Stationary Awnings Explained: Welded Frame, Pipe Frame and Rope Pull-Up

When you think of an awning, what usually comes to mind is what we would call a stationary awning. There’s more than one type. The differences are in the frame, the construction of the fabric and, lastly, how they work through the year.

Welded frames and staple-on awnings

Welded-frame stationary awnings have a clean, crisp look. The fabric fits tightly over aluminum frames that we weld and shape in our own shop to fit the building: dome, concave, convex or straight. They suit places where you want a fixed structure and permanent coverage, and they come in many styles.

Another option with the welded design is to eliminate most of the thread. That’s a staple-on awning, where the cover is fastened to the frame rather than sewn around it; we also finish frames lace-on. Both versions are fitted and have a modern look.

Pipe frame awnings

Pipe frame awnings are the most traditional type there is. When you picture an awning, more than likely it’s a pipe frame. The look is relaxed compared with a welded frame, and it’s often finished with a valance, straight or with a braided scallop. There are many colors and styles, so we can custom design one for the house or the storefront.

Rope pull-up (RPU) awnings

Rope pull-up awnings are versatile in ways similar to retractable awnings, at a much smaller scale. You raise them with a rope in winter, which makes them easy to clean off and lets sunlight warm the house. In summer, you drop them back down to keep the room shaded and cooler. That seasonal switch matters at Portland’s latitude, where the winter sun is low and welcome; we explain the sun angles in do window awnings reduce heat?.

Side by side

All three take Sunbrella and other proven awning fabrics in solids and stripes, and all three can carry a logo or lettering, cut and applied in our shop. When the fabric eventually wears, the frame usually doesn’t, and a recover puts new fabric on it. If you’d rather have no fabric at all, aluminum awnings are the low-maintenance alternative.

Fixed or retractable?

A fixed awning gives permanent cover over a door, window or walkway, every day of the year. A retractable awning rolls out on folding arms when you want shade and retracts when you don’t, so the deck gets open sky the rest of the time. Over a door or a window, fixed usually wins. Over a big deck, many people want the choice; see our retractable awning guide.

In Portland, window awnings no more than 54 inches deep, supported by an exterior wall, outside a design zone and not projecting past the property line generally don’t need a building permit, per Portland Permitting & Development. Storefront awnings fall under City Code Chapter 32.52.

See all of these, plus aluminum awnings: window and door awnings in Portland.

Originally published May 11, 2020, in our staycation home-improvement series. Rewritten and expanded October 22, 2026.