The Official Site "The Experts, the Original, the Best"
INNOVATIVE TENSIONED FABRIC CANOPIES 7028 Greenleaf Ave. Suite K, Whittier, CA 90602
Shade Sails LLC
CA Lic#740569
The
Official Site "The
Experts, the Original, the Best"
INNOVATIVE TENSIONED FABRIC CANOPIES
7028
Greenleaf Ave. Suite K, Whittier, CA 90602
Back to Ready
made Sails
Helpful Hints
& Installation Instructions
DISCLAIMER (Read carefully) The following installation suggestions
are offered as a courtesy to mail order purchasers and to facilitate accurate
ordering of the product. Shade Sails does not and cannot know the specific intentions
of purchaser stress factors, variables for the area such as soil, wind condition
and exposure, existing structure strength, local access codes, etc. The following
is offered only as a highly generalized summary of installation methods used
successfully by Shade Sails in the past. Shade Sails makes no extension of warranty
by these general guidelines and disclaims any responsibility for the installation,
design of installation, engineering requirements, code compliance or any other
installation related matter. Shade Sails offers these services on an individual
contract basis and purchaser has elected to purchase the ready-made sail only
as a more economical alternative.
1) Plan your installation. Check with your local building Dept. Some installations
require a building permit. We are not responsible for obtaining permits or for
engineering your installation. The following information is meant as a guideline
and not intended to replace the services of a structural or civil engineer.
Selecting the position: Before you commence installation it is very important
that you consider the most suitable location for your shade sail(s) taking into
account the following: Size of the shade sail(s). Strength of existing
structures intended to be anchor points. Ability to insert fixing posts. Location
of barbecues or Sun direction etc. Sails should be seperated by about 18"when
layered to avoid chafe. Watch out for tree branches that may also chafe
the sails.
2) Unlike custom made sails that are made to fit, you have to supply supporting
hardware that is in line with the corners of the sail and provides enough room
to add attaching hardware or rope. It is best to make the structural element's
foot print 1.5 foot larger than the sail's dimension so that variations in the
sail's size is not a problem and there is enough space to add rope, links of
chain, turnbuckle, shackles etc. To help you visualize the Sails, you can also
use string stretched between your planned attachment points. The first step
is to measure. Then make a scale drawing of the area you want shaded. 1/4 (or
1/8) inch = 1 foot.Then cut out scale drawings of the ready-made shade sails.
Rotate them around to get ideas for the lay-out. Imagine a straight line from
the center of the shade sail through the corner ring, that is where you need
to put the attachment point. The fabric is a knit and most of the water sheds
off the lowest point, but it is not waterproof. Remember the sails do
not have straight lines at the edges; they are constructed with a gentle curve
that deflects about 10% over the length of each edge. We have found the best
looking installations have bold changes in height from one corner to the next,
and that overlapping sails or multiple sails give a more interesting look.
3) The attachment points should be installed first. Therefore, install your
posts with eye-nuts, and to the house, tree or whatever you have chosen to support
them, add eyebolts, pad-eyes or straps. Remember, there can be substantial wind
loads. (From 5.5 to 15 lb. Per square foot of sail). These loads are divided
between the corners, but it is important that what they attach to be adequate.
For the posts, we usually use 4" schedule 40 steel pipe (galvanized) or temporary
power poles (treated) that are 6" or larger. Posts can be powder coated or painted
to help protect them and provide the desired color. Steel pipe is usually found
at a steel supply or pipe supply vendor. If timber posts are used, then generally
use temporary power poles with a preservative added to the wood. They are usually
embedded in a concrete footing, 3 ft. to 6 ft. deep and 1 ft. to 1.5 ft. in
diameter. (Generally a third of the total length of steel or wood is buried
so a 10' high post should have about 5' in the ground). Plumb or slightly lean
back the post and support it until the concrete has dried. If the posts are
tall or more than one sail is attached then larger posts are usually called
for. Install Eye nuts with threaded rod through the posts with the eyes pointed
at the center of the sail. Corners of buildings are excellent attachment points
and we have designed a special corner clip for that application. Attaching to
Fascia is generally a bad idea unless the fascia can be reinforced or tied in
adequately to the rafters. Often a pad-eye can be lag bolted to headers that
are above windows and doors or to the top plate at the top of the wall. Also,
it is often possible to connect to remote structures with wire cable spanning
the distance.
4) The sails have a stainless steel ring at each corner that must be attached
to your fixing point. This can be done in a variety of ways; the best method
for the "do it yourselfer" is to tie them on with a length of low stretch Dacron
rope. This gives a lot of adjustability and is very strong and inexpensive.
For a more high tech look you can use stainless steel "D" shackles and turnbuckles
or even chain.
5) Pre-tension the sails to about 100lb by tightening the
rope or turnbuckle(s).
Care of the sails: Sails can be hosed in place or taken down and gently scrubbed
with a mild detergent.
Do not leave sails up in snow prone locations during winter months and unless
your installation has been engineered for permanent use they should be taken
down when windy conditions exist.
See Hardware
Page for available stainless steel hardware.
HARDWARE USE
Consider using;
Rafter Bolt for attaching to Rafter Tail
Corner Bracket for attaching to the corner of the building. Attach using four 5/16” Lag Bolts.
Long Bracket for attaching to a stud. Attach using four 5/16” Lag Bolts
4 Hole Pad Eye for attaching to a header above a door or a window. Attach using four 5/16” Lag Bolts
6" Eye Bolt for attaching to 4", schedule 40, galvanized pipe (find a pipe / steel supplier in your phone book)
¼“ Turnbuckle for tensioning, use one for triangles, two for squares
¼ “D” Shackle for corners that do not have a turnbuckle.
To span the distance between the corner of the shade sail and the attachment point use any of these options;
EXAMPLE
LAYOUTS
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