Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about Shade Sails.

Question 1

What is the differenced between the heavy and normal commercial shade cloth?

Accepted Answer

Apart from the fact that the Heavy is 90 GSM more in weight it uses a different type of thread which menas that it expands evenly in all directions. Refer to 'COLORS' in the menu for comprehensive details.

Question 2

Are the webbing and fittings the same with all the shade cloth you offer?

Accepted Answer

All our shade sails have 2 inch / 50mm webbing and fittings are all 10mm, The exception is the Lightweight shade sails which have 38mm webbing and 8m fittings.

Question 3

Are shade sails a good idea?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it depends on your circumstance. If you are happy to have a semi-permanent structure that could be in place all the time or most of the warmer part of the year, then you should consider a shade sail. Professionally made shade sails will use high grade shade cloth that offers UV protection, most awnings, umbrellas, and cheap mass-produced shade sails do not offer UV protection. Shade sails that are well integrated into their surroundings area very attractive addition to a home, they will protect you from the sun and UV, offer you shade and, likely, enhance the value of your property.

Question 4

Are shade sails effective?

Accepted Answer

Yes, they are. Sitting under a good quality shade sail on a summer's day could be compared to sitting under a large leafy tree. The air will be cooler and more pleasant add to that the value of UV protection. If you have children who like to spend hours in the pool a shade sail over the pool or part of it will inhibit sunburn (potential for skin cancer), the same applies to outdoor play area as well.

Question 5

Can I make my own shade sail?

Accepted Answer

Not really. For a shade sail to be effective and safe it should be very well tensioned this requires that the construction of the sail itself is very strong, something not achievable in-home construction. Purchasing from a professional shade sail maker such as ourselves you will get a shade sail with a 15-year warranty.

Question 6

Do shade sails blow away? How much wind can a shade sail withstand?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if not properly installed or mounted. Shade sails need tension, lots of it! If not tensioned, then they will start to flap up and down in the wind. This movement will have a negative mechanical effect of the mountings which will likely fail. A properly tensioned high grade shade sail should withstand constant wind of 60mph (102kmh) and gusts of up to 100mph (160kmh).

Question 7

How do you attach a shade sail to a house? Should a shade sail be tight or loose?

Accepted Answer

Remember tension is the shade sails friend - they must be very, very tight. This depends on where you want to attach it and the construction material. If you want to mount it very high, from the roof, it is possible to use specially made Shade Sail Anchor (Roof Extenda Bracket) (https://www.shadeaustralia.com.au/roof-extenda-bracket). If you are mounting to a fascia board, use a four-hole eye plate so the load is spread. Please remember that a lot of tension will be exerted on the mounting point and in high wind situations could rip off the fascia board unless properly secured - we recommend using a long-threaded rod anchoring the fascia board back to a strong internal roof joist. If mounting to a wall also use four, or even six, hole eye plates. If the wall is cladding and you will be bolting or screwing through to joists behind the cladding always be mindful of it being strong enough. With brick, stone, or concrete secure bolts using CHEMICAL INJECTION ANCHORING. In all instances we suggest you use marine grade stainless 316 for fittings.

Question 8

How long does a shade sail last?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the supplier and quality. Readily available pre-sized sails from large online vendors with low prices expect them to last as many days as the price - if you are lucky. These sails also have no monofilament in the fabric so do not offer UV protection. They also have no warranty. For long lasting sails you should expect to spend much more money. With these sails you should expect between 5- and 15-years use, depending on the vendor. We offer a 15-year warranty.

Question 9

How much do backyard sails cost?

Accepted Answer

Prices vary from very cheap to very expensive - basically you get what you pay for. Cheap sails range in price from less than $20 to around $300. These sails from Amazon or eBay and low-priced boxed shade sails from hardware stores will not last long. These sails will not take tension and will break on the edge or in the seams if treated like a real shade sail and subjected to tensioning. They will have no warranty. Middle range premade sails will start at about $150 for a small lightweight Residential grade shade sail 3M x 3M x 3M (approx. 9ft x 9ft x 9ft) and going as high as $900 for a Commercial grade shade sail of 5M x 7M (approx. 17ft x 24ft). The Residential not be used for tensioned permanent installation and should be taken down in bad weather and stored through the winter months. If well cared for they will have a useful life of 10 years or more. They will have a 5-year warranty. The Commercial Grade sails are designed to be tensioned and should last up to 18 years if well maintained. Warranty of 15 years.

