Dorchester Awning Company

Dorchester Awning has been making shade in Massachusetts since 1901 — surrey tops for horse-drawn buggies first, by the company's own account, awnings and canopies for the 125 years since. The Middleboro shop manufactures what it installs: residential and commercial awnings, retractable and stationary, canopies, pergola covers. In May 2026 someone brought in a 20-foot inflatable globe used for a Bridgewater State University geography outreach program, and was told the zipper would be fixed in a few days. When the work goes well, customers describe it in much the same terms. A four-person crew stripped old awning fabric and had the new fabric up in under an hour, an August 2025 reviewer wrote, with a wide choice of fabrics and color patterns. A July 2025 customer whose awning had tucked itself under the frame in a windy spot called on Monday and had the guys at their shop Tuesday. A 2023 buyer named co-owner Andrea for the email and phone correspondence and salesman Mark for walking them through the pros and cons; a July 2026 reviewer's whole point was that a real person picks up. The complaints are specific, and they are recent. Five of its Google reviews are one star, and all five were written since October 2024. One April 2026 customer agreed to pay $600 to have a broken awning removed, then heard nothing and got no answer to a follow-up email. Another, the same month, said the owner pulled them into a room to charge them without saying beforehand that a look at their trailer would cost anything. A 2024 customer put down a deposit for more than half the price of an awning and was still waiting four months later, told each week that the permit hadn't come through. In September 2025 a reviewer priced new awning material at $4,000 here against $1,200 from a man with three decades in tops and trim. The Angi side is warmer but older: a 4.9 average across 54 ratings, and its eight written accounts run 2019 to 2023 — fabric replaced on the day promised, a quote called reasonable next to a competitor's. Angi also draws the repair line narrowly, listing repair and installation of the company's own awnings only. For custom awning fabric made and hung by the people who manufacture it, this is a fair call — that is the work its happiest customers describe. Before money changes hands, get the quote and a delivery date in writing, ask whether a site visit or inspection carries a fee, and ask what happens to a deposit if the permit stalls; the company says it keeps licensed construction supervisors on staff for permit applications. In a November 2022 r/massachusetts thread about cold-weather vestibules and awnings, a poster seconded Dorchester Awning.