Shade Sails on the Brain « Desert Balance Design

Good morning everyone!

So I’m working with a client right now who is interested in having a shade sail installed over a portion of the driveway. While I’ve definitely been a fan of how they look and function, I had no idea how much there is to learn about these things! I tend to do a heinous amount of research with most things in life, but the shade sail investigation is really burning strong. Small things noted so far: sizable footers are mandatory – potentially 400 lbs of concrete each, connecting hardware can be assembled in many different arrangements with varying parts, and the price of a 12’x12′ sail can range from $50 to $1000+ depending on the manufacturer (!). Also, they come in rectangles, squares, and totally custom shapes, and can be installed horizontally, vertically and “hypar” style (twisted). This weekend I’ll be installing 4 steel poles into footers and then I’ll hang an accompanying 18′ square sail in a couple weeks, so I plan on posting more detail about how it all goes in the near future. Have you thought about installing a shade sail but got bogged down by the construction details? I think it could be a really great DIY project given a simple set of instructions.

For now I’ve rounded up a few examples I think look great. Enjoy!