Adding shade

[dubby]

I ordered a big mesh tarp last night to attempt to add a sun shade outside the range connex office. I will have to figure out how to attach/suspend it.

The connex side should be easy enough and I'll have one of my guys weld on some rings to the outside. Out front we have 3 telephone poles buried 5+ ft deep. I'm hoping I can just drill through them and add a large eye bolt to each.

My issue is how best to rig it. The 'area' I have to span is 13'x29'. The closest tarp size I could find (on the cheap, ready-made) is 12'x25'. It has grommets already in it, and the manufacturer claims it's heavy duty. I'm thinking one attachment point, likely S hooks, at each grommet along the container side. I'll put those just below the top level to try and keep the tarp out of the wind as much as possible. I'm thinking of running steel cable from the connex, through the grommets, out to the posts and using a turnbuckle to add tension. On the front, center post, I can run a the cable under the tarp to keep it from sagging.

Anyone have issues/suggestions how to do it better?

Overhead photo of the area in question...

[toprecycler]

I just put up our summer sun shade tent at our church this past weekend. My initial thoughts if you get these ball bungees, and use these to attach to your cables you will run the perimeter out of steel cable. If you space the cable about 6” away from the edge of the tarp, they should stretch well enough. Then tarp will have a bit of flex in the wind too.
Here is the website I ordered the new canopy from. This page is their ball ties. https://creativeshelters.com/categor...-premium-grade







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[GWIZ]

IIRC: HF has the cheaper price on steel cable 1/8" x 100' about $9.00
may also have SS at 50' I don't remember. then you also need the clamps for the cable also check HF.

[mccutter]

The playgrounds in the park that I walk at have the mesh shade affairs here or there. They have a center pole I think, circus tent style. Or one or two poles is higher than the others. If I remember I'll get pics next time I am there.

[dubby]

Bossman is convinced all we need to do is run bungee cords all over the place. But he also wants us to attempt to take it down every night--which ain't gonna happen. I'm leaning towards a seasonal thing, like your church. I think once the structure is there, the tarp will last a summer or two. A replacement is still less than the cost of one of those pop-up tents, which we've tried with numerous disastrous results.

As all my projects tend to go, this one has hit it's first snag already. The seller (through Wal-Mart) said one thing, but the FedEX tracking received says another. The two delivery dates are off by a week. And, FedEX is never reliable around here often being two or three days later than they claim they will deliver it with no explanation.

[toprecycler]

Originally Posted by dubby

Bossman is convinced all we need to do is run bungee cords all over the place. But he also wants us to attempt to take it down every night--which ain't gonna happen. I'm leaning towards a seasonal thing, like your church. I think once the structure is there, the tarp will last a summer or two. A replacement is still less than the cost of one of those pop-up tents, which we've tried with numerous disastrous results.

As all my projects tend to go, this one has hit it's first snag already. The seller (through Wal-Mart) said one thing, but the FedEX tracking received says another. The two delivery dates are off by a week. And, FedEX is never reliable around here often being two or three days later than they claim they will deliver it with no explanation.

I think we had this canopy up for about 8 summers. The last two we’ve been patching some grommets, and this year I finally said we are ordering a new one.

As far as I know, this is the first replacement canopy top.

I had to make some new supports tubes couple years ago. The wind had pulled the old ones out of the ground pockets, and bent a couple. Then I suggested a ratchet strap on each corner, and that has been working good as a secondary tie down measure.


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[Samcord]

Try a search for “bolt down tie down” at Amazon. You might find something suitable. Most of the results won’t provide any weight ratings, just general ideas for usage.

[toprecycler]

Live and learn, on to plan B.

I think the grommets on the canopy tarp I put up are about every 2’ apart. It was pretty windy today, but everything stayed where it was supposed to.


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[dubby]

Our internet searches last night drifted from any sort of plastic or man-made fabric to a true canvas. We have plenty of wind, and there was space around the experiment to allow any trapped heat out. I've about decided on one type to order, but having issue deciding on what size to get. I wasn't happy with the fitment of the 12x25 in either direction. I'm leaning towards two 10x14 units now. There will be a gap between them and I'm going to lose some coverage on the sides, but the simple solution is to not stand in the sunny parts.

The guy that helped me remove the last of the dangling bits and get it packed back into the amazon box had suggested the messenger wire idea as well. He has a large dog run in his back yard that's done the same. Not real sure why these guys don't speak up when I'm in the planning phase of these projects out there, but have plenty of input afterwards.

[mccutter]

Get a grommet kit and add more grommets in-between existing. More points of hold=less chance they will rip out. And the wire method suggested...