Sun Shade Sails

[Nightowl]

Following on from the thread on Gazebos, has anyone tried Sun Shade Sails? This is the sort of thing I mean

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/sail-s ... =googleads


I'm quite interested in hearing anyone's experience of them. They seem like a good alternative to gazebos or parasols. We have several sun terraces and a roof terrace and have had the bases of large parasols broken several times when guests have tried to move them from one area to another (they get the sun at different times of the day and we don't have separate parasols for each area.

Also the costa luz is known for being very windy sometimes and we don't want to put parasols or gazebos on the roof because they get ripped and tipped over or damaged by the strong winds. These sails appear to be designed to stand up to stronger winds... but has anyone any practical experience of them???

They are very reasonably priced too.

We are thinking of putting one on a roof terrace and one in an enclosed terraced area so they would be fixed to the wall with appropriate fixings.

would appreciate any feedback anyone has about them.

[Mouse]

We've got a couple Nightowl and they're great. The ones we have the material is 'breathable' in so much as air can get through it and this helps it to stop any damage in wind.
But friends have the more traditional type (like a plastic coated cotton material) and leave them up all winter without any problem. In fact the only problem they had when the worst gales in years hit us was that the pole they were attached to bent But that sail was fine.

They're very useful for shading larger areas and generally have a heavy duty clip on the corners which attach to the poles/walls. We get the special screws for the walls from the Ferreteria.

We found it was cheaper to buy them from a UK co and have them shipped over - for some reason they chrage a fortune for them here!

I'd definately recommend them and they look pretty stylish too!

Mouse
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[Nightowl]

cheers for the feedback mousie!!!

I'm currently searching the internet to find places to buy them in spain - wondering if the big homestores like Leroy Merlin or Carrefours might have them. Not sure what they would be called in spain though and a search on the UK name isn't that helpful. Might have to ask my house manager to help on that one.

I've found some breatheable ones at various UK companies and found a company in Marbella that do them - but they seem to be a custom build company and I'm really not looking to spend that much so a DIY ready made jobbie is what I'm after.

They do look very stylish too don't they.

[Blue Shutters]

Now I see why they are breathable, I thought they would rip the wall out that they were attached to in a wind.......perhaps I shouldn't have bought the gazebo the other day! I havn't seen them, before, although, thinking about it, I have as covers over restaurant outside seating etc.

[Mouse]

The ones in Spain that we bought were through a large indepently owned ferreteria...they were standard sizes and colours (arena and blanco).

They may be listed under 'toldos' we think of toldos as being the pull down, mechanical sun screens but I think the name fits all.

I can't for the life of me remember who we bought from in the UK - but even when delivery was included they came up cheaper than buying here.

If you go down the route of the 'made to measure' they cost a fortune. We were amazed at what they wanted to charge.

One thing we did on our roof terrace (which may be of interest for the future) was have a wooden pergola built by a carpenter. We then cover the top of it with camoflage netting each summer - looks fab!! (and it comes in different colours; white, sand, greens)

Mouse
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[CostaBlanca]

Hi,

As Mouse mentions, toldos covers all types of shading, just Google toldos vela. Here is one:

http://www.sunsquare.es/e_home.html

Try your local Toldos companies to get a quote and then you can check on line for prices if you are able to to do the installation yourself.

Someone mentioned a store in Madrid "Mia" selling triangular shaped sails at a very reasonable price but I can't see them listed on their website.

Best of luck,

Maria

[lorca]

They have them in IKEA for 19.99 euros (oblong and triangular), not sure of the quality, but our friends at the top of the village (where it´s very windy) have them and they seem to be doing fine.

[lorca]

here´s the link
http://www.ikea.com/es/es/search/?query=cenador

[Paul Carmel]

These are made from sails that have had their day on a yacht. If you have a sail loft near you they will be glad to cut and stitch them to your spec, Believe me, this stuff is heading for the bin so don't pay top dollar

[OliviaG]

We got our sail shade from the Spanish sister site of Primrose London - "Toldos Primavera". It cost us 60 EUR as we got a big one but the smaller ones were cheaper. It's been up for 2 months now and is doing great - it seems to handle wind very well so you should have no problems there! We chose these sail shades above the others we found mainly because of the price but also because the Kookaburra shades are better for blocking UV rays - they are woven rather than knitted so apparently this means less holes! We have two young children so this is a priority for us.

If anyone is interested here is the link: http://www.toldos-primavera.es/toldo-vela-c-1076.html

[Mouse]

Yes those are the type we have...and they're good when it rains too as the water drips though instead of collecting and weighing it down.

Mouse
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[Nightowl]

Are they really heavy? Was wondering whether it would be feasible to buy in the UK and stuff in a suitcase and bring as hold luggage. Would it weigh more than 23kg for a reasonable size one? would I be able to get it into a suitcase? [Hubby could take my clothes in his].

[Mouse]

The cloth is fairly light...the metal clips are obviously heavy but you could buy them when you're there if they're too heavy.

We actually got them posted out to us as we bought from a UK company...Mr M can't recall who they were though

Mouse
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[Nightowl]

Brilliant, thanks for the info mousie x

[Joy]

Hello all !

I am looking for a shade sail company near Marbella. I have seen your advise, but I wan to have it done by proffesionals.

Putting the poles into a concrete founding is not really a hobby of mine.

I heard about automatic shade sails as well...Are they also near Marbella ?

What is shade sail in Spanish ? (Google )