Offset Umbrellas

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M

mamasproject

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Oct 8, 2009
97
Don't know if this is the right forum or not but here goes!!!

I just bought one of those offset umbrellas for the pool patio. It's 11.5 feet open and I put 250 pounds of sand in the base. I opened it and a gust of wind nearly took me over with it! Does anybody have one of these and if you do did you do anything to anchor it into the ground? I'm thinking about digging a hole and cementing the sucker in the ground!

And if you have one of these umbrellas...do you like it? Mine seems to be blowing around a lot!!!!
 
Oh, gosh I just bought one but haven't put it up yet. I hope I don't hate it... mine doesn't have the sand base tho- this one bolts to the deck floor (but that means I can't move it easily....)

Is it full? Can you add more sand? I know they say not to use it when the winds are up. LOL round here that's all the time....
 
We have 3 of them and they are GREAT on a bright sunny day. BUT you cant use them when there is a breeze because they will whip around a good bit, kinda like a big kite. We are fortunate in that our deck is a bit protected from the wind because of the trees that surround our property. Our umbrellas have water bladders in them that we fill with water when we put them up at the beginning of the season. We are very careful about when we put them up, and are always sure to put them down at the end of each day. Hope that helps!
 
dlduvall said:
We have 3 of them and they are GREAT on a bright sunny day. BUT you cant use them when there is a breeze because they will whip around a good bit, kinda like a big kite. We are fortunate in that our deck is a bit protected from the wind because of the trees that surround our property. Our umbrellas have water bladders in them that we fill with water when we put them up at the beginning of the season. We are very careful about when we put them up, and are always sure to put them down at the end of each day. Hope that helps!
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Same here - we have one, and it has a plastic base that you put water in to keep i from blowing over. It also has two set screws to keep it from swinging too much in the breeze, and it worked pretty well last year. We also put it down when we were through for the day.
 
I already added water to the sand...I did while assembling the contraption! We are hoping to put some landscaping in around the side of the pool that will help with the wind. We are in an extremely windy area, I often call the "wind tunnel"...thanks for the ideas though!
 
I have one (11.5') and cannibalized the base. Sank it in concrete just off the pool deck. I can still remove the umbrella if I needed to. Still can't use it if the winds kick up a little. Mine has a cover that goes over the pole and umbrella. We leave the umbrella in place all year (5th year).
 
DaveNJ said:
I have one (11.5') and cannibalized the base. Sank it in concrete just off the pool deck. I can still remove the umbrella if I needed to. Still can't use it if the winds kick up a little. Mine has a cover that goes over the pole and umbrella. We leave the umbrella in place all year (5th year).
Click to expand...


Did you concrete the whole base in or just the "X" of the base? I really hate how big the black base is...takes up some valuable patio space. How deep did you sink it? I'm glad to hear that your umbrella has lasted 5 years...give me much hope that we didn't just flush $400 down the drain!!! Though I'm sad ours didn't come with a cover!:(
 
The base had three pieces.
1. The bottom that held rocks or sand in compartments.
2. The cover for the bottom.
3. A piece that screwed into the bottom that the pole slid into and a threaded locking collar.

I cut the bottom down to 1' in diameter. Cut the bottom pieces between the compartments and notched the sides of the compartment pieces. I cut a large plastic planting pot (approx. 20") as a form to level the concrete (2 80lb bags), left pot in place. Cut the cover to match the size of the planting pot.
I have a freestanding wall on the end of my pool deck. The umbrella is mounted near the wall, With the umbrella closed and tied back its off the deck and over the wall. When open one side lines up with the wall on the deck side. Putting the screened netting on helps with slight winds.
 

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I use double bases on mine. First is the common X kind that you put four concrete 18-20 inch patio step pavers on. That give you about 200 lbs. On top of that a blow molded base filled with water to add extra weight. Not sure how much extra but should be close to another 200 lbs. The molded base can be painted with vinyl/plastic spray paint. Be warned that it is very large but serves its purpose well. I didn't want to concrete my off-set in as I want to be able to move it. You can put a bit of chlorine in the water to keep it from getting foul.

Here's a link for one: http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Patio-Blowmolded-Offset-Umbrella/dp/B000EUNAW6

gg=alice
 
Also, one brand of off-set umbrellas has a little piece, like a chain, that attaches to help with stability in wind. It is an add on accessory. It is not my brand and would not fit my pole but I'm going to rig up something like that for my umbrella. I'll now go find a picture of it and post link.

Edit.... Wouldn't you know it is by Wanda. Another member here purchases only Wanda products after having lots of experience with patio umbrellas.

http://www.amazon.com/Wanda-UA-WS01...ie=UTF8&s=outdoor&qid=1270825526&sr=1-1-spell

Better pictures.... http://www.morepatioumbrellas.com/Wanda-A-WS01-WND1016.html

Edit......... I just ordered one as it says it comes with clip for round poles.

gg=alice
 
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