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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 4:02 pm
Our backyard is treeless. the neighborhood is about 5 years old and was previously farmland. There are only very tiny trees and a whole lotta wind. The backyard faces west. Has sun practically all day into the night. The sun is relentless. (Too much of a good thing!) It actually gives me headaches when I am out there with my son. (Even with sunglasses on.) I am looking for a variety of ideas. • Trees: They will take a while to get big enough to provide quality shade--plus we have a deck--so that even means we need to wait that much longer for the trees to get to a helpful height... • Gazebo type thing: Anyone know if there would be any problem with wind if we bolted one to the deck? The wind here is unreal at times. Here is a photo of what I am thinking of, but it would have a canvas (or some type of material) on the top. I can't find a shot of the kind I am thinking of that they sell around here. Has a flatter top. • Retractable shade (like a sundowner) Anyone know any big problems with these? • Make our own kind of gazebo with wood--like at extension (vertically) of our deck? Any suggestions, comments, opinions, etc would be greatly appreciated.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, March 14, 2005 - 9:28 pm
Here are some examples of what I am considering. If we bolted this one: to the deck, do you think it could withstand the strong winds? Same question (will a strong wind do any damage) for this:

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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, March 14, 2005 - 9:29 pm
or will the top of this one handle the winds better?

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Prisonerno6
Member
08-31-2002
| Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 5:28 am
If I were to pick one, I'd go with the retractable awning to withstand winds, since you can just retract it when it gets windy. My parents had a "permanent" awning on their deck. It had a metal structure that bolted to the deck, and then a canvas awning that was lashed tightly over that. In the winter they could take the awning down and store it. If you're going for something bolted down, I'd stick with an awning that's designed for that purpose rather than soemthing like a gazebo that's designed for use on the ground.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 9:06 am
We have one just like the first one Julie, for camping. Couple summers ago we thought to put it out front for the kids who were spending all their time out there. Worked great for shade. Doesn't work so great with wind. The first bad wind we had it looked like it was going to topple over. Since it was staked pretty good into the ground, I'm not sure if it actually would have toppled or ripped up but with the kids playing in it we weren't going to take the chance. I still use it for the kids playing out front when it's hot, but soon as I see the wind pick up it comes right back down.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 3:24 pm
Thanks Pris and Wargod! Advice from my uncle: "When the sun is out...............Stay in the ' house!!!!!!"
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Jagger
Member
08-07-2002
| Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 12:42 pm
I would also go with the awning, I have seen too many of the other screened ones and they do not hold up well with the wind. They do make retractable awnings that you can attach screens to that would make a gazeboo type room. I've never seen any of these but I've been seeing a lot of commercials for them recently.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, April 18, 2005 - 8:18 am
Well looks like we are going to try the cheapest route. We will start with one (or maybe two) 10-foot offset umbrellas. They are on sale at Aldi for $49.99. Quite a bit cheaper than the other options. I never returned anything there before (it is mainly a super cheap grocery store) so I better find out the return policy before I buy one--cuz it may be a piece a crap...
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