Hey folks, I'm planning to get one of those Duolite-type polycarbonate awnings for an exterior door.

My question is this -- how do you search for studs on the exterior of your house? I've never had to do it. We have vinyl siding. I'm assuming that it needs to be screwed in directly to studs...

(And, what if there just are no studs where the awning centers over the door?)

Thanks much.

 

Below is a picture of how exterior doors are commonly framed on modern houses. You'll see that there are studs on either side of the door. If you need attachment further away from the door the studs are usually spaced 16" center to center but there is often some variation as not all doors are installed to coincide with the stud spacing. To confirm you may need to unlatch a strip of your siding so you can use a stud finder underneath, look for nails, tap and listen for a solid sound or drill a hole to see if you hit a stud.

 

You search for the studs inside the house then take some measurements and transfer them to the outside. If you are installing one of the Duolite awnings, you don't really have the option of looking for studs. The fasteners are located in the bracing which is located at the outer edge of the awning. Typically a 4' awning over a 36" door. You'll most likely be screwing into the sheathing only and over a lap in the siding.

You might want to look for a different style awning that uses a header or receiver that runs horizontally. You install the header, and screw it into a stud or two and the sheathing then install the awning to the header and install brace arms.