We’ve been busy with home improvement projects, seemingly nonstop since spring began. In April we finally covered our back porch with some shade-giving sails. To do something fancier was pretty pricey, so we opted for these fun and not-so-common shade sails. Here Grover distracts Michael from his hole digging.
What we thought was supposed to be relatively quick turned out to be an all-day process — starting with the holes. Stepan came over to help hold the posts, but as it turns out he also got to help dig through bedrock, lift 12-foot cedar posts, climb ladders, place plumb lines, mix and pour cement, etc. Hey, at least we fed him!
Of course, rain and hail threatened over the next few days, so we didn’t actually set up the shade sails until days after the cement cured. The dogs began laying in the shade before the first sail actually got completely hung up.
But we are very, very happy with the shade sails. They add shade when it counts but also allow enough morning sun to grow plants around the posts and in containers on the porch.
I already have crossvine growing up the posts — I’ll post pictures of the lovely tangerine flowers sometime later. You can tell by the photo that painting is soon to be in our future!
Meredith, we’re contemplating a shade sail for our baking hot deck. How did you attach your sail to your house — did you do anything specific to ensure a strong connection? It looks from the pictures that you installed two posts and attached the other two corners to the chimney and the fascia of your house, right? Also, where did you find your sail, and how has it held up (color and general wear) since 2009? Thanks for the info!
Hi, Pam. We have one square sail and one triangular sail, so technically we have two attachments to the fascia and one to the chimney, along with three attachments to the posts. We opted for the sturdy 6″ cedar posts to prevent warping, and despite the oddness, we opted to angle the posts (as is typically recommended) so that we wouldn’t have to place our posts too far away from the patio and also to keep the sails taut. Since we really didn’t know anyone who had shade sails, we spent a long time planning and calculating and then planning and calculating again, so that we knew we were getting the right sizes we needed and that we’d like the results. Then we carefully calculated the exact angles again and again — because once things were in the ground or attached, that was it! In order to get the Terra Cotta color I wanted, I ordered the shade sails online, actually through Amazon, as I recall (and we saved money, too). The sails and their color/condition have held up beautifully and we continue to be thrilled with the results (I don’t think I would have stayed a gardener without them — it was hot out there!). Let me know if you would like to see them in person to get a better view/details.
Thanks so much for the info. Yes, I’d love to bring my husband out to see them sometime. I’ll email you.