The $9 shade cloth trick that saved my back deck from turning into a sauna

Last July in Austin, my back deck was completely unusable after 10am because the afternoon sun just baked the whole area. I tried one of those big market umbrellas but it only covered half the seating, and the angle was awkward no matter how I tilted it. A buddy who does landscaping mentioned using shade cloth clipped to the fence and the house eaves, so I grabbed a 12 foot piece from a local supply place for about $9. I used heavy duty zip ties and some carabiner clips to hang it at a slight slope, which lets the hot air escape instead of pooling. It dropped the surface temp on my composite decking by at least 15 degrees, and now I can actually sit out there with my coffee until noon. Has anyone else rigged up something similar, or do you just deal with the sun and move your chairs around all day?

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derek_brown2821d ago

Heavy duty zip ties will melt in the sun over time though, so check them after a few months. Carabiners are good, but swap the zip ties for stainless steel wire or UV rated ones.