Umbrellas for a deck? Or other shading options?

[lindrusso]

I'm going to look on the internet, but I thought I'd ask here if you all had any specific recommendations.

Our new house has a nice deck out back with a great view....BUT....no shade. There is one small birch tree out back, up near the deck, but it will be a while before that does any good. We do plan to plant as many trees as we can afford (and I want to get them as big as we can afford) later this fall but even then, it will be quite a while before we get any shade out of them.

In the meantime, we need some shade to make our deck more comfortable. A retractable awning would give us lots of shade, but I figure it's probably more than we want to spend and I'm not sure I like the looks of something like that.

We're thinking an umbrella mostly because it's the cheapest option. We'd like one that tilts for maximum flexibility.

Any suggestions for online sources for umbrellas?

Any other options for shade that might be better and still affordable?

TIA. :)

[funnybone]

From experiance, I'd go the awning route. We have an 11' umbrella and depending on the time of day, it barely covers an eyeball. :rolleyes: We need another umbrella (the type that you can move around and isn't in the center of the table) to move around and block the sun. Our umbrella tilts, but it really doesn't help. The back of our house, and where our sitting area is, really wasn't an option for an awning, unfortunately.

[funnybone]

As for online sources, I've seen umbrellas, including portable ones, on QVC this past summer. If you don't mind waiting until next spring, Costco or Sam's may be a good place to look too.

[slknight]

From experiance, I'd go the awning route. We have an 11' umbrella and depending on the time of day, it barely covers an eyeball. :rolleyes: We need another umbrella (the type that you can move around and isn't in the center of the table) to move around and block the sun. Our umbrella tilts, but it really doesn't help.

I'd have to agree with this. Our deck gets brutally sunny. I really wish we'd made it a covered, screened porch, but that's a different story. :rolleyes: We do have an umbrella, but it doesn't do too much.

They do have some nice umbrellas on overstock.com right now though. My neighbor just got one.

[lindrusso]

Hi Erika.

Well, the umbrella would not be in the center of the table. Our patio table does not have a hole in the center. When we bought it, our yard was super shady and we didn't need the umbrella. :rolleyes: So, we will have some flexibility in being able to move it around to chase the sun. :)

As for an awning - even if we decided to shell out the money for it (I'm protective of our money until we get our kitchen stuff done ;) ), I'm not sure it's an option. We have an upper deck off of one of the bedrooms upstairs that may make that very difficult.

That darned deck upstairs - I don't know why they put it there to begin with. It's not off the master bedroom - it's off one of the other bedrooms and will probably NEVER get used. We didn't want either of the boys to have a deck (sound like trouble to anyone else????), so we made it our office/guest room. If it had been me, I'd have put the money elsewhere, but whatever.

I also thought about putting one of those pretty backyard canopies on the deck. Not sure that would work though. Might block our view too much or look strange.

I'm also concerned about wind. It can really blow up here and we don't have much to buffer it. An umbrella would be easy enough to move when it gets windy, but I worry about other structures...........

[lindrusso]

They do have some nice umbrellas on overstock.com right now though. My neighbor just got one.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

[donleyk]

Now's the time to be taking notes on where exactly the sun is when you're out there the most. We have a north facing back deck and the evenings, when we are most likely to use the deck, is an oven. The tilting umbrella isn't much help if we have people over, and we end up sharing the same side of the table if it's just the 2 of us.

[HejazSunKat]

I don't know if this would work on a deck unless you b@stardized it somehow but I've always lusted after a pergola. In my rose colored daydream there is some kind of scented flowering vine climbing all over it and I sit under it's dappled shade with a cool glass of lemonade and a good book (should I add, with my diaphanous white dress fluttering in the breeze or would that be overkill?). :D Little does DH know I will be campaigning for one when we put in a patio next year.


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.poynterlandscape.com/Galleries/Fencing/Pergola.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.poynterlandscape.com/FencingPergola.htm&h=393&w=600&sz=48&tbnid=C1rkHyepam6hgM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpergola&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2

[donleyk]

Linda,

Thanks for posting this. This is exactly what I want to do at home. We've talked about a 3 season room but I think it will just be an oven in the summer. I think your idea is perfect.

