Hello Phil, First off, what you have here is a full cassette awning where the mechanism and fabric are completely protected when the awning is closed. If you manage to find a cheaper cassette awning online, the main difference will be the longevity of the fabric and the sturdinest of the arms. We have seen many bigbox awnings where the arms are less than half the thickness of the arms of a Brasilia Slim or any other Brasilia awning. The fabric is woven acrylic and will never fade. Each mounting bracket is 1 meter long to be sure to get at least 2 studs when installing, maybe 3. Everything is built stronger, and if anything was every to break, you don't just throw away the awning, you can replace the broken part. I hope this answers your question.
Hello. The more slope you give it, the more rain it can withstand. Water should never be allowed to pool on it but it will protect you from light rain.
