The Shade Sail Season
We’ve always been curious about why people wait until it gets really hot before they decide they need a shade sail. We often imagine the conversation that goes on while people are baking in the sun without shade sails…”Wow, it’s late June and it’s hot! We should probably get us one of those sail shade “thingys” we saw online.” Well that’s probably not exactly the way it goes down, but it’s never too late to make a shade sail go up.
Shade sails can reduce the air temperature sometimes by as much as 15 degrees beneath them. A sail does this in two ways. First it gets you out of the direct sunlight. This alone can make things a lot cooler. The second way is that because the fabric is mesh, hot air rises through it and even a small breeze blows over and around it. In this way, shade sails “cool” the air beneath them.
A shade sail is more then just a shade canopy. Sails provide sun protection and also, as previously mentioned, heat protection to some degree. A sail is also a decorative alternative to other shading devices.
We specialize in sails and sail products and offer standard shade sails or custom sail options.
Burning up in Houston…Shade Sail!
We got an email the other day from a customer of ours checking on the status of his shade sail order and one of his comments made us laugh. He said “We are burning up in Houston.” Texas, California, Florida, Arizona, and everywhere else for that matter. We’ve gotten similar comments from people all over the USA.
This client, like so many others, recognizes the comfort value afforded them by shade sails. Its amazing how just a sliver of shade fabric can do so much. Everything from protecting whats beneath it from the harmful effects of the sun to dropping temperatures below as much as 15 degrees.
The shade sail is a little bit of science and a whole lot of artistry. They can be stretched over small areas and large ones. From pool shade to amphitheater cover, these creative and unique canopies offer sun shade in the form of art.
If you are in need of a sun sail, we manufacture shade sails using quality commercial shade fabrics and UV stabilized thread so that you can have a shade canopy that lasts.
Shade Sail Panels
One of the most existing new applications for shade sails are found with meshing lattice or wood beams and shade sails. As illustrated bellow, shade sails can be suspended from cables in between existing beams. This allows for retractable shade. In truth, it gives you the best of both shade worlds. You can slide your shade sails open during the winter to allow the sunlight through, or for a special event requiring a starry night. Just as easily, you can slide them closed during the hottest parts of the day or year.
Shade Sail Stretch
I commonly get the question about shade sail stretch and fitting it into a configuration of poles. The stretch that each shade sail has will logically differ based on the size of the sail. The shade sail will stretch about 3-6 %, depending on the span of shade fabric. Since we custom make shade sails to fit a particular area, we rarely get this question with custom sails. Most of the time they occur with people wanting to install one of our standard shade sails. For specific questions it is always best to contact us. However, the 3-6% stretch is a good starting point.
Read more …
Winery Application
We recently did a number of shade sails for an excellent winery in southern Washington called Col Solare. They opted for Ivory triangles to stretch across a courtyard area where they hold events and wine tastings. The image below only shows a few of the shade sails, but gives the general feel of the application. These sails are actually a standard size purchased from our online store. It is item TS-18.
Read more …
Commercial Courtyard
Below is a shade canopy image of a commercial job recently finished in Tucson, AZ. This is the Texas Instruments building. They wanted a dramatic artistic entrance and to provide some mid day shade protection. We also fitted the poles with mounts for lights for an equally dramatic image at night.
Read more …
Workmanship & Quality
I have spent a bit of time this summer talking about specific projects and applications of shade sails. I thought I would spend a brief moment today describing and showing some of the detailed quality that goes into our sails. All of our sails are double lock stitched with Tennara thread. While this amazingly durable thread destroys our machines, it make a very long lasting sail. Our sail are sewn with a pocket around the perimeter of the sail. This allows for both edge reinforcement and a means for utilizing cable, if desired. We then also have stainless steel rings and webbing on the corners to complete the sail. I have included a few close ups photos below. As always, let us know if you have any questions.
Big Sail – Small Impact
The attached image was recently sent to us by a client in Massachusetts. The yellow triangle sail stretches about 60 ft. over their pool. After fabricating the shade sail and sending it off, our client mentioned that he was going to fly over and snap some photos for us. We are certainly grateful. The photo turned out great and so did their D.I.Y. install.
Read more …
