How to Decorate With Triangular Sun Shade Sails

Sun shade sails, while decorative, can be subject to the ravages of wind.

Triangular sun shade sails are a fun way to beat the heat of summer, save your skin the ravages of sun exposure and add an intriguing look to your outdoor areas. Decorating with sun sails is about color, geometry and texture coming together to make elegant, shady spaces.

Things You'll Need

• Multiple sun shade sails in assorted sizes and colors
• Pieces of chain 8 to 10 inches and fitted with hooks at each end
• Metal turnbuckles attached at each corner of each sail
• Wrench
• Metal eye-bolts
• Epoxy
• 15-foot tall steel poles fitted with 2 or 3 metal eye-bolts near the top
• Posthole digger
• Sack concrete

Instructions

1. Direct your Internet browser to www.customshadesails.com, www.backyardcity.com, or www.mulders.com for ideas, tips and strategies for decorating with sun shade sails.

2. Choose a sun shade sail decorating design you like. Utilizing multiple sails layered over one another at different heights, in varying colors and at different angles will give your design an elegant architectural look with rich texture.

3. Epoxy the metal eye-bolts to the wall or structure that the sails will connect to according to the design you have selected. Make sure that the positioning of the eye-bolts allows for a minimum of 12 inches clearance between overlapping sails to avoid damage to the sails from friction and contact during periods of windy weather.

4. Dig postholes for the metal poles using the posthole digger to execute the design you have chosen. A good rule of thumb to remember is the two-thirds rule, whereby one-third of the length of the pole is buried to lend stability to the other, exposed two-thirds. In other words, make your postholes approximately five feet deep in order that 10 feet of pole be exposed.

5. Place the steel poles into the postholes.

6. Mix the sack concrete according to the bag's instructions and pour the mixture into the postholes around the steel poles. Be sure to orient the eye-bolts near the top of the pole in the proper direction to allow the sun shade sail to connect to them. Allow the concrete to dry.

7. Connect the pieces of metal chain to the turnbuckles already attached to each corner of the sun shade sails using the metal hooks.

8. Connect the metal hooks on the other end of each piece of chain to the eye-bolts in the steel poles or on the structure according to the decorative configuration you selected for your sails. At this point, the sails will be somewhat slack, as the turnbuckles have yet to be tensioned.

9. Tighten the turnbuckles individually with the wrench to create tension in the sun shade sails. Start by slightly tightening every turnbuckle and then repeat the process in the same order until all the sails are satisfactorily tensioned.

References

• Custom Shade Sails: Sample Shade Sail Layouts and Design Ideas
• Backyard.Com: Shade Sails Designs and Layouts
• Mulders: Shade Sails Design Ideas

Resources

• Custom Shade Sails: D.I.Y. Shade Sail Installation Tips / Information