I am thinking of adding an awning to my south facing terrace; the terrace is about 4.5 feet wide and 20 feet long. I assume I might not want to cover the entire terrace, but probably want to cover the door. Any suggestions on selecting a size, design and vendor? How about expected costs? Thanks for your help!

If you are in an apartment building, make sure to clear it with the Condo/Co-op board or landlord before you go forward. Awnings can add to liability insurance for the building due to the potential of the awning flying off and injuring someone in a storm.

I reached out to the management company but the guy is on vacation so no answer yet; many others have one so I assume it is ok but will wait and see.
Alanhart - under $500 - really?

"Awnings can add to liability insurance for the building due to the potential of the awning flying off and injuring someone in a storm."

They're also a fire hazard.

I recently added one - I needed approval from the building and I used the same company that does work for the the co-ops awning downstairs. It was a ton of money - $3800 for a 16 foot by 7 foot retractable awning. But... I really do enjoy it - it makes the terrace a lot more usable.

My terrace is about 40 feet wide, so I covered only the portion adjacent to the living room.

uws10023, believe me, you MUST obtain the building's permission. The exterior wall over your terrace door belongs to the building, not you, and any and all drilling could be (with the wrong board/management person?) made into an issue.
I suggest you put in a door-length, easily installed, exceptionally pretty, roll-up INSIDE blinds. The awning will not save you from either the sunlight nor the rain. Unless it's a very specific rain coming from a specific direction, etc. Don't also forget the birdshit, general wear and literal tear, and bugs.
The blinds project will cost you a couple of hundred $.

If you want to contact me off-board I can try to get my boss, who has an eye for these things, to come take a look.

ali r.

I would not think of proceeding without getting approval- I am quite the rule follower on these things. The property manager told me I only need to provide the scope of work and the certificate of insurance. He also suggested Acme as they did the co-op awning downstairs; just saw a neighbor and she said the same thing.

I agree with openhouse if you are concerned with staying outside than an awning would be a better solution but if its the inside of the house and the light/sun coming through the door you are concerned than shades would be a much easier/cheaper solution.

As an example:
http://www.horizonyc.com/images/products/product_big_image/elecric-blinds-curved-kitchen-winow.JPG