What is the cheapest way to make a window awning?
Answers:
An awning sounds pretty expensive. Why not get some fabric, a wooden dowel, and a few screws, and make yourself a slightly ghetto style curtain? Dowels tend to be less than a dollar per foot, and the thinner the material the thinner, and cheaper the dowel that you need to support it. Cloth likewise is about $2.5 per yard in most styles. Add in a little sewing time (especially if you've got the machine) a little dowel cutting (a vice is reccomended) and you can throw in some decorative rod holders if you've got the extra cash, instead of using those screws. Now just screw it into the wall.
Awnings could be made in a more or less rectangular form, with wooden supports, but the supports would be on the outside, and would need to be treated against termites. Making it of metal supports may also be possible, but would require a litle more effort.
The shading part of the awning could then be made from aluminum, fiberglass, waterproof cloth, plastic mesh, or bamboo slats. If you plan on covering the sides of the awning, the design becomes a little more complicated.
Screws are again needed to install the frame. The more precision carpentry favors the use of a carpenter's box instead of a vice, and a real measuring device, rather than eyeballing the rod would be needed. Most of the shade material ideas can be attached with screws, or carpenter's staples. A few might be sewn on, but that is likely to be more difficult than attaching with hardware.
Most decorative awnings tend to be circular in form, but the design for this would be rather complicated, and is not the sort of projct I would wish upon any innocent DIYer asking for advice.
In all honesty, the cost of tinted window films is pretty low these days. Installation is simple, although it does require a lot of care to get it done right. These may turn out to be cheaper than either window, or awning. Tinted films tend to come in permanent shaded versions, which can also double as a security film, or as removable imitation stained glass types, which are more forgiving if you make a mistake, or want to get rid of it. For a really ghetto look, I hear you can attach colored art tissue directly to a tissue by getting it wet. Puffy paint also works, and there are paints you can use specifically for this to make your own films.
Another possible way to provide window shading is to put a trellis OVER the window. (Not in front of it, or next to it, as burglars might then be able to climb in.) and grow some vines on it.
I'd put all of these ideas into consideration, taking into account your budget, taste, and creative abilities before choosing the best option, my guess is that the awning idea is not the easiest, or cheapest.
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