What To Look For When Buying Shade Sails In Australia

February 19th, 2020 · Published to Shade Sails by Steve Lewis

Australian is a highly popular holiday destination because of its wonderful subtropical climate which sees average temperatures top 30 °C during summer and 15 °C in winter. While this is great for a holiday, it can sometimes be a bit much day in and day out.

If you’re looking for relief from our hot weather conditions by buying a shade sail, then you’ve made a wise decision. In Australia, shade sails are one of the most popular shade solutions on offer. This is due to the incredible value for money that they offer – they are affordable, easy to install and maintain, can be removed during the colder months and offer extremely high levels of UVR protection and shade.

If you’re looking to buy shade sails in Australia, then it pays to know what to look for to ensure you purchase a quality investment.

Planning

Before you start looking at shade sails in Australia, you need to know what you need. And this starts with planning. In the planning process, you need to identify where you want the shade sail installed, whether or not you have existing structures that can be used as anchor points, and also, the measurements of the area so determine what size shade sail you require.

When you look at the position, be strategic. Study the sun’s path to ensure your the shade falls in the correct place. In terms of anchor points, utilising a fence, roof and the likes of will reduce installation costs.

Fabric

The most important factor when looking to buy shade sails in Australia is the shade cloth fabric. Your choice of fabric will determine the quality and lifespan of the fabric – how much shade and UVR protection it will offer, how it will withstand strong winds etc.

A sign of a quality shade cloth is a shade cloth that has a closely woven and is heavyweight (as opposed to being knitted and lightweight). Woven shade cloth is made from polypropylene or monofilament HDPE, which are much heavier, and better suited to sunny climates like Australia’s.

If you’re looking for a 100% Australian made shade sail, then you have just one choice of fabric, and that is Monotec 370. Monotec 370, which is one of our preferred fabrics here at Global Shade, is made from monofilament HDPE and is the only shade cloth manufactured in Australia. Moreover, it is also the strongest shade cloth available in the market, and it has the highest warranty of all shade cloths.

Manufacturing

On top of the shade cloth fabric, the manufacturing of the shade sail should also be examined. As shade sail manufacturers ourselves, quality manufacturing is something that we take very seriously. A poorly made shade sail will not withstand Australian conditions.

To determine if a shade sail has been manufactured well, look at the stitching. Only high-quality polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thread should be used in the stitching, reinforced with stainless steel wire.

Additionally, the anchor points (rings and cables) also need extremely high quality to ensure they stay intact. A sign of quality is the use of D-Rings and steel cables.

Conclusion

When looking to buy shade sails in Australia, it pays to know what to look for before you start looking. You don’t want to end up paying top dollar for a shade sail that lasts only a couple of years.

When looking at shade sails, first, plan accordingly, so you know where the shade sail will go and what size shade sail you require. Then, once you start looking, pay attention to the fabric used and how it is manufactured as these are the two vital elements that will determine the quality of a shade sail.

To ensure you invest in only the best shade sails in Australia, choose a Global Shade shade sail. We adhere to all benchmarks mentioned in this article and would be more than happy to provide you with a free quote.