtains and furniture from UV, keeps rain off slippery tiles and stops doors from swelling.
- 10-year guarantee on materials, 1 year on workmanship
- Cools the house in summer, lets winter sun through at lower angles
- Adds real value: it reads as architecture, not an add-on
Planning & pricing
Where the money goes on a louvre awning
No two louvre awnings leave the factory the same size, so the price is built from your measurements and your structure. As a starting point, budget around R3 500 a square metre — an adjustable louvre roof sits at the upper end of that, because it is a working mechanism as well as a structure. Here is what the consultant looks at before you get a written, no-obligation quote.
Size & number of bays
The area you want covered, and how many gear-operated banks of blades it takes to cover it, is the biggest single factor in the quote.
Structure & fixing
Fixing to a wall or fascia costs less than a freestanding frame on posts. Your consultant specifies the structure your site actually needs, and if it has to stand clear of the house it becomes an aluminium pergola.
Gutters & drainage
Closed blades channel rain into the built-in gutter and downpipes. Longer gutter runs and extra downpipes add material and time.
Colour & finish
All 23 pre-painted, baked-on colours cost the same, and the finish never needs repainting, so there is nothing to budget for later.
Access
A ground-floor patio installs faster than a balcony or upper storey that needs scaffolding or lifting.
Extras
Awning lighting and side drop blinds can be added now or later, but adding them with the install is usually cheaper than a return visit.
- Engineered for South African wind zones: spans, fixings and supports are specified for your site's wind exposure in line with SANS 10160 wind-loading principles. Documentation for commercial and body-corporate projects on request.
- One accountable installer. We measure, manufacture and fit with our own teams, no subcontractors, so the quote you sign is the price you pay.
- Free on-site quote: a consultant measures your space and quotes in writing, with no obligation.
Before you enquire
The questions we get asked on site
Most people have already looked at three or four of these and come away more confused than when they started. Here is what we tell customers standing on their own patio.
Is a louvre awning the same thing as a louvered roof?
Yes. It gets called a louvre roof, a louvered roof, a louvred awning, an adjustable louvre roof and an opening roof, and they all describe the same structure: aluminium blades set in a frame that tilt from flat open to fully shut. We say louvre awning because that is what it has been called here since 1988. If you have been searching for a louvered roof, you are in the right place.
How much rain does an adjustable louvre roof actually keep out?
Closed, the blades overlap and the water runs down them into a gutter built into the beam, then out through the downpipes. You can sit under it in a downpour. The honest limit is wind-driven rain coming in sideways at the open ends, which is what side drop blinds are for.
How far can you span without a post in the middle?
It depends on the blade section and your site's wind exposure, so the consultant works it out on the day rather than quoting a number off a website. A wide patio is usually covered as two or three gear-operated banks rather than one enormous one, which also means you can open half the roof and leave the rest shut.
Manual or motorised?
Both work. The manual gearbox is light enough for a child to turn and takes one and a half turns end to end, and plenty of customers never bother with a motor. If you are covering an upper-storey balcony or you simply want a remote, motorise it. The gearbox can also be motorised later, so it is not a decision you have to get right now.
What happens in a real south-easter or a Highveld hailstorm?
Spans, fixings and supports are specified for the wind exposure at your address, in line with SANS 10160 wind-loading principles. In genuinely extreme wind we tell people to close the blades: shut, the roof presents a flat surface and behaves like a solid one. Aluminium blades take hail without denting the way a thin steel sheet does.
How long is it out of action while you fit it?
Manufacture is made-to-measure, so there is a wait between signing and installing. The install itself is usually a day or two on a normal patio, longer if it needs scaffolding or a lift. We do the measuring, the manufacturing and the fitting ourselves, so there is one company to hold responsible.
From customers
What it is like to deal with us
“In 2013 … someone referred me to Al's Awnings to put a structure outside my bedroom window. I was very happy with the service then and in 2017 I contacted Al again … 11 years later the work that Al delivers is just as good if not better than before.”
“The workmanship is top-tier — precision, attention to detail, and quality that speaks for itself the moment you see the finished product. The awning doesn't just look good; it has completely elevated the space.”
On the record
Some of it we can show you on paper
Every awning company will tell you it does good work. These are the four things about ours that somebody else wrote down.
Voted best awnings in the country
Readers of The Star put us first in the Best Awnings category of their annual Your Choice poll, published 30 May 2007. Independent Newspapers confirmed it in writing: ballot one, first position.
The man home YARD asked
When home YARD magazine ran a feature on adjustable louvres in 2018, the advice printed beside it came from Albert van Wyk — who started this company and still runs it.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation
We built for the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton in 2001. We still have the paperwork.
Thirty-eight years of it
Albert started in a garage in Kempton Park in 1988. Some of the installers who arrive at your house have been with him since close to the beginning.
Free consultation & quote
Request a free quote today.
Tell us what you have in mind and where you are. One of our own consultants (not a call centre) comes back to you, measures on site and quotes with no obligation.
Four branches nationwide
We service all areas in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and on the Garden Route
Local teams measure, manufacture and fit from four branches: head office in Cape Town, plus Johannesburg, Pretoria and Wilderness.