Sunshade clips & attachment methods:

(Hover over a diagram to see the attachment type. Click an image to expand a larger view.)

Attachment types (from left, clockwise): vertical HSS member (tube steel), steel stud framing, horizontal HSS member (tube steel), aluminum curtain wall system, concrete wall, brick veneer lintel, brick veneer over CMU block, structural steel wide flange (WF) at column line, wood framing

Sunshade Clips & Brackets

Design and strategies to effectively attach an aluminum sunshade to a building.

Sunshade Clips

Does your sunshade supplier include the sunshade clips? WE DO!

For our competitors, the answer is usually “no!”

Are you a contractor who found us by looking for someone to supply clips for your sunshades? First, bookmark this page now so you can find us easily for your next project. Second, contact us to see how we can help you with your current clips. We will be glad to help you out.

We include the following items standard with all our sunshades:

  • Sunshade clip design services
  • The attachment clip (painted to match the sunshade)
  • Detailed drawings showing methods to install the sunshade clips. (Note that we do not perform install services)

This is always the most difficult and time consuming part of any sunshade project. No wonder the other guys neglect to provide clips! By buying your sunshades from H&H Metals, you get everything you need as a complete package. We are constantly witness to countless projects, where the wall finish is already in place. Then the sunshades arrive with no sunshade clips. This leaves you with no way to attach them to the building. We liken it to buying a car without the tires.  Are you really saving money on your low bid sunshades?  Your answer is likely in the clips.

When should I think about sunshade clips on my building?

Sunshades are not just a decorative element. They are first a structural item, and second an architectural feature. Most contractors and designers, view aluminum sunshades as a purely decorative item that you install toward the end of the project. On the contrary, the sunshade design and sunshade clips, are necessary to address in the structural analysis of the building. Cantilever sunshades induce shear & moment forces on the building, therefore require some sort of structural support. Think first about how the shade is to attach to the structure. Preview some examples of attachment methods for hanging sunshades to a variety of substrates in the above images.

Ideally sunshade clips are installed between when the substrate is in place, and before the exterior finish of the wall is started.  Often, we find that the wall is in place long before the clips are even thought of. Not only will you have to dig into the finished wall, this normally throws project schedule a curve ball. Trust us, and think of your sunshades about the same time you think of your structural support system.

Additional factors to consider regarding sunshade clip design

Thermal Expansion

Because aluminum sunshades are made entirely out of aluminum, they expand and contract at different rate than your building. Most building substructures are made from steel, masonry, or wood. Thermal expansion design is a necessity to ensure your shade does not self-destruct. Thermal expansion will also cause damage to your building.

Every sunshade manufactured by H&H Metals, incorporates a specific design for the clips to combat thermal expansion. Our connection at each shade section that allows 1/8″± total movement. This literally lets the shade “float”, inducing no lateral load on the connection clip.

Examples of incorrect deign of sunshade attachment brackets, with no thermal expansion room.

Dissimilar Metals / Galvanic Corrosion

Because the sunshade is aluminum, and the sunshade clips are steel, there must be a buffer to separate the dissimilar materials. This prevents galvanic corrosion. If aluminum comes in direct contact with steel, the material will degrade over time. This leaves the shade vulnerable to reduced loading characteristics.

Every shade manufactured by H&H Metals includes a specially designed fastener made of stainless steel to prevent this corrosive action. Stainless steel will not degrade due to the elements, and inhibits galvanic corrosion. This makes your steel sunshade easy to fabricate.  The clips attach easily via weld to the steel substructure. Our design also allows separation of dissimilar metals via the stainless steel fasteners that are included with every H&H sunshade.