Tarp vs Sale Shade

[PaulF]

Hey guys,
Planning on adding a permanent shade structure around the back yard and trying to decide wether to go extra heavy duty tarp way or water resistant Sale Shade.
Sale sale fabric looks much neater than tarp but thinking tarp might do the job of keeping the train and sun out a bit better.

Anyone done this before?
Cheers

 

[knightm]

... but thinking tarp might do the job of keeping the train and sun out a bit better.

Anyone done this before?
Cheers

That must be one heavy duty tarp to keep a train out.

For long term permanent - I would consider a fixed pergola. Shade sales look great but don't last as well.

 

[Jamie M]

Between the two options - I'd go the shade sale. I have one in the front yard - seems to be doing ok so far. I'm not sure when the original owners put it up though.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Scott No Mates]

What discount are you getting at the shade sale? Is it a post-Xmas sale or early EOFY sale?

For a shade sail to work effectively it must be tensioned correctly - so not just fixed to a pole in the ground and the fascia boards of the house, it needs to be a properly constructed structure to avoid damage caused by wind & storms.

How would you intend to install the canvas? It needs to be more adequately supported. Cheaper Chinese canvasses are not made to withstand Australian conditions and will fail in a short period as well as looking poorly in next to no time.

Pergola - great functional outdoor option however this will cost more. DIY is possible.

 

[redwing]

Shade Sail would be better IMO

 

[nhg]

I love the look of shade sails.

That said, I've been contracted to maintain a few suburbs in inner west, and one of the biggest items that comes up is shade sail maintenance.

I would say, keep it to a simple design with no or minimal movable parts eg. retractable shade sails cause a lot of trouble hitting people on the head. Also ensure the sail is tensioned properly, otherwise it will bow under the weight of water.

Make sure the posts are placed in the ground as solid as possible. I've seen them move over a period of time in grass and the tension of the shade sail decreases which leads to all kinds of problems.

 

[lizzie]

Scott right ... asides from calling it the correct name of "shade sail".

You can't just attach it to any old structure - and most certainly NOT the house - without some sort of reinforcing. Consider how a sail will pound away in the wind - with sharp and violent jerking - so without proper anchor points this will quickly either crack or rip at your house, or tear poles from the ground.

They need to be very tightly tension-ed, usually using stainless steel tension-ers (such as they use on yachts) ... and the sail needs to be angled to such a degree that the water doesn't pool - which can mean, at least, one very high anchor point, ie, above fascia level.

I have installed shade sails - and I do like them - but they need to be done correctly or you are wasting your time (or at worst destroying your asset).

 

[PaulF]

Thanks very much for all the good info guys, much appreciated.
I will be calling in some professional companies that do this stuff since it's obviously not as simple as i though it was going to be, as in ,go to bunnings, buy stuff and install it

Thanks very much again