FAQs

The Cantabria canopy has no limit to its length because it can be built in a modular way. You could cover a small, dedicated area at the rear of the property, or extend a canopy along the full length of the building – the choice is yours.

The projection depends on whether it is fixed to a wall or a free standing system. Generally speaking the maximum projection is 10m for a wall mounted system but if it is a free standing system (away from the building) then we can span a maximum of 20m.

The frame structure is made from aluminium and is available in a variety of standard colours. You can also have a bespoke colour to suit your building/environment, but as this is a special request there would be an additional charge for this service.

The roof is made from a waterproof glass fibre fabric and is retractable at the touch of a button. The roof is a 3 layered blackout PVC membrane that blocks 100% of all UV rays.

The sides can be either glass of which there are various offerings including different opening methods or they can be manufactured from Windstore. Windstore is a fabric side panel which can retract up and down, easily controlled at the touch of a button. Windstore also comes with a crystal clear window so customers can enjoy their surroundings.

Generally canopies don’t require extra planning permission, but it really depends on individual buildings and locations. We can let you know if the canopy will require planning at the start of any project.

Should this be the case, we can handle the process from start to finish, so there’s nothing for you to do or worry about! We have a partner who specialises in planning applications and can ensure the process is smooth and as quick as possible.

The canopy installation really does depend on the system chosen, however as a general guideline, we would typically give a timescale of between 5-10 working days.

Our team will arrange the best installation time directly with you, and we’ll always work around your requirements to minimise any kind of disruption to your operations.

Based on previous projects and the work that is involved we would offer a guideline price of £1000m² for new hospitality canopy installations. This includes the system, heaters, LED lighting, installation, planning application costs, electrics (preparing all electrical wiring to the circuit board ready for hook up to the mains supply – it is the customers responsibility to hook the electric up) and any other foundation work that may be required.

It’s important to remember that this is a very rough guideline price and should only be used as such. We’ll provide you with a full quote after discussing your requirements and assessing the area. Just request a free survey from our expert team, and we can get started straight away.

Yes, heating and lighting is included in the price of the system. The size of canopy will dictate the amount of heaters and lighting strips that are required.

We will work all that out in the initial stages of our onsite appointments, so it’s not something you need to worry about. You’ll see all the details explained in our quote to you.

Yes absolutely, there are various types to choose from, including folding, sliding and fixed options.

There are also a number of door options to look at, whether you’d like a framed aluminium door or just a simple glass door with no surround. During the appointment with our sales representative they will run through all the various options and help you to understand the best choice.

If the area where the canopy is proposed requires prior groundwork for drainage or simply needs to be made level, then we have a partner company who can handle that part of the project.

We would contract them to do the work prior to installation and oversee it, ready for our fitting teams to start. You won’t need to worry about anything, as our expert team will take care of everything on your behalf.

Yes, the product is guaranteed for 5 years. We want you to be as confident in the material and the construction of your canopy as we are. We’ve engineered our products to the highest quality and toughest standard to ensure they can deliver.

Our installation teams are also made up of highly qualified experts, so you can be safe in the knowledge that their work will stand the test of time.

A full and complete fixing guide will be delivered with your canopies, applicable to whichever product you choose for your new build or refurb project.

Before they leave our site, our delivery team will ensure you have the full fixing kit at hand, with everything you need to install the canopies in no time at all.

You can also view the technical specs and CAD drawings for any of our products, to see how they would fit with your building and refurbishment plans.

Every one of our canopies is manufactured in our workshop, and delivered fully assembled to your site, ready for installation.

This allows us to ensure each canopy conforms fully to BS6399-3 and European Standard EN1991-1-3:2003. It also means that we are 100% confident in the manufacturing process, and can offer a ten year guarantee for the assembled canopies.

All of our canopies are designed to your specifications and manufactured to order, so the delivery time varies depending on a number of factors. Typically, we offer a fast turnaround and get your order onto the production schedule within a very short amount of time.

Once your canopies are manufactured, our warehouse team will contact you to ensure the delivery date is appropriate. Our standard lead-time for the whole process is between four to six weeks.

Our canopies are all delivered fully assembled with a complete fixing guide. A standard installation for an average sized door canopy shouldn’t take longer than two hours.

If you have limited manpower or would like the assistance of our expert installation team, we can arrange for your canopies to be installed directly by us, on your behalf.

