What are the benefits of a front door canopy?

A front door canopy provides cover and protection, usually by sitting directly above your door and giving an overhang which projects from the front of a building.  This overhang, depending on its size, can offer beneficial shelter against rain, sun and wind.

A bit like an umbrella for your door. 

Occasionally, a door roof canopy can be created by the roof and soffit too (see our the gallery for an example) but often a door canopy will be a standalone fixture fitted above the door.

A porch on the other hand is often more enclosed – it can have sides, pillars or windows but it can also be a completely enclosed space with a door of its own.

A door that is set well back from the front face of the building but with an open front (also in the gallery), might be considered a type of porch/canopy hybrid. If you are building or renovating from scratch, this type of front door protection is useful to plan into your design.

However, a standalone canopy can still provide a simple, effective solution if you want to add additional protection to your front door. See below for more examples of different canopy & porch styles.

1. Less maintenance and more shelter

Most importantly, any protection provided for your door will reduce the amount of maintenance you do over time.  This applies to all door finishes including liquid metal doors, steel doors, painted doors, lacquered and - especially - oiled hardwood doors.

If a door that is covered by a large canopy doesn’t get any rain or sun on it, then in most cases it is completely protected from exposure and weathering.

However, if the door only has a small overhang of 500mm or so, then it would disproportionately get rain and sun on the bottom half of the door and it would therefore weather more than the top half.  Making sure the entrance has an overhang that extends to a suitable distance so that it’s protecting the whole of the door is a good way to keep maintenance to a minimum.  

The main example where the above wouldn’t apply as easily would be if you live in a very highly exposed location, by the sea for example, where you are naturally more open to the elements and in that particular case have the added measure of corrosive saltwater to consider. In these locations, a more robust covering like a partially or fully enclosed porch would be recommended if low maintenance is important to you.

Learn more about door maintenance here.

2. Makes a pivot or a flush doorset a reality

Doors with a pivot opening or doors that are flush (where the door sits flat in-line with the frame) would always require a canopy to protect them as they cannot be fully weather-sealed in the same way as a hinged doorset.

Pivot and flush doorsets ideally need overhangs that cover the whole door in its entirety as this will help to prevent water ingression. 

3. A modern front door canopy or porch can be a design feature

Front door canopies are usually designed into a house elevation at an early stage but even if they aren’t, there are so many design ideas available for canopies that they can be a really straightforward feature to add in.

Zinc, steel, glass, Corten (weathered steel) and stone are just some of the materials used to make them.  It’s definitely worth designing a canopy as not only a functional piece but a beautiful addition to your front elevation.