Lifting an awning into place with one installer
The hard part of an awning install is not the fastening. It is getting the cassette up to the brackets and holding it there while you fasten.
The usual way takes a crew
Most crews carry the awning up ladders, one installer on each end, and hold it overhead while someone else starts the fasteners. It works, but it ties up the crew and it puts the load above people’s heads for the longest part of the job.
What a portable lift changes
A portable electric material lift raises the awning to mounting height and holds it there. The motor is variable speed, so you can inch the load up to the brackets. It runs on a standard 110 V outlet, and a cordless drill or the hand crank runs it where there is no power. One installer can set the awning on the lift, raise it, and fasten it.
Which lift for which job
- CM340: the 46 lb lift for cassette awnings and lower installs with tight access. It reaches 11 ft and lifts 290 lb. It folds to 38 in and fits in a work van. From $4,922 CAD delivered.
- CM520: reaches 16 ft for pergolas and larger shade structures, and lifts 300 lb. It folds to 48 in and fits a 6 ft pickup bed. From $5,979 CAD delivered.
Check two numbers before you choose: the weight of what you are lifting and the height of the brackets. The portable lift page compares the lifts side by side, or tell us the load and the height and we will tell you which one does it.
If you also supply the shade
Site Handling Canada and CSC Shade are sister companies under the same ownership. CSC Shade supplies Glatz and FIM commercial umbrellas and freestanding shade across Canada and the U.S., including the Flexy freestanding retractable awning. We sell the lifts that put shade up. They sell the shade. Their guide covers the shade side: how installers lift awnings and shade structures into place.