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.
SeeHardware Page
for
available stainless steel hardware.
To span the distance between the corner of the shade sail and
the
attachment point use any of these options:
Usually you need to get the sail roughly taut using chain, rope, or
cable.. These let you get it roughly adjusted and somewhat taut.
Then, add tension with either a turbuckle(s) or length of rope as shown
below.
3/16” Chain
1/8” wire cable
"D" shackle(s)
Turnbuckle
Low Stretch Dacron rope
Use Stainless Chain and Shackles for easy rough adjustment.
Or, Use Cable and
Shackles for rough adjustment & high tech look.
Direct connect with "D" Shackle
Turnbuckle for adding tension. (usually 2 per
triangle or quadrilateral)
On a 4 sided
sail, put the
tensioners opposite each other on a diagonal.
Or, use low
stretch
Dacron rope to add tension. (usually corners 2 per sail)
Going back and forth between eye and ring works like
pulley!
Have the fixing points make a
foot
print at least 1 foot larger than sail.
(2 foot larger is even better)
Use Chain, Rope, or Cable
for
rough adjustment (pretty tight)
Use Turnbuckle or Rope to
add
tension...(Very tight!)
Make sure to pull evenly out
from all
corners.
Don't skimp on tension... Loose
sails
look ugly and don't last as long!
Make Them Taut!!
Nothing
causes faster wear and tear than loose sails moving and banging in the
wind. Most people don't make them taut enough!!
HARDWARE USE
Consider using;
Triangular plate for attaching to the corner
of the
building. Attach using four 5/16” Lag Bolts.
2 Hole Pad Eye 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
or two
for triangles, two for squares
¼ “D” Shackle for corners
that
do not have a turnbuckle.
Or, just use low stretch Dacron rope for all the fixings.
EXAMPLE LAYOUTS
Use of any photographs or text from this web site without our
expressed
permission is prohibited.
