Installations know how’s

A shade sail supported by posts is essentially a small construction project. Holes need to be measured and dug, posts sourced and concreted in. Multiple site visits are also needed to secure accurate measurements throughout the project..

When properly tensioned, shade sail fabric will not wrinkle, sag, or flap in the wind. We aim sails to be tensioned between 250 & 400kg, depending on size and location. Accordingly anchor points require careful selection and installation. Sails that are not properly tensioned end up holding water, hanging limp and becoming unstable in heavy winds. Sails work best when they are under enough tension to give curvature, are not on a level plane and are 'twisted' for stability

To ensure the shade sail is stable in winds it must have some curvature and not be on one level plane. The most common method is to have each pair of diagonally opposite corners at significantly different heights.

Finally we ensure that all proposed fixing points are strong enough to bear the stresses of a sail under strong wind conditions. Proposed fixing points like walls or roofs are sometimes too weak to withstand the load of a sail under wind pressure. Coolashade will work with chemical mountings of HILTI to assure the safety.

Coolashade shade sails work best when they are:

  • Mounted under enough tension to give curvature
  • Not on a level plane
  • Are 'twisted' for stability

Shade Sails can be mounted in a variety of ways: Horizontally (flat) all corners at the same height, some corners high and some low (like a "Hypar" Design), or vertically like a privacy fence. A flat sail can be boring to look at, vertically will catch wind more and produce heavier loads. The sails look better when their elevations change drastically from corner to corner and 2 or more will look better than just one.

Prior to installation, we will ask you to check with local authorities or your communidad for any relevant building regulations which may exist and with the local utility companies for any underground services prior to digging holes for posts.

Selecting The Position:
Before the commence installation it is very important that we consider the most suitable location for your shade sails taking into account the area shade is needed, location of barbecues, wind speed and direction. And we will study the height and direction of the sun in the summer period.

Posts and foundations
On each side of the sail you should allow a space between the corner of the shade sail and the mounting point that is at least 10% of the shade sail length. This will provide enough room for mounting hardware, material stretch, and tensioning of the sail. This should be done for each side of the shade sail to ensure there is adequate room to tension the shade sail.

For the posts we can use stainless steel, timber and galvanised steel. Stainless steel and galvanised steel will avoid rust and is a better solution for fixing shade to than wood. Wooden posts can warp which place the sail out of alignment and can rot over time en lose his strength.

The posts may not move in its foundations, as it is under strain. If posts are moving during installation it will be extremely difficult to tension the sail properly at a later stage. Normally 1/3 of the post will be underground, and 2/3 will be visible. But it depends on the type of soil.

Our experienced engineers will ensure all fixing points are structurally sound. Also in case of poor weather conditions, the sail must be save enough to stand the heavy wind and the weight of the water falling down from the Spanish sky.

© 2006-2012 Tip Top Spain S.L., Marbella, España.