Shade sales have established themselves a common feature over many outdoor living areas. Shade sails are not all created equal – hiring a professional shade sail installer will ensure expert advice, fit and correct installation. We take a look at what you can expect…
A professional is skilled in the manufacture, installation, maintenance and repair of shade sails. often seen attached to near homes and buildings.
Like sails for boats, the shade sail uses a piece of cloth, affixed tightly to at least three points. Instead of providing the wind for a boat, it provides shade on land in a variety of shapes and sizes.
A shade sail is used for creating shaded areas in homes, or near buildings which they can be affixed to. With shade sail fabric, which is typically the most inexpensive, the knit fabric has a slight curve inside which keeps it tight and secure.
Wind makes it whip about, but generally it won’t sag. Homeowners can hire a shade sail installer or buy canvas or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sails and install them themselves. Provided these are well secured, they’ll not moved much with wind.
Typically shade sails are a triangular shape, but they also come in squares and rectangles. Modern sail designs take into account that people need protection from both the heat and the sun’s harmful rays. A shade sail installer will know how to treat shade sail fabric so that it blocks out UV rays, which also helps the fabric withstand constant sun exposure.
A shade sail creates outdoor shade based on the basic technology of a ship’s sail, using a flexible membrane tensioned between several anchor points. Modern shade sails can vary in shape, size and colour with a trend towards installing multiple overlapping sails, adding form and style to function. Shade sails are tensioned by either a stainless steel turnbuckle or a pulley system.
Shade Sail Installers services include:
- Design and manufacture of shade sails
- Installation of shade sails
- Design and manufacture of awnings
- Installation of window, aluminium, shop front or caravan awnings
- Repair of shade sails
- Repair of awnings
For domestic applications of shade sails it is recommended to hire a professional shade sail installer who will install them with a quick release “snap hook” at each corner. This means the sail shade can be taken down quickly in high wind conditions or during the winter season. A skilled shade sail professional will know that installation requires that adequate and quite considerable tension be applied to the sail to allow it to adopt its correct shape and prevent flapping in the wind. It’s also important to ensure that mounting points are substantial and secure to be able to accept the required initial tension and absorb the loads created by wind gusts hitting the sail.
