Shade Sail Design Options

  
Designing a shade sail to enhance your Brisbane home or business

While a ready-made sail may be a quick option, it will seldom give you the benefits of a custom designed sail for your unique situation. Every location is different and requires different design elements. For example, the sail needed to cover a pool is likely to be very different to the type of shade sail needed for a café or restaurant. And the shade sail that would be best for a carpark is likely to be different to what is required for a children’s playground. Here’s some things to consider…

Shape: Shade sails come in variations of triangles and squares (or rectangles). I say ‘variations’ because the shapes can look quite different because of the angels of installation (one corner higher than the others). Square shapes will usually give greater coverage than a triangle sail. But that doesn’t mean a square shape should be used to cover a large area. It may be better to erect 2 or 3 triangle sails, overlapping and installed at different angles. This may give a more complete coverage as well as more interesting architectural appeal.

Angles: Installing multiple overlapping sails at different angles can look very striking. It can also give great shade as the sun changes position throughout the day and throughout the year. Installing shade sails at angles also gives good runoff for both water and leaves. When leaves collect on a shade sail, they can decay and cause significant damage to the sail.

Colour: While many people first think of choosing a colour that matches their home or business, they realize that a contrasting colour often looks much better. And when the shade structure consists of more than one sail, they often choose 2 colours to add even more appeal. A very important consideration when choosing colours is the degree of shade you want. Darker colours will almost always provide more shade (but not always more UV protection). You can find out more about colours here (link to Colours).

Fabric: The first practical consideration when choosing a fabric has to do with its resistance to water. A permeable fabric (link to permeable fabric) will allow a small amount of water to pass through while an impermeable fabric (link to impermeable fabric) is waterproof. Both types of fabric come in a range of colours and UV protection. You can find out more about the different types of fabrics here (link Fabrics).