SHADE SAILS, anyone got them?

Doogstar · 03-06-2006, 09:39 AM

I am looking at getting some Shade Sails for the backyard.

Did you have them installed and by who? or did you install it yourself?
Are you happy with them?
How much did it cost?
Any tips for new players?

Please tell me your experiences.

**Raptor** · 03-06-2006, 09:49 AM

I have a pair of triangular sails in my backyard near the pool. They are just from Bunnings and I installed them myself. They come down in Winter but are up all Summer and are about 4 or 5 years old now and I'm still very happy with them.

Make sure you have sturdy anchor points, either large diameter poles deep in the ground or attached to the house or whatever as there is quite a bit of tension on these. Placement of the attachments points is critical to keep the sail taught and use quality stainless steel fitting with some points have turnbuckles so that the tension can be adjusted and maintained. I use nylon tie-down straps to pull them tight enough and then fit the stainless steel hardware and remove the straps.

Good luck, nothing looks worse than flappy sails

AC/DC · 03-06-2006, 04:05 PM

I have 2, , one over the driveway at the front, , to cover the car, , as it gets very very hot in Townsville ..

Then I have another over the sandpit / area, , out the back...

I got the sails made myself, , using the stainless steel wire so they dont stretch or sag.

I done the poles myself, with 150mm treated coppers logs ( painted )... as 5 Steel posts were about $1500 !

I put the posts on a bit of an angle, so the wont sag, ,

Used stainless turnbuckles , , and the result is fantastic !

AC/DC

Do it yourself and you will save about 60% of the cost. Just find a good sailmaker / upholstrer.... get a contact with the timber, posthole digger and concrete truck !

rodderz · 03-06-2006, 04:45 PM

I have done a few landscaping jobs were patio areas have shade sails mounted above them. I didnt have the cost of them included in my quotes but they were quite expensive. Hardware stores stock some common sizes, some areas may have to have a custom made sail made, which isnt cheap, well into the $1000's

Doogstar · 04-06-2006, 11:19 PM

Thanks for the replies so far.

I have been looking into it and pre-made sails are so much cheaper than custom made. I just have to work out the right sizes to suit the area. I am looking to make them a pergola area next to the house.

I am worried if sails will suit as I would have to attach to the house and I don't think you can attach them sucessfully to facias, they would need to be anchored in the bricks and I have eaves which would make it hard to get them in the required shape without making them too low. I would also want to be able to leave them up all year round.

I have also been checking out alternatives such as pre-fabricated pergola kits, but they are much more expensive again. I am thinking about selling up within a couple of years, so I don't want to spend a fortune.

Work Horse · 04-06-2006, 11:42 PM

Hey Doogstar I'm also a landscape gardener (Gidday Roddez), like most things you get what you pay for. As Roddez said you can pay a lot of money for a sail and as you have found pre-made are much cheaper.

I threw a cheap one(bunnings) over my deck as I didn't have time to finish the roof before having the family over for xmas dinner.......in 2003 it's still there LOL.
It is 6m2 and attached to the facsia at two points. I didn't expect it to last but it has been fine, although I do take it down in winter.

**Falcon Coupe** · 05-06-2006, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doogstar

Thanks for the replies so far.

I am worried if sails will suit as I would have to attach to the house and I don't think you can attach them sucessfully to facias, they would need to be anchored in the bricks and I have eaves which would make it hard to get them in the required shape without making them too low. I would also want to be able to leave them up all year round.

You can nail a noggin behind the fascia (metal or timber) then bolt right through it, that should give it enough strength as long as it's not an Auatralia II sized sail.

The sails look good, but IMO a pergola gives much better protection from the elements, sails have you moving chairs all day to stay out of the sun.

Dazza XLT · 05-06-2006, 11:17 AM

Try and get a standard size that is mass produced, I saw some different sizes in Big W the other day, bargain price IMO a hell of a lot cheaper than custom made....

Doctor Sodways · 05-06-2006, 12:31 PM

Coolaroo make some very good ones, in square and triangular and being mass produced are a lot cheaper than a custom one. The coolaroo gear comes with a 10 year guarantee against sun degredation as well, (yes, i work at bunnings so i do know about them, and yes, i dont want to work there anymore). the biggest they do is 3.6x3.6 in square ones, and triangualr is the same (i think, im on 5 weeks leave so i dont remember). Leaving them up all year round is no problem, just keep them tight, sagging ones look and dont do any favours for the life of them either

Dazza XLT · 05-06-2006, 01:14 PM

They're the ones I was thinking of. Top Idea!

schmidty · 05-06-2006, 06:30 PM

I'm a builder and have put quite a few up on jobs. Couple of tips,

if you nail blocking between the rafters/trusses behind your fascia, and then bolt through the lot, it's generally a lot stronger anchor point than dyna bolding to the top few courses on a brick wall. seen people pull 2 courses of bricks off walls. Some people don't understand that its just a veneer!

