Awnings often cast their shade more easily, more variable and cheaper than some awnings. However, professional installation often harbors pitfalls. We show, how long you can enjoy your new sail.
Above all, sun sails offer one thing: affordable shade. The simple construction of any sailcloth cut, at least one support rod and the fastening material will often cost significantly less than an articulated arm awning of the same size. In addition, it can be used much more flexibly. The mooring points of the sail, i.e. the eyelets anchored in the wall and the rods, you can put it there, where you need or want them – but of course only if you observe a few basic rules.
However, sun sails do not only offer advantages. Once they are stretched, quick dismantling in a storm is time-consuming, in contrast to the awnings that can be retracted with a hand crank. A sail therefore requires a bit of foresight.
Freely stretched sun sails
Not only the terrace at the house can be put in the shade with an awning, The seating area in the garden or the lounging area on the lawn can also become pleasantly cool oases in this way. In contrast to awnings or other shading systems, that always need anchoring in the house wall or only offer small shaded areas (umbrellas), simply tension the sails over two or more erecting masts. Depending on the shape of the sail, the whole thing becomes additional wind and privacy protection.
What you always need with sun sails, is space. Because you have the guy ropes, which are fixed to the fabric and to the posts, at as flat an angle as possible (less than 45°) have to arrange, so that they can absorb the horizontal tensile forces, need you in every direction 2 to 3 m Platz, to set the pegs. Awnings only make sense in small gardens, if you place them horizontally on trees, for example, can be braced in embankments or on fixed palisades.
Anchor the sail to the wall
Even the lightest sun sail can be subjected to tremendous force when the wind conditions are right. That is why the correct anchoring of the sail on the house or in the ground is of particular importance. As a rule, the fastening material is supplied with the sets, as is the case with the spring tensioning system from Ikea.
The advantage of an interposed spring is, that the forces that occur do not pull directly on the house anchorage, but to be softened by the spring. A snap hook serves as the link between the spring and the screw-in eyelet, which holds the attachment releasably.
If you don't have a shade sail set, but use a simple canvas, you have to work eyelets into the sewn edge of the fabric as holders. The eyelet spacing should 1,50 do not exceed m, because the more anchoring points you provide in the wall, the more stable it becomes. For the guy posts, one copy per corner of the sail is sufficient, you turn with one, it is better to anchor two diagonally stretched ropes in the ground.
Anchor the guy posts correctly
The handrails are the components on an awning, being pulled from all sides. That's why you need to be well anchored to the ground. You have two options: One uses a metal tube, that you put in a ground screw (1). Tie the tensioned ropes to screw-in eyelets (2), where it is statically favorable, tilt the metal tube slightly in the direction of the floor bracing. The sail itself is tensioned using firmly sewn-in loops (3).
The second option for attaching the sail is wooden posts made of 9th grade×9-cm-Kanthol-zern. Only use them briefly in summer, you can also just bury them in the ground (4). In any case, the long-term solution is the use of suitable impact sleeves. Drive them into the ground with an additional piece of wood to protect against impact, insert your post and screw it through the metal (5).