Overall Rating3.933.933.933.933.93
Quality3.793.793.793.793.79
Affordability44444
Service3.933.933.933.933.93

14 Customer Reviews of “Sunair”

Review by Bigguy, August 3, 2016

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We purchased a 15 by 12 foot Sunair awning for our back patio.
We have had it for over 10 years. It was installed by Quinworks .
It has operated flawlessly. The only problem is that the birds love to nest behind it and create a bit of a mess. Currently the controller seems to have become somewhat intermitant . We are waiting for Quinworks to evaluate the problem. We are considering replacing the fabric, if it is possible
I don’t understand some of the negative comments. We have loved the awning.

Review by Don, June 9, 2016

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I installed the SUNAIR awning myself (general contractor) and I must say it is an extremely well built unit. Our installation was on a pitched roof and it has operated flawlessly for several years. I have not needed any technical support since it was installed but did call support for roof installation considerations which was great! I think the negatives I have seen in some reviews must be dealer related since the product from my experience is top notch! Our awning is motorized with remote, sun and wind controls. We love it!

Review by Kathy, May 23, 2016

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I have never, ever been so unhappy with a contractor or a company. It’s 6 months since the project was to start and it’s still not completed to my satisfaction. Excuse after excuse, takes numerous calls to get any reply to our calls/emails, and every time the response is that the situation will be resolved, but it still isn’t. Not only would I never recommend Sunair to anyone, I tell everyone I know to stay far away from them.

Review by Julie W, April 17, 2016

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We’ve had our motorized Sunair since July of 2009. After just under 7 years of use, this awning has held up remarkably well. I can’t speak on a technical basis, but certainly CAN speak as a highly satisfied customer. The fabric is beautiful, durable and I have seen no fading over the years. The motor works smoothly reliably. We use ours mostly April through October, and have never had a problem.

Late last summer we accidentally left it about 2/3 deployed (it’s quite “deep”, we don’t use it all the way extended very often) and a storm came up suddenly. It actually bent down nearly half way to the ground (terrifying!) due to the weight of the water, but once we tipped it to drain it sprang right back up. It REALLY took a beating in this incident so we were amazed it recovered so well. The angle was slightly affected, though, so now that nice weather is back we had the local service man come out to level it. I was given good technical advice by Jim on how to correct it ourselves, but we thought after 7 years it was time call in a pro to do the adjustment and to see if we needed a “tune up”. The service man came to our home the day after my call. I’m very particular and he patiently made minor adjustments ’til it was just right. The awning is NOT on a protected side of the house. We’d had some of “bounce” even in light wind after the storm incident, and once the service man was done it was back to being stable even in a pretty stiff breeze. There are less expensive motorized retractable awnings out there (thus the “3” for affordability) but we considered this an investment and wanted to get the best possible product. We made the right decision. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.

Review by Grant H, June 1, 2015

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I have worked in the retractable awning industry for just over 6 years. In that time I have encountered many different manufacturers. The very first thing that needs to be considered is the local dealer. I have found that more times than not, it is the initial installation that has caused the issues. Beyond that, an awning that is made from forged components for the joints (such as Sunair) is significantly (2-3x) stronger than those who use die-cast components. Which is about 95% of those on the market. As far as the fabric is concerned, I have to agree with Taylor’s assessment. The Para Tempotest Fabric is far superior to that of others that I see out there on the market. I personally believe that the Sunair products are far superior to any of their competitors in the same price point. The motors used are the top brand on the market. Keep in mind that Sunair does not manufacture the motor, and that the top brands are all using Somfy motors because they are the best brand on the market today. Sunair manifactures the frames and the fabrics, and they are top quality in my experience.

Juan, In regards to your problem. I can say with almost certainty that what you experiencing is that the roll has gotten reversed. what needs to be done is that you need to roll the awning all the way out then keep going until the fabric starts to roll back on to the top of the roll tube. once this is done, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Jay, Your problem is definitely with your local dealer and certainly should be reported to Sunair. They are a great family owned company who truly cares about their products and the people who buy them. They will want to know your experience. They do not want dealers who are not representing their products in the best way possible.

Joe and Lee – of the many Sunair customers that I have come across; 99.9% agree with you. top quality products.

Cindy – I am curious what motors you are buying? Are you buying them from Sunair or another vendor. Your experience is nothing of what I have encountered.

Gary – I have to agree with Taylor’s assessment of your situation.

Top 3 brands on the Market in my experience are by far: Sunair, Eclipse and Eastern. With a very VERY distant 4th place being Durosol. Stick to the top 3.