Alongside our wide selection of flat, hipped and apex door canopies, we also provide a fully bespoke canopy service, to perfectly fit your new build or refurb designs.

Our expert team can offer a complete survey, design, and manufacturing solution to match your needs; all you need to do is contact our technical department for further details.

As a rule, no. Any work directly around an entrance or passageway requires the area to be closed so we can meet health and safety requirements. We’ll discuss access and phasing during the survey and agree the safest approach with your team.

We can work with estates teams on access and site requirements, but we don’t currently claim a specific infection control process beyond standard site health and safety controls.

Yes – loading bay canopies are a specialism. We use site-specific calculations to make sure your canopy has the clearance height needed for HGVs and that the design works around your existing dock levellers, doors and traffic routes. Everything is bespoke to your site, so if you have a specific vehicle type or turning radius to accommodate, we build that into the design from the start.

Where agreed at order stage, we can stagger start and finish times to better fit around your loading schedule and business operations. We’ll confirm what’s practical during the site survey.

Yes – we look at the whole picture by using site-specific calculations to understand local wind directions. If your site is particularly exposed, we can add side panels for extra protection during loading and unloading.

Yes. We can manufacture our canopies in any RAL colour, so matching your corporate palette or your building’s existing colour is straightforward. Our colour-matching service is available across our full range. Just provide the RAL code and we’ll do the rest. Please note that bespoke or non-standard RAL colours may be subject to minimum order quantities – we’ll advise at the time of enquiry.

Lighting can be incorporated. If you’re considering signage, CCTV or any other additions, it’s best to discuss this at order stage so we can incorporate it into the design where possible. Post-install alterations may affect the guarantee – details are confirmed in your aftercare pack.

Every commercial requirement is different, and costs vary depending on what exactly you need. Our canopies are available in a range of designs and sizes, with different prices to reflect this.

The cost of a small walkway canopy would be completely different to the price for canopies covering a full car park, for example. All of our canopies are designed, manufactured and installed to your bespoke requirements, so the only way for us to give you an exact cost is to visit your site and carry out a survey of your property.

To get a specific quote for your business, simply get in touch today and request a FREE survey.

As each commercial project varies in size and scope, installation time may differ depending on the requirements of your business. You may need multiple modular canopies installed over a large area, or you may simply require a single canopy fitting above an entrance area.

Our standard entrance installations can be completed within one day. Large scale installations will of course take longer. However, upon completion of our survey we will be able to estimate the amount of time this will take.

We’ll provide you with an installation date once your canopies have been manufactured and is ready for delivery.

At Canopies UK, we’re able to cater for all budgets, big and small. Many commercial canopy projects are often of a large scale, and require a lot of materials to cover the required space.

Our Easy Payment Plan is available to businesses in a variety of commercial sectors to help spread the costs of new canopies and pay in installments. It is fully flexible based on your needs and circumstances (subject to credit approval).

We design, manufacture and install all of our canopies – whichever style you choose – and don’t outsource a single aspect of the process.

This means we’re able to offer a full 10-year guarantee on every one of our canopies, covering both the manufacture and the installation.

We’ve tested, engineered and refined our products over a number of years, and we’ve trained our installation teams to the highest standards. We offer this complete guarantee so you can be as confident in our materials and processes as we are.

We’ve spent over 25 years developing and testing our canopies, finding the very best, high-quality material that’s able to withstand the strong winds and snow that are typical features of the adverse British weather.

Each canopy has been completely tested in our special in-house rig to ensure it can provide full protection when you need it most. That’s why we use Glass Reinforced Polyester to manufacture our canopies, because of its strength and reliability.

Our list of accreditations also shows you how serious we take building regulations and safety, so you can rest assured that your canopies will be designed, manufactured and installed with the latest Eurocodes and highest standards at the forefront of our process.

Regardless of which canopy design and style you choose, the maintenance required will be extremely minimal. This is a huge benefit to our commercial customers, as you’ll see from our case studies.

Once your canopies are installed, you won’t need to paint them or worry about regular maintenance. We just recommend that they are cleaned periodically to ensure they look their best, and that you clear the gutters every so often to keep the drainage flowing effectively.

Our installation teams work seven days a week throughout the year, so we can be as flexible as you need us to be with regards to an installation date.

We use barrier fencing to section off the installation area and protect children from straying into the construction site. This ensures it’s still safe for children to play outdoors, even during installation.

