Shade Sails are a great way to cover just about anything that you can think of. However, there are a lot of questions that you might have before installing your shade sail. Every installation is going to be different. Engineering codes will vary by city and may affect your project costs and requirements. Keep in mind that some shade sail projects will require building permit while others may not.

There are many factors to take into consideration when designing your shade sail(s). The most important aspect affecting your installation will be the size of the shade sail. Take into consideration the length, width and height of the area that you are wanting to cover. Please refer to "how to measure properly for your shade sails" for more information regarding taking measurements. Once you have determined the dimensions of the area you are covering than you will want to figure out you’re fixing points. There are many ways that you can attach your shade sail to your fixing positions. These fixing points can be either the side of your house, rooftop, or steel or even wooden posts. Make sure that your attachment points are very sound, as shade sails will exert wind loads ranging from 5 to 15 lbs. per square foot of shade sail The larger your shade sail the larger the fixing posts/points may have to be. Trees can also make good fixing points but may bend inwards. You may also refer to the section "shade sail fixing point types" for more information on how you will attach your shade sails.

I always recommend to my customers to use larger fixing posts than necessary. Steel posts are always the best solution for shade sail masts. I like to use round structural steel pipe but square tubing is sometimes also used. A shade sail that is roughly 200 square feet in diameter should use 4” t 6” round pipe with a ¼” wall thickness. The posts should also be embedded at least 1/3 of the walkthrough height into the ground. In other words, if your walkthrough height is going to be 12 feet then your posts should be buried at least 4 feet into the ground. Footings should also be around 24” in diameter filled with 3500 psi concrete. Prior to installation, it is always important to notify proper authorities that you will be excavating dirt. Dirt excavation can be easily done using a variety of methods. Home Depot has in certain locations a tool rental department that carries a machine called a “Dingo” that works well.

Shade sails can be arranged in variety of ways. Many people enjoy arranging triangles in different fashions. Each shade sail corner should be mounted at a different height. This gives the sails a pleasing artistic look and also provides for water run off as well. Sails should slope downwards 3 feet for every ten feet of shade sail size. Flat sails do not look as well and will catch heavier wind loads. Check out our "shade sails design" section for ideas.

It is also important to take into consideration the movement of the sun when planning your shade sail. The sun rises in the east and constantly moves to the west until it sets at the end of the day. If you want more shade during the morning than your sail should slope downwards on the eastern side of the sail. If you want more shade in the afternoon than you should slope you sail downward on the western side of the sail Also keep in mind that shade sails that are installed at very high points will provide less shade. The rule, here is that the higher sail the less shade you get, the lower your sail, the more shade you get.

Shade sail hardware basically consists of turnbuckles, shackles, cable clamps, pad eyes, eye hooks, or anything else that you may use to couple your shade sail to your fixing point. The d-ring, a closed connection loop, which is sewn onto your shade sail needs to be attached to your fixing point. This is where turnbuckles or shackles are used. Turnbuckles will leave around a 14” gap between your fixing point and d-ring while a shackle will leave around a 6” gap. You also need to take into consideration around 2” for stretching

Once you have determined the size of your shade sail, fixing points and the type of hardware that you are going to use you will be ready to install your shade sail. If you are installing a heavy-duty commercial shade sail or most cable based shade sails you will need to take the following steps:

• Cut the cable into equal lengths using a cable cuter
• Feed the cable through the cable pocket and loop it through the d-ring.
• Clamp the cable with the cable clamps.
• Attach the d-ring to the shackle or turnbuckle and attach to your fixing points
• Repeat steps 2 through 4 until each corner has been attached.

Commercial shade sails are usually shipped without the cable installed unless other arrangements are made. Most of our commercial shade sails use a ¼ inch aircraft tow rated cable that will not bend well during shipping. Most competitors will include your cable sewn into the sail already. However, this cable is very thin and not as strong as the cable that we include. Should you prefer your cable to come already installed to your shade sails please let us know.

You should tension each corner by stretching the cable. Each corner should be tensioned so that shade sail is taut and does not sag or flap. Shade cloth can be stretched considerably with proper tools. A typical "come along cable winch" will do the job well.