I've got a 24' wide area and I'm going to put a 16'x16' woven shade cloth rated 90% sun blockage.

My plan is to put 4 eye bolts and then attach shade cloth with stout rope/paracord on 2 sides and then use turnbuckles on 2 sides to keep it tight.

Any flaws to my simple plan? Thanks

Following, as I've been wanting to look into these for some shade coverage in my back yard & as a possible alternative to a 'car port' in the front.

I've done the same on a deck area between my garage and my house.
The trick is to put it at the right height and making it tight.
I used a chain and turnbuckle on two corners.
You may/not want to angle it slightly to shed rain.
It is damn hot now in Texas and is extremely effective.
Good Luck.

I use this method: Eyebolt then spring then pulley. Then I feed the shade sail’s rope through the pulley to draw tension (like a trucker’s hitch) and tie the rope off leaving extra length to re-apply tension as needed after it stretches out. The springs work well to absorb movement in the wind. It’s important that you have the anchor points far enough apart with this concept, though. This may not be effective with your design. Just know that the sails will stretch.

Todd

quote:

Any flaws to my simple plan?

We have a marvelous 13' patio umbrella which is easily raised or lowered. Sometimes sudden wind gusts appear vigorous enough to make welcome the ease of lowering.

quote:

Originally posted by phxtoad:
I use this method: Eyebolt then spring then pulley. Then I feed the shade sail’s rope through the pulley to draw tension (like a trucker’s hitch) and tie the rope off leaving extra length to re-apply tension as needed after it stretches out. The springs work well to absorb movement in the wind. It’s important that you have the anchor points far enough apart with this concept, though. This may not be effective with your design. Just know that the sails will stretch.

Todd

I like this idea. The rope and sail will stretch, turnbuckles won't have enough range over time. Depending on the sails grommets and rope used, you might be able to skip the pulleys. On sailboats blocks(what we call pulleys) are sometimes replaced with low friction line (amsteel) and SS rings.

We used one of those giant triangles at our lake cabin, worked great for sun shade. After 2-3 years of being out from May to October had taken a licking.

Consider rain pooling and if possible hang at an angle to allow runoff. No matter how tight you make this, if it is flat it will puddle, then accumulate, then puddle more and more in middle. That will leak and/or stretch the fabric even more, lather rinse repeat. Not to mention you'll have to find a way to press that puddle off the sail and that will make a big splashy mess.

And tightness is definitely key. Just as taunt as you can make it without tearing, IMHO.

I've done two large shade sails.

No Paracord. Not UV stable, and it will stretch.

You need wire rope, thimbles, and aluminum ferrule crimp sleeves. You also need a crimper (swedge) tool.

You'll want a wire rope on all three ends to make the distances required, and turnbuckles on at least two of the corners. The shade sails will relax a bit over time, and you'll want the extra few inches of travel to take up slack rather than having to make new wire loops.

I bought the IWISS iCrimp IWS-1608m-c swager for about $40 off Amazon. Harbor freight seemed to have the best price for wire rope, and Amazon had the best prices for thimbles and ferrules.

Also account for how taut you want the sails. Completely taut puts a ton of extra stress on mounting points. Look up catenary curves to see why bridges, hammocks, and tent flies have curves built in rather than being stretched tight.

Edit: my shade sails are triangular, yours are rectangular it sounds like. I think you would need turn buckles on 3 sides.

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