Coolaroo 481988 Dual Shade Sail

the west (rear) side of my house gets blasted by the socal sun and it's hard for the a/c to keep up (it doesn't help that i don't have attic insulation). i only have a narrow cement area back there, so i assumed i couldn't set up a shade or umbrella due to lack of space, but then looking through photos here, i saw that some people just hung these coolaroo shades (or coolaroo shade fabric) from their eaves like drapes, or hung them up like lean-tos in smaller spaces like mine, so i decided to give it a shot. i was so impressed with the difference the shade made, i came back for additional shade fabric (as the price jumped right after i first purchased), and then once i found the shade again available for the original price i purchased more to replace the fabric with something more finished/attractive. (my installation isn't aesthetically pleasing, but i think these dualshade sails are much less unattractive/tarpy-looking than other shades and fabrics, so letting them droop behind my house (with corners clamped to the eaves and fence-top) isn't quite as horrible looking as it could be.) anyway it's currently well over 100 outside, and while the south inside wall of my bedroom is coming in at 101 on the heat gun, the west interior wall, where the coolaroo shades/fabric are draped outside, is coming in at only 80. clear proof the shades are helping. i'll replace the clamps with hooks to make my temporary installation a bit less janky, but in the meantime, i'm impressed with these shades, they really do help with cooling efforts and i'd definitely recommend them.

Mounting hardware was all heavier duty than I could find in any hardware store. The cover and attaching points should last for years. Does require adequate mounting points because the shade will not fail and extreme wind or other loads could be passed onto the mounting points. The saddle shaped mounting shown with the product will work best to dissipate extreme loads. (i.e. Two diagonal should be a bit lower than opposite points creating a saddle appearance. Plan for the lowest points to be high enough to clear anticipated traffic.)

We have purchased the single layer versions of these from Costco for several years. The difference in quality is amazing: 1. The stitching at the corners is definitely commercial grade 2. Hardware that comes with the sail is top notch 3. The double layer fabric feels more like a canvas tarp For our application on the north windward side of Maui we required something stronger and these fit the bill. We have STRONG winds consistently about 25-45mph during our windy periods and almost always 10-15mph on calm days/months. The sun in Hawaii is INTENSE in the summer and our unprotected backyard is a torture pit when in the back. These sails immediately cool the temperature down by 10 degrees or more (have to check if it is more in the summer as it is spring now) and the difference in "burn" sensation from the single layer to the double layer is night and day.... I feel like I'm inside the house under the double layer... they provide significant protection! Installation was a bit of a bear for us only because our side of Maui is 100% sand for soil. Attaching to the house was a piece of cake but my father in law thankfully is handy and he had to reinforce the concrete with a total of six bags of concrete, added some rebar and boxed them in as original setting was moving with our strong winds. Obviously we could not dig down to the bedrock like our contractor did when he built the house so the addition of the box and rebar made a huge difference. If you live anyplace other than on top of a sand pit like us you won't have to do that, just follow the instructions. I will update this review at the end of of summer to show how these survived the Sahara sun, tropical storms and hurricane force winds we have (yes I do take them down when winds go over 40mph). In the picture I show a double over the patio and a single sail over some delicate gingers I am growing... you can see.the difference in light diffusal.

This was a wonderful inexpensive replacement for our cooloroo gazebo over our spa. Had to stretch and pull a bit to make it fit, and my hubby ended up buying longer cords, but it looks great!

Good product from a good company.