Shade Tree Fabrics does not install our shade panels – this is left to the customer, depending on his needs. Some customers will seek out someone to do their installation, but most install their own panels.

We have received feedback from our customers about a variety of installation methods, and would like to pass some of these along to you.

One of the more popular methods of attaching our fabric to your structure is via “cable” or “zip” ties.

Several points to keep in mind are the length of the tie, whether the tie is UV resistant or not (for outdoor use, you want this), and the breaking strength of the tie. In particular, if you’re hanging your shade fabric vertically, as in covering a fence, you should consider using different breaking strength ties to attach the panel to your fence. Use lighter ties on the top, and heavier ties on the bottom – in this way, should you experience strong winds, the weaker ties will break, freeing the bottom of the panel to flap in the wind. After the storm you will have to re-fasten the bottom edge of your shade panel, but we have had multiple reports of customers who used strong ties on both top and bottom who experienced winds strong enough to blow their fence over because the ties were too strong.

Another popular method of attaching the shade fabric to its support is to use Ball Bungees. Ball Bungees are loops of bungee cord imbedded in a plastic ball – the bungee loop is threaded through the grommets on the shade panel, around the support and then secured by looping the bungee around the ball.

There are many methods of installation – some customers use rope, some steel cable, while others attach directly to fences. Because of the nature of our woven fabric, we do not recommend staples for attaching to a structure. An alternative to staples would be screws and fender washers to distribute the load.

We’d love to see your installation ideas – send us photos at shadetreefabric@gmail.com!