It's, like, 214deg today in Concord and with a south-facing rear, the backyard gets all of the sun. Finding suitable shade-providing — and pool friendly — solutions has proven difficult. With a combination of sail shades and umbrellas, we think we have it solved to a degree (pun intended).
Sail Shades:
We have two — both triangles for easier mounting. With a triangle, the three points can be far more forgiving than a square (think: the stability of the tripod) and fit our needs well. The largest is 24X24X24 and is easily removable. The smaller is 12X12X12 and might stay up a bit more permanently.
The larger sail is from ColourTree edged with nylon webbing. We did not want anything too strong as it's attached to fenceposts that could conceivably give way in a ginormous gust. And, just in case, we've used both turnbuckles and trampoline springs to give it both tautness and resilience. I think that using trampoline springs instead of turnbuckles (or in conjunction with) is the secret sauce.
The smaller sail is also from ColourTree and edged with steel cables and it extremely rigid. When connected to the two adjacent solid structures, it's almost stiff enough to walk on and probably just as durable/weight supporting. In the case you're supporting the sail between two very sturdy anchor points (structures — not poles) I'd highly recommend this heavy duty version. Time will tell, but so far, "Colour" me impressed (again: dad-pun intended)
In addition to the springs, using robust stainless steel hardware: cables, turnbuckles, hooks, carabiners, and D-rings has helped. I have a swaging tool that makes the creation of custom-length cable fairly easy. It's my most expensive — probably $75 at OSH — and unique tool, but there's no substitute and I'm glad I have it.
Umbrellas:
The best umbrella purchase so far has been this large, square offset umbrella from PurpleLeaf. Ours is 9X9 but they come a bit larger and has been a very robust addition to the yard. We had the IKEA version for a hot minute, but replaced it with this and it's proven much more substantial. I built a weighted box for the base and filled with decomposed granite and pebbles for stability (and bolted it to the fence footings), so it's plenty secure. The only downside is that it does not have a canopy that is easily replaceable. In lieu of that, we keep it closed and covered most of the time to protect it from the elements.
The smaller umbrellas are from IKEA and we love their simplicity — no complex mechanisms — and the canopies are replaceable. We purchased 6 last summer (on sale) to hold us over hopefully forever — we anticipate about 5 years of life out of each, so three for each of the umbrellas will serve us well for a while. That said, the covers were also cheap protection when not in use. We have two umbrella supports in the sun-deck of the pool for fun.
Side Kitchen:
We purchased a pair of 8X8 roller shades specifically for the afternoon sun, but our friend Mike had the great idea of pulling them over to the fence and it was a perfect fit. Again, springs and turnbuckles come in super handy.
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