If you want the posts you'll be anchoring the other side of the sail to to be plumb when its tensioned, put them in leaning a couple of degrees away from the house so they pull into position when you tension.

if you can use an off the shelf size they are generally cheaper, but if this doesnt suit a few times we've bought very heavy duty shade cloth in whatever colour and light block out you want, cut the sail to the shape and size you require, doubleing up the shadecloth so you have 2 layers, then buy your own hardware ( eyelets etc) and take it to a sail maker to be sewn up. Heaps cheaper than getting 1 custom made by someone! Usually you can end up with a custom sail for a price thats pretty close to an off the shelf job.

good luck.

cheers

**Raptor** · 05-06-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doctor Sodways

Coolaroo make some very good ones .... the biggest they do is 3.6x3.6 in square ones, and triangualr is the same (i think, im on 5 weeks leave so i dont remember). ....

Mine are Coolaroo. I'm sure my triangular ones are 5m each side.

Doctor Sodways · 05-06-2006, 07:16 PM

You could be right raptor, now that i think about it, the 3.6 is possible the smaller size they do. If i remember correctly 5.4 or 5 is the larger. Next time im in at work and if i remember, im gunna investigate that

rst2000 · 06-06-2006, 11:09 AM

i'm suprised that no one has mentioned the noise factor...anyone live in an area prone to high winds? my understanding thru the father inlaw(landscape gardener) doesn't recommend in windy areas and prefers solid stucture such as a pergola.

schmidty · 06-06-2006, 08:35 PM

good luck building a 5m x 5m pergola for $300 bucks. No permits for a shade sail either. If u use good quality hardware and have nothing loose on them to flap and rattle they aren't that bad.

Doctor Sodways · 06-06-2006, 09:05 PM

Ive never heard of any compaints about them being noisy in the wind, but i spose, ive never asked either

Electric · 06-06-2006, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doctor Sodways

Coolaroo make some very good ones, in square and triangular and being mass produced are a lot cheaper than a custom one. The coolaroo gear comes with a 10 year guarantee against sun degredation as well, (yes, i work at bunnings so i do know about them, and yes, i dont want to work there anymore). the biggest they do is 3.6x3.6 in square ones, and triangualr is the same (i think, im on 5 weeks leave so i dont remember). Leaving them up all year round is no problem, just keep them tight, sagging ones look and dont do any favours for the life of them either

I would not recommend the Coolaroo ones, they are rubbish.

If you look closely you will notice they only have a 10 year guarantee on the fabric...the stitching will be history in 3 years if you leave it up all year around.

I bought one 5 years ago and only put it up in summer and its fine but the second one I bought in 2003 and its 4m above the ground so I didn’t take it down and a few months ago it fell to bits. The stitching simply rots away, and its not like I live in the tropics, its the ACT.

So last year I bought a custom made one to cover the deck, its waterproof and exactly the right size. Its 8m x 4m and cost about $1600 but the guy said it would last 10 years.

rst2000 · 07-06-2006, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schmidty

good luck building a 5m x 5m pergola for $300 bucks. No permits for a shade sail either. If u use good quality hardware and have nothing loose on them to flap and rattle they aren't that bad.

now days you don't need a permit for a pergola either..no you can't compete when your comparing the two options strickly on price.so are you saying that there is in fact some noise attached to shade sails??

cheers andrew

schmidty · 07-06-2006, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rst2000

now days you don't need a permit for a pergola either..no you can't compete when your comparing the two options strickly on price.so are you saying that there is in fact some noise attached to shade sails??

cheers andrew

You do need a permit for a pergola as soon as you put a roof on it, regardless of what it costs. You could build a pergola for 5k and put shade battens or shade cloth on it and you don't require a permit, but i know for a fact that most victorian councils at least require you to obtain a permit for anything with a roof no matter what the price. Legally the roof needs to be put on by a licenced roof plumber and a certificate of compliance issued, as does the storm water connected to the legal point of discharge. The council around here take aerial photographs every few years and do overlays to catch out people who've built structures without obtaining the proper permits.

rst2000 · 08-06-2006, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schmidty

You do need a permit for a pergola as soon as you put a roof on it, regardless of what it costs. You could build a pergola for 5k and put shade battens or shade cloth on it and you don't require a permit, but i know for a fact that most victorian councils at least require you to obtain a permit for anything with a roof no matter what the price. Legally the roof needs to be put on by a licenced roof plumber and a certificate of compliance issued, as does the storm water connected to the legal point of discharge. The council around here take aerial photographs every few years and do overlays to catch out people who've built structures without obtaining the proper permits.

i understand what your saying...but i thought quiet recently that the state government announced new measures to streamline local councils so that a permit wasn't going to be required for doing things such as a deck, pergola or a cubby house etc...

cheers andrew