Shade Sail Ideas: Extending Your Living Room Outdoors

Dec. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- DIY shade sails can be made to order or bought ready made. It is best to measure your area prior to buying a sail. You want to avoid getting home only to find your sail does not match available fixing points.

Ideally sails should be sloped with one end higher than the other and slightly twisted. This design ensures stability under wind pressure and water shedding. This means that fixing points should be higher at one end to give a height difference.

A shade sail under wind pressure needs adequate load brearing support. Walls, trees or posts should be able to support a sail under wind pressure.  When preparing footings for posts ,  we suggest some depths that can make the post stable. If  you are unsure on the post diameter and depth of footing a local engineer can be consulted. Allowances also need to be made for utilities and any building or planning regulations.

Check for the availability of suitable load bearing  fixing points, the sun’s direction and the area needed for shade. Sails cover a smaller space once under tension as they curve in at the edges. Fixing devices like turnbuckles at each corner again reduce the shade area from the posts.

Sails work by using tensioning devices called turnbuckles which are anchored or attached to walls or poles. These can be bought from most shade suppliers.

Check the quality of the sail and the fixings. Too many seams in a sail or use of poor single line stitching can increase the sail disintegrating over time. Fixings like d rings need to be made of non rusing steel.  A poor quality weave material can stretch or absorb water and hang limp.

For custom made sails, a wide selection of colours are available to blend in with the surroundings or make a bold colourful statement. Sails can also be waterproof as well as UV resistant. A number of sails can also be combined to cover a large area or unusually shaped site.

Terraces and decks are a focal point for many different activities and preplanning your shade structures can  help make and outdoor living space comfortable.

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If you are thinking about installing outdoor shade, Mulders make top quality bespoke shade sails to any size you require. Mulders sails are made from high quality shade mesh or waterproof pvc in a range of colours. UV protection is over 90% and quality woven fabric and seams are designed for longevity. All our D rings are made from non rusting steel and we can supply galvanized poles for local delivery and all fixing devices.
Our DIY sail shades ship worldwide and are made to the customer's exact specification including waterproof and colorful designs. www.mulders.com.au