Full risk assessments can be provided ahead of time, and our teams are fully trained in safety standards to ensure the area is secure before they begin work. Our accreditations reflect the seriousness we place on safety.

Canopies UK works with a number of schools, colleges and nurseries all around the country, so we make sure all our sales, survey and installation teams have full, up-to-date DBS checks.

You can rest assured that you’ll be compliant with any internal regulations and you won’t need to worry about our team working safely on the premises, whether there are children around or not.

In most circumstances, canopy installations do not require any additional planning permission, but it’s always best just to make sure. Some locations do need to get approval for any type of external construction.

Usually this isn’t a difficult process, and our team of experts is always on hand to help with obtaining planning permission if required. We can even provide building regulations if they’re needed, to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Of course, we love to show off the commercial canopies we have installed recently. We deliver and install nationwide, so the chances are there will be some great examples of a variety of canopy types local to you. For details on installations close by please call 01254 777 002.

Alternatively, we have a number of case studies you can take a look at on our website, with many different canopy styles and sizes to browse through.

You can choose whatever colour you like! All our commercial canopies can be designed and manufactured to your bespoke requirements.

We offer our canopies in the standard colours of white, brown, red, blue, green and yellow. But if you have a business identity you’d like to match or a specific colour in mind, all we need is the relevant RAL colour code. There is an additional charge for bespoke colours.

Many commercial canopy installations fall under permitted development rights, which means no formal planning application is required. That said, permission is typically needed if:

The canopy exceeds five metres in height.

It sits within five metres of a site boundary.

It covers more than 100 square metres, or more than 25% of the original building’s footprint (whichever is smaller).

The building is listed, located in a conservation area, or on green belt land.

We’ll advise you on whether planning is required as part of the initial survey and proposal process, so there are no surprises before the work begins.

Yes. We have experience working on sensitive sites where planning rules are stricter. In these cases, we provide the technical drawings needed to support your application. We’d always recommend checking with your Local Planning Authority early.

Yes. We provide 2D CAD drawings and artist’s impressions to support planning applications and help stakeholders visualise the finished project. Please note that we don’t produce elevation drawings. If those are required by your planning authority, flag it early and we’ll talk you through the options.

Yes – we’d advise getting landlord or freeholder permission before progressing, as our canopy structures are permanent installations. (Please note this is general advice, not legal advice.)

Our canopies are built to last. Connekt, Olympus and Door canopies carry a 10-year product guarantee, and all our systems come with a 10-year installation and labour guarantee. Cantabria and Italia systems have a 5-year product guarantee. We’ve been manufacturing and installing canopies for over 30 years, and many of our early installations are still in daily use.

Our canopies are genuinely low maintenance. We recommend:

A periodic cleaning of the roofing panels with a mild detergent.

Clearing gutters and drainage points of leaves and debris regularly.

A visual check after any severe weather to catch any issues early.

An annual inspection to confirm everything is in good order.

There’s no painting or specialist maintenance needed. Most customers just add the cleaning to their existing facilities schedule.

Your canopy comes with a guarantee for a set period (depending on the canopy type). If damage occurs, parts can be replaced. Guarantees don’t cover intentional damage or unauthorised alterations. Full details, including what would void your guarantee, are set out in the aftercare pack.

For larger commercial structures, we use integrated drainage systems that channel rainwater through the frame and discharge it safely at ground level. Drainage is considered as part of our site-specific calculations, taking into account local conditions, the surrounding infrastructure and the size of the canopy.

Our roofing sheets are translucent, which means they allow some natural light to pass through while still giving you shelter from the weather.

Our surveyor visits your site to take measurements, assess ground conditions and gather all the data needed for the site-specific calculations. They’ll look at drainage, identify any below-ground obstructions (pipes, cables, tree roots) and review the local environment for wind and snow exposure. It’s also an opportunity to talk through what you want to achieve and explore design options for your space.

A typical site survey takes around one hour, but it can vary depending on site size, access and any restrictions (for example working around term time). Ideally, we ask that a decision maker is available during the survey so we can resolve any questions there and then.

We handle it. If the area needs groundwork – for drainage preparation or to make the ground level – we work with a trusted partner company. You won’t need to source or coordinate a separate contractor.

At the survey stage, we need access to the proposed canopy location and the route from the road to that area, so we can understand any access or delivery limitations. During installation, we need access to the canopy location and space to fence off a safe work zone. Delivery of materials or skips is agreed during the site survey. We also need access to welfare facilities (toilet and sink). A power source is preferable but not always essential.