Review by juan C., September 28, 2014

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I bought a 3-yr old townhouse in April, 2014. It came with a SunAir awning. It is manually operated, Twice (once today) in these 5 months the awning has gotten stuck, a pretty poor record in my book specially considering that we only use it on weekends. The previous owners were very careful and kept the house in excellent shape.

Review by Jay O., September 4, 2013

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Would not buy again. Delay after delay, excuse after excuse from day one. Finally had it installed and after a little over one month the motor failed. Told it would take two weeks for new motor to arrive, it was more like a month. Sunair failed to respond to my first email asking for help. It was only after a phone call asking for my money back did they seem to take notice and something was done.
Save yourself the aggravation and look elsewhere.

Review by Joe M., August 14, 2013

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I have had a Sunair awning, and two screens on my house for three months now. I waited three months to write this review to see if any problems would come up. Everything has worked perfect! We live in a very windy area of Denver, and this awning holds up. They all work off one remote, and this makes life so easy. I have a friend with an awning that operates with a crank, and he is not happy with the time it takes to crank it out. I know that the installers have nothing to do with Sunair, but our install guys were great. Have no fears with this product.

Review by A. White, June 25, 2013

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I install Sunair awnings for a HVAC company in Akron, Ohio. It’s not my primary occupation, but because I also work along side that industry my slow season is during the summer. I took over installing their Sunair awnings in 2011. It’s a shame that Gary and Cindy’s posts are the first two on this site. As the installer, and especially as a sub-contractor, I wouldn’t touch a product if it had problems like they describe, because unhappy customers are not paying customers. I knew by reading their posts the problem they’re having: incompetent installation. I can all but guarantee they don’t make adjustments to the awning’s functioning parts after it is installed. Basic operating specs are preset by the manufacturer and you often have to make simple adjustments for pitch and level. SIMPLE adjustments. Furthermore, Sunair absolutely honors their warranties if parts fail. (P.S. Taylor B even those of use who “do awnings too” care about customer satisfaction)

Review by Taylor B., June 5, 2013

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I am the second largest dealer of awnings for Sunair in the country. We install a few hundred retractable products per year, and I must say, I cannot disagree with Cindy more. While gear (crank) operated awnings are not that difficult to operate, very few of our awnings are hand cranked because consumers use their awnings more if they are motorized. Plus the wind sensor can help out the forgetful consumer that leaves it out in a storm. Sunair uses the best brand of motor in the business (Somfy systems). The few problems consumers may experience with retractable awnings are frequently with the local installer. Installed properly, fabric telescoping (what Gary mentioned back in 2010), and motors not stopping are not typically a Sunair issue. The motor limits are typically set by the installer to prevent a continuously running motor, and telescoping fabric is most likely caused by a local awning shop that sews their own covers and they are not properly “squared”. Purchasing a complete awning from Sunair as we do despite having a full fabrication shop with several full time stitchers, insures a square awning, sewn with the best expanded PTFE (like Teflon) that doesn’t break down in UV light. Also, insist on their Para Tempotest fabric which is woven specifically for retractable awnings. As importantly, buy from a dealer who focuses on awnings as a livelihood, and not a company who “does awnings too”. At our large volume, we have the pick of products available on the market. We find Sunair to be a great value, and very well made awnings.

Review by Lee Picton, June 25, 2012

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I have had my Sunair manually retractable awning on my deck for over four years now and it has always performed flawlessly. It shows no signs of wear at all yet, and I expect it to last a good long while. I am about to buy an aliminum awning for a bedroom window and will look first at Sunair.

Review by Cindy, October 21, 2011

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Never buy the Sunair retractable with a electric motor. The crank handle is so easy to use. I work for a company that sells Sunair Retractables and we tell you up front the motors all have problems do not spend the extra $500 to $600 for them use the crank handle that comes with the awning. Sunair retractables are great as long as you don’t get the electric motor.

Review by Cindy, August 4, 2011

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Never buy the Sunair retractable with a electric motor. The crank handle is so easy to use. I work for a company that sells Sunair Retractables and we tell you up front the motors all have problems do not spend the extra $500 to $600 for them use the crank handle that comes with the awning. Sunair retractables are great as long as you don’t get the electric motor.

Review by Gary B., August 2, 2010

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The cloth part is fine and provides great shade, but the mechanism that retracts the shade in and out has never worked as it should. It has been in place for nearly four years now, and it is a huge pain. Despite numerous “repairs” the mechanism does not function correctly. It jams and sometimes the automatic cut-off does not work, so the motor keeps going when the shade cloth has fully retracted. This places a strain on the cloth and the mechanism. Sometimes the apparatus does not wind the cloth in evenly, so you end up with some of the cloth hanging out on one end. If I were to get another awning, I would do a lot more research before deciding to go with Sunair again.

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