Question 10

What is the best material for a sail shade?

Accepted Answer

Seek out vendors who specifically say they use shade cloth and can provide technical specification. You cannot use plastic sheeting, tarpaulin, polythene, or any fabric/material that is opaque and does not allow airflow. Shade cloth is knitted polyethylene with a monofilament to block UV transmission. The 'gold standard' shade cloth is Gale Pacific who invented knitted shade cloth in the early 1970s. After several years of testing and development, they launched their first range in 1976. They are now one of the world�s largest manufacturers of shade cloth. For shade sails the minimum GSM (grams sq. Meter) should not be less than 180 and this only for lightweight low tensioned sails. 340-350 GSM is an ideal weight for highly tensioned shade sails. Heavier weights suitable for longer spans are available. We only supply Gale Pacific shade cloth since we consider it the best quality and put to the test with thousands of sails delivered worldwide, we have never had a failure of the shade cloth.

Question 11

I need a triangle sail shade with a 90 degree corner. How do I order that?

Accepted Answer

The 90 degree corned is created by the lengths of the 3 sides of the triangle so it is better to measure the area and use that to get your quotation.

Question 12

Do I get email confirmation when I place my order?

Accepted Answer

Yes you do but please check your spam folders if you do not see it in your inbox.

Question 13

At what point in the ordering process does it ask if you want another 3% reduction in overall size measurements of sail?

Accepted Answer

The option for the 3% overall reduction is part of the ordering process and you can select it before you go the the payment.

Question 14

I'm trying to put a quote in but when I get to the page to select colors there are no drop down options, can you help?

Accepted Answer

The dropdown not appearing for the colors is a caching issue on your device which can 99% of the time be fixed by a shutdown and restart, Not a reboot.

Question 15

I have just received a text purporting to be from DHL Express suggesting a payment for Import duty needs to be paid before delivery can be made. Is this correct or a scam ?

Accepted Answer

No it is not a spam. It says in your quotation 'You are responsible for import duties and local taxes in your country'

Question 16

I have several quotes can I combine them in one order?

Accepted Answer

Sadly no. These are made to order shade sails and each onehas and needs its own identity all through the process and the combining of orders would make this impossible.

Question 17

Can you quote price and lead-time for a custom shade?

Accepted Answer

Click 'Get a price for your shade sail' on the home page then follow the instructions. Delivery is within 7 days worldwide. Click on 'Need Help' in the menus for full instructions.

Question 18

How do I order a right angle shade sail?

Accepted Answer

We have a selection of premade right angle sails on our sister website shade-sails.com

Question 19

Can you help with a shade sail for my uniquely shaped patio?

Accepted Answer

We are very happy to help with any unusual shapes. Please go to 'Talk to Us' and send us a message asking us to call you and we will get the project going.

Question 20

I am looking for advice to remove the sag the middle?

Accepted Answer

It is all about tension and if a shade sail is even a tiny bit too big sagging can be a problem. Several ways to handle this would be to remove turnbuckle and mount directly. Another way would be to raise a mounting point, if you can, this effectively increases the distance between the other mounting points.

Question 21

Is VAT required?

Accepted Answer

if you live in Australia and the price of the sail is over $1,000 Yes! Any where else only if charged by the customs.

Question 22

Do my shade sails need to be removed in the winter or can they handle snow load?

Accepted Answer

Well tensioned commercial grade shade sails with a minimum of a 20% slope will be OK. It is a good idea to knock them from underneath the help the snow slide off.

Question 23

When mounting my shade sail how do I find corner A?

Accepted Answer

The plastic tag is on the A point, letters go clockwise so the webbing should be down and B will be the next mounting point to the right.

Question 24

Can the billing address and delivery address be the same?

Accepted Answer

Yes.

Question 25

My card was declined although I have funds, is there a reason?

Accepted Answer

We are an Australian company so when your card is the anti-fraud system on your credit card will likely flag the transaction since you do not normally spend 100s of your currency online with Australia. A call to your bank will resolve this and you can then try again and it will go through.