We work hard to avoid the need to close entrances or restrict any movement. Rather than shutting down areas of your site, we section off the work area so the rest of your site carries on as usual. All our installers are directly employed by Canopies UK – we don’t subcontract – and every team member is DBS checked.

Yes. We’ve completed installations on all of these. We’re experienced working on live sites where operations need to continue, and our process is designed with that in mind, with a named lead installer to communicate with your team and flexible scheduling to fit around you.

We install canopies year-round and work in most weather conditions. In cases of extreme weather (for example, heavy wind or snow), we may delay work for safety reasons.

Yes, we work with a specialist finance partner to help spread the cost of your canopy across manageable payments. Get in touch and we’ll talk you through the options.

Yes, schools and academies can arrange finance leases without needing Secretary of State approval. The cost is spread across a flexible term and the school takes full ownership at the end of the lease.

Because our canopies are engineered for your specific site, we need to carry out a free site survey to provide an accurate quote. That said, the following information helps us prepare for the initial conversation:

• Your sector and organisation
• Intended use (e.g. outdoor dining, loading bay, smoking shelter, entrance cover)
• Approximate dimensions, if you have them in mind

From there, our surveyor handles the measurements and site-specific calculations, and you’ll receive a proposal with full pricing and no hidden extras.

We offer a fully managed end-to-end service – design, manufacture and installation all handled in-house. Our GRP door canopy range is available as supply-only for contractors and housing developers who prefer to manage installation themselves. These units are delivered fully assembled, ready to be fitted by your own team.

Yes. We regularly work alongside estates teams, facilities managers and planning departments, and we’re used to providing the documentation they need to get sign-off – including 2D CAD drawings and artist’s impressions.

Yes. We can coordinate installation around your schedule, whether that means working during quieter seasonal periods, outside business hours or at a time agreed with your facilities team. We’ve completed hundreds of installations on live commercial, educational and healthcare sites, so we’re used to fitting around busy sites.

Before work begins, our surveyor identifies any access constraints, restricted areas or timing requirements. During installation, we set up a fenced-off work zone that keeps your operations running safely around us. We’re happy to stagger noisier phases of the work around your timetable (for example, avoiding early mornings in residential areas or peak operational periods in busy commercial settings). You’ll have a named lead installer as your point of contact throughout.

Our canopies are designed to the Eurocodes – the structural standards used across the UK construction industry. This includes BS EN 1991-1-3 for snow loads and BS EN 1991-1-4 for wind loads. Our integrated management system is certified to BS EN ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management).

Yes – site-specific calculations are included as standard in every canopy we design and install, at no extra cost. These calculations ensure your canopy is safe, structurally sound and built for your location’s specific wind and snow challenges. As part of the survey, we also assess ground conditions, drainage and any below-ground obstructions so everything is accounted for before installation begins.

Every canopy is engineered to site-specific wind and snow loads, calculated to the Eurocodes – BS EN 1991-1-4 for wind and BS EN 1991-1-3 for snow. Our site-specific calculations account for local topography, altitude, surrounding buildings and your exact site layout, so your canopy is built for where it actually stands.

Yes. We provide 2D CAD drawings, artist’s impressions, technical specifications and site-specific structural calculations to support your internal approval processes and any planning applications. Please note that we don’t provide elevation drawings.

Yes. We produce full Risk and Method Statements (RAMS) and Construction Phase Plans (CPP) for every project.

Yes. We’re accredited with the Contractors Health Assessment Scheme (CHAS) and are a Gold member of Constructionline. The majority of our installers hold CSCS cards, and where needed, a CSCS card holder is always available to supervise on site. All our installers are directly employed by us – we don’t subcontract our installation work.

Fire performance requirements for commercial buildings in the UK typically reference EN 13501 (the European standard for reaction to fire classification) and, for education settings, Building Bulletin 100 (BB100). If fire performance is a specification requirement for your project, we can supply canopies using a fire-resistant resin. This needs to be agreed at the design stage and may affect specification and cost – speak to our team and we’ll advise on what’s appropriate for your site.

We don’t issue a formal O&M manual. Instead, we provide an aftercare pack after installation. This includes your guarantee number (and what would void it), cleaning and maintenance guide and a list of our current accreditations.