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[Fressa]

I have an enclosed patio/yard area for our dogs and ourselves. The sun is so strong during the afternoons that it heats up the family room. (I do have shears and a wood blind at one of the windows.) I had this idea to purchase a stand alone patio umbrella and tilt it toward the huge patio door area just to shade it a bit. I thought that the stand would not get in the way of the dogs, etc. Has anyone done this? I've seen all types of umbrellas in all types of shapes and all types of material. Also, which is stronger: a wood pole or alumnium? We do get wind but most of it is blocked by the 6' fence. Most of the umbrellas that I've seen that are stronger fabric are in the 9' width range. I'm wondering if that is too big for just being in a stand. HELP!!!!!

i would appreciate any feedback from your experiences. Thanks in advance for you help and time. 

[SilleeMee]

It's way too windy around here for me to put up an umbrella. I have a west-facing side of my house with large windows that get hot sun in the afternoon. A couple of years ago I bought and installed some Coolaroo sunshades on my west-facing windows to help keep my house cool. These are shades that manually roll up and down. They are mounted on the outside of my house, just above the windows. They don't do anything to shade the outdoors...just keeps the inside of my house cooler. Comes in many sizes and beautiful colors. You can also mount them around an enclosed patio. Highly rated and imo are fantastic!

[BirkiLady]

@SilleeMee  What an interesting idea! Who is the manufacturer? Would like to read more, please. Have considered having an open-type gazebo type overhang built, but haven't found plans that suit me yet. Don't want stuff on the windows or awnings.  

I have three huge windows (actually one is a door and window) in my family room. Size is 96" wide x 84" high on each one. I love the expansive windows, but in the late afternoon if I forget to close the wooden 2" shutters, it does become warm in that room if over 90 degrees outside. We had triple pane windows installed throughout the house due to the size and number of windows after living here one winter; our heating bills were cost prohibitive! Even with two HVAC systems.  

Have two of the same size windows in the master bedroom, which have custom drapes with a heavy lining. On the upper floor, that room doesn't become warm. Crazy, isn't it? 

[SilleeMee]

I have my Coolaroos mounted like the one shown in this photo. You can't believe what a difference it made with keeping my house cooler.

[BirkiLady]

@SilleeMeeDoes Coolaroo stand up to heavy winds? It looks really nice on a hot sunny day! 

[SilleeMee]

@BirkiLady

The Coolaroo brand of sunshades are sold at many places. Amazon, Home Depot and Walmart, too. If you google them check out the image tab of the google search and you can see how nice they are.

[SilleeMee]

@BirkiLady,

Coolaroo shades are super durable and made of UV-resistant materials. They withstand high winds...the wind blows through the screen material and although the wind will make them flex around a bit, they are very strong to stand the force of the winds, rain and hail!

[LonestarBabs]

Have you thought about solar screens? We have those and love them here in TX.

[BirkiLady]

@LonestarBabsOur three-pane windows have a solar coating on them and some kind of gas between each pane. My husband had two PhD's and worked for the Energy Dept.; he took care of ordering them and having them installed. I just chose the stain for the inside! Not going to invest any more moola into them!  It's only in the family room that it sometimes is warm. And now that I'm alone, I'm not in there during the heat of the day. 

[SilleeMee]

Solar screens are good only when they cover the entire window but my windows have screens on the side-opening parts of the window only and not the largest center pane of glass.  I lived in a house with those solar screens on the windows and what I noticed is that when the sun was shining on them they got very hot. Even though my windows in my house now have the '365 comfort' glass in them, along with the argon gas fill, the sun here in Colorado is very intense because of our altitude and thin air. Anything and everything that I can use to filter the sun out is a plus. Those Coolaroo shades are a godsend.