Question 26

I wanted to know what size or thickness of the pole should I use?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the size of the sail and the highest wind speeds it will encounter. Please refer to the menu item 'How to Install' where you will find a graph to help in the selection of pole size.

Question 27

Should the webbing be on the top or the bottom of the shade sail when installed?

Accepted Answer

Always facing the ground.

Question 28

I want delivery to another country, is it possible?

Accepted Answer

When our system provides a quote it calculates the price and delivery costs based upon your IP address. So if you are in the UK and get quote you could not use that quote for delivery to Spain. The best thing to do is wait until you are where you want the sail, get a quote and place the order. You will have it within a week.

Question 29

I have a quote but cannot find it or open it to place an order, why?

Accepted Answer

Once you have registered as a buyer you will have your personal dashboard and should be able to see the quote. But you must be registered with the same email address as was used for the quotation.

Question 30

Can I get samples of the colors?

Accepted Answer

Sorry but the answer is no. The colors on the website are so accurate that in over 60,000 sales we have never had a come back on the color.

Question 31

What is the difference between regular curve sides and the extra parabolic curves on a side?

Accepted Answer

Normal parabolic curve in shade sails is 5%. WE have an option that you can select to reduce this to 2% on the sides that you nominate.

Question 32

Will I have to pay additional charges?

Accepted Answer

It depends where you are. In the USA the answer is No. In other countries there might be duty and local taxes. We have never heard that this is excessive nor had any complaints about the charges.

Question 33

What is the weight of your lightweight residential fabric?

Accepted Answer

200 GSM

Question 34

I am looking for a 10X10 shade sail. It will be installed under an awning. I'm wondering how much sag I can expect

Accepted Answer

We would recommend several rings on the sides for extra UNTENSIONED support.

Question 35

I live in the Caribbean and want sail shades for providing a shaded area next to my house for parking 2 cars. What type do you suggest for this purpose please?

Accepted Answer

Any of our shade cloths other than the lightweight

Question 36

I have a drawing that I would like you to see, where do I send it?

Accepted Answer

design.help@sailshadeworld.com

Question 37

I'd like to provide shade for my pergola which has top dimensions of 12ftx6ft. Do I order this exact size?

Accepted Answer

It depends how you will be fitting it. Better to contact us through the 'Talk to us' link

Question 38

Do you have a recommendation for high and low mounting points. For example, should the high points never be higher than some amount?

Accepted Answer

No it is up to you.

Question 39

When measuring given we want a twist, do we provide mounting points in a fixed plane (all the same height), or the actual mounting points with the height differences?

Accepted Answer

No. Do not measure pole to pole, measure mounting point to mounting point. We do not need to know height differences.

Question 40

Is the shade material waterproof?

Accepted Answer

No it is permeable. If you have at least a 20% fall to the lowest point rain will run off the top,but you will get some dripping through.

Question 41

Can I get a sail to more than cover a 102sq meter area? Or is it better to consider more than one?

Accepted Answer

Better more than one.

Question 42

How can I place this order without going through the process of creating the sail order and re-entering all the dimensions?

Accepted Answer

You cannot. Each order must be based on a unique and unused quote number.

Question 43

I have tried to enter the dimensions and information via the website, but it keeps coming up with red fields

Accepted Answer

Look carefully at the error message. You might have put in feet instead of inches or cm instead of mm. This would create sizes that are too small. Also no exterior dimension can be less than 1000mm or 38 inches.

Question 44

I have completed the quote form but I have no quote number and in the email quote is says the price is 'n'. Can you help?

Accepted Answer

This happens because one of the 'Triangles' is wrong. Go back and check your measurements. If the sum of two sides of the triangle is less than the other side you do not have a triangle to use to compute the shape, size and cost.

Question 45

Are you shade sails fire retardant?

Accepted Answer

Yes we offer fire retardant Commercial 340 GSM from Gale Pacific

Question 46

I have one of your sails and want to order a new one, how do I do it?

Accepted Answer

Follow the same procedure as you did with the first order.

Question 47

I have been overcharged on my credit card by a few dollars, why is this?

Accepted Answer

You should dispute this with your credit card company. We charge in Australian dollars at the FX midrate at the very second the order is processed so there should be no charge to you from your credit card company.

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