I'm going to answer really quickly, (highly unusual for gg) and will discuss more at a later time. I'm in the Dallas area so our UV indexes are some of the highest in country. And we have really high winds. 20 mph is a gentle breeze. You'll find, in general, three different types of fabric. I think all have high polyester content with 0-? polypropylene, either sprayed on fibers before weaving or onto finished fabric, etc., etc. The cheapest fabrics will stain more readily from birds and plant droppings. I used to have all light colored in various shades "off white". I've tried cleaning the cheaper ones using non chlorine products but, on my largest, round, 11 ft, "cheap" fabric I had to resort to a bleach/water soak to get the stains from trees to come out. That had to have shortened the fabric's life. It was shaded morning and late afternoon, but had full searing sun during main part of day. It stayed open early spring to late fall except, during higher winds, and taken down going in to winter. The fabric lasted 2 1/4 swimming season, which is long here. After first summer there were some small rips around the top part that I patched with similar color and a good fabric glue that made it through the second summer. By next summer it was time to replace. Most patio umbrellas, now days, have top vents that help to keep them from becoming sails. Don't get one without that. That umbrella had a wooden pole and spines and rope pulley system which is the most trouble free over it's life. It did not have a tilt feature which can be a problem in even gentle breezes. (I do like the tilt feature and have some.) On many umbrellas the spines that hold the fabric are aluminum whether pole in wood or aluminum. There are different grades of aluminum used as there are different grades of wood used. I think if I had treated the wooden pole with a protectant I may have gotten more years out of it and had to replace only the fabric part. I've had more problems, in all price range/quality umbrellas, with the crank feature. I try to get rope pulley now if possible.
The second "best fabric" is just below Sunbrella fabric and usually has more than a year warranty on fabric. It stains less. The Sunbrella brand fabric will cost more and has a longer warranty, I think up to five years maybe more on true commercial, expensive umbrellas. The 11 ft Sunbrella I purchased last year, to replace the one mentioned above, is a darker color than the others. I can't remember the name. But it is "heathered" color that blends better if you have other "off white" type colors. With some of the medium priced fabrics and the Sunbrella you can be reasonably assured that you can match colors in the future whether replacing only the fabric or whole umbrella. Last year was the first year I've purchased Sunbrella, the 11 ft and a 9 ft half umbrella. The half has been open since last year as the crank is stuck in open position. The 11 ft is off of the bottom part of pole and laying on a bench, uncovered, on my deck where I have bird feeders. It gets pooped on by birds a little. Even the berry colored poops haven't stained it and rinse off easily. Although I have heavy weights on the half umbrella, half base it has been picked up a couple of times by wind and dumped over against a table and chairs. The pole and spines are aluminum but have not been damaged. On cheaper umbrellas, I've had bent spines when they went flying.
The 11 ft is a lower range "commercial" built for wind with fiberglass spines. It goes through a table, which gives a bit of support for pole and into a pretty heavy base. Early winter, before I could get it down, we had a storm come up with > 70 mph variable gust and straight line winds. It was not closed and I didn't want to go out into the "hurricane" to close it. As I was watching it it lifted out of the base (I guess it loosened in the wind), hovered above the table for a few seconds and then flew across the deck and slammed into the deck railing. I didn't rescue it till next day, when winds and torrents of rain eased a bit.
Not one bit of damage anywhere.
I purchased a cantilever or off set 9 ft, round, last year in a taupe color, expecting to keep it open unless winds get above 50 mph. I have two bases for it totalling close to 300 lbs when bases are stacked. I never got it put up though. It is a semi-commercial but I don't think it is Sunbrella. It has been sitting out, uncovered, in my driveway yard under heavy leaves and has not stained at all. I would have preferred a lighter color than taupe but this particular color was about 40-50% off of the price of most other colors.
The base type and weight are extremely important. The 11 ft has a heavy base, granite, but the screws holding the pole into the base didn't hold the pole in in 70+ mph. It functioned perfectly below that wind speed. Pay particular attention to the minimum recommended base weight for the types of applications. Get heavier than the minimum.
I love the bend type for certain applications, and have one right by my spa, with a pretty light weight base but it goes through a hole in the wooden bar attached to the spa surround, use for privacy and sun shade. Those are very prone to damage, especially when in "bent" position, in all but gentle breezes. You can, also, get bases that are designed to wedge under a spa. I didn't know about them when I drilled the hole in the bar several years ago.
The cheaper, bargain umbrellas are great if you expect only one season from the fabric in our searing sun. It is hard to find replacement fabrics for these as many umbrellas have slightly different spine lengths, spacings and numbers. It is much cheaper to just totally replace those. There are a few brands that offer replacement fabric part, for specific umbrellas, in the price range right above bargain. I really prefer to keep the umbrellas colors as close as possible as I have six that all be seen from different angles.
Spend what ever it takes to get the needed base. There are fabulous bargains for them if you spend time looking. Some that I have can be filled with water or sand, bricks, etc. but those take up more space horizontal and vertical. The ones that can be filled for heavy applications are especially large. This is especially important if you are using one with a table. You need to be aware of foot room. You have to be certain that the base will be under the support in the middle of table at knee height, or that the ring, built into table is large enough to allow the taller base, pole support, to got through. The taller the pole tube is the better. Some bases are made to accommodate poles that are up to 1.5 inches, others to 2-2.5 inches, for instance, etc., etc.
The crank opening on my half, Sunbrella umbrella is stuck open. I have emailed where I purchased it from but not gotten a reply. I hope to call them this week. I'll report back on this on-line seller. I do like their selections and the shipping has been free.
We'll gg is verbose.
Please ask any questions.
gg=alice
drussin said:
To answer Alice's questions...
We live in Tucson, AZ. Sun is extremely intense. Winds are typically light to moderate (5-15 mph), but can get very strong during storms (50+ mph gusts). We plan on closing the umbrellas whenever nobody's using them, since we expect them to get destroyed if they're left open.
Hadn't really thought about replacing fabric only; that would be great, since we expect the sun to toast the fabrics pretty quickly. Are all umbrellas' fabrics easily replaceable, or is that something to be careful to note? Are some types of fabric more durable than others?
We don't expect to get something that will last forever, just looking for a good ratio of time/money.
Mike, thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look.
Read reviews too.