[HejazSunKat]

Now's the time to be taking notes on where exactly the sun is when you're out there the most. We have a north facing back deck and the evenings, when we are most likely to use the deck, is an oven.

I have this same problem with my front porch which is West facing. Just when I want to relax and unwind with a glass of wine (hmmm...my daydreams always seem to involve a beverage) in one of my favorite parts of the house it's Death Valley out there. We're going to do a shade or a retractable awning (next year!). :)

[nowimcooking]

Overstock.com also sells the sail shades which are kinda cool if you can rig one up over your deck....just another option.

Have a looksee here (http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=1736555)

[lindrusso]

Just when I want to relax and unwind with a glass of wine (hmmm...my daydreams always seem to involve a beverage)

You're not the only one! I always think that nice weather should make me want to get out and hike or do yard work. Nope. Makes me want to sit on my deck - hopefully a shady deck some day - and have a beer or a glass of wine and hang out and talk with DH. Ahhhhhh.....

The pergola is an interesting idea. Something to think about. However, I may need a quick fix - or at least something we don't need to pay someone to build (we're not handy - guess we could be, but we don't even have the tools, etc.).

The sail thing is kinda cool, but not very flexible if we need to move it to get maximum shade.

And yes - we'll be taking notes - though obviously it changes with the season. Our deck faces West, so it gets a lot of sun right about cocktail/dinner hour when we'd like to sit outside. In the morning when it's cooler and could use a little sun, it's shady. Oh well.

We can already see the sun setting a lot further to the south than it did earlier this summer. I would like to put trees in several spots to cover the arc of the sun during the different seasons.

Until we get shade, I suppose we could make more use of our front stoop - it faces east and is shaded in the evenings. Not the same though..........

Thanks for the input. :)

[sneezles]

We have anumber of market umbrellas around the pool. Three are 9' ones that don't tip, 2 13' diameter ones that also don't tip but we do have an 11' offset one that goes over the spa but can swing around to the table if needed. I got it at Sam's about 5 years ago for $150. We do have one that tilts but it's only 7' and it really doesn't seem to stay put but that's probably due to our prevailing southern breeze.

[DanaSD]

Home Decorators.com carriers a large selection. I have ordered from this company before and was pleased but have no experience with the umbrellas other than I'm considering ordering one because their prices seem good.

http://www.homedecorators.com/Outdoor/Umbrellas/Umbrellas/

[MKSquared]

On HGTV I saw a show that redid a patio. For shade, they used a canvas drop cloth and put large grommets in the corners. One end was attached with hardware to the side of the house (maybe the door frame?) and the other end was attached to two poles that were sunk into buckets that were filled with concrete. It was stretched out over the patio, and the awning could easily be taken off and washed. If you want to get crafty, you could probably handle this project. :)

[Valerie226]

Our neighbors have a west facing deck that gets brutally hot. they put in a retractable awning. (I know you weren't crazy about the idea) I don't know how much they cost but it's nice. completely out of the way when they're not using it, and very nice shade without cutting the breeze when it's open. no tipping worries although if real windy I don't think I'd leave it extended. they don't need to store it in winter, always an issue with umbrellas. We have an umbrella that tilts ( and blows over) but our deck has a deck above that gives us reliable shade.

[lindrusso]

If you want to get crafty, you could probably handle this project. :)

You know, I'm not very handy, but this is one project I think we could handle. :) I'll have to give that one some thought.

Anything I might get will have to wait. Our Mastercard bill just arrived and it's not pretty. :eek:

I'd love to hear more ideas if they are out there though - we will be addressing this by next spring, one way or the other..........

[sparrowgrass]

My back deck has a lattice "roof". It is attached to the house roof, and runs to a frame on the edge of the deck, made of 2 upright pillars with a horizontal beam running between them. Two by sixes run from the house to the horizontal beam and the lattice is attached to those. (If I had a camera. . .)

It doesn't seem that the lattice would make the porch very shady, but I lost a couple pieces in a windstorm several weeks ago, and now the porch is too hot to sit on. (The wood lattice was up when I moved here 5 years ago, and has been losing bits of wood for the last year or so, so it does seem to last pretty well.)

I will replace the old wood lattice with the new plastic stuff. I also have an autumn clematis that is now beginning to climb up and spread out over the lattice, which will add to the shade.