Cantilever shade · SydneyShade that keeps the floor clear.
Support from one side puts cover over a pool, driveway or terrace without a post at every corner.
Cantilever shade structures
A table-sized umbrella or a larger built canopy?
A cantilever supports the canopy from one side, leaving space underneath without a central post. On an offset umbrella, the mast stands beside the canopy. A centre-post umbrella has a different layout, with its support in the middle of the covered area.
So start with the thing that is in the way. A pool edge, a driveway, a courtyard already paved from wall to wall. We measure the reach you need against the footing positions you actually have, then make the structure and install it.
- Nothing standing in the middle of the floor.
- A fixed canopy, or an umbrella you can tilt and wind closed.
- Reach and footing settled together, because each one sets the other.
Selected work
Compare the support arrangements.
These examples include centre-post umbrellas, childcare shade and terrace canopies. Look at where each support meets the ground and how much clear space remains underneath.
How it goes together
What decides the design.
Check the reach first
A four-point sail shares its load across four anchors. A cantilever hands the lot to one line of steel, and leverage works against it the further the fabric reaches, so the posts go up a size and the footings go deeper. There is a point where two smaller structures beat one big span, and a long terrace often sits past it.
Put the footing where it can work
A clear floor above ground still needs a foundation under it. Existing paving, buried services, a pool shell and the boundary all narrow down where that foundation can go. We find those before anything is drawn.
Choose shade or rain cover
Shade cloth lets air and rain through the weave. A waterproof membrane wants a suitable frame, a roof shape and somewhere for the water to leave. An open-sided canopy of either kind will still take wind-driven rain from the side.
Plan for moving shade
An umbrella may rotate, tilt or wind closed, depending on the model. That mechanism wants a look over each season, the same as any hinge left out in the weather. A fixed canopy has nothing to operate, so its orientation has to suit the hours you are out there.
See the proposal before manufacture
The drawing shows the canopy edge, the supports and the clearance underneath. We go through the fabric and the wind design with the quote, and the structure is engineered to the NSW wind codes with certification available on request. Nothing is cut until you have seen it.
Good to know
Cantilever shade, answered.
How big can a cantilever shade be?+
Most cantilever umbrellas run around three to four metres across the canopy, which is roughly a dining setting. A built cantilever goes a good deal further, and how far depends on what the structure under it is carrying and how exposed the block is. Send us the area and a photo showing where a support could stand.
What happens when strong wind is forecast?+
A sail goes up drum tight, because a slack membrane flogs itself to pieces in a blow, and the steel and footings under it are designed for the wind it will see. An umbrella is the exception: it is built to be closed, so wind it down when a storm is coming. If fabric is flapping or a support has moved, get it looked at.
Can a fixed sail come down for winter?+
It can. The membrane sits on turnbuckles, so it unhooks and goes back on the same fittings when you want it up again. That is a job we do. On a cantilever the posts and footings stay put either way, so nothing about the structure changes while the fabric is off.
Do I need council approval for a cantilever shade?+
In our experience of ordinary home enquiries, almost never. What decides it is the size of the structure, its height, where it sits on the block and the land it stands on. Our NSW council approval guide sets out the rules worth checking before you order.
Who we are, and how a job runs from the first visit to the last tension.
Read next
Keep going.
Pool shade sails · Sydney
Pool shade sails for Sydney, planned around swimming, seating, fencing and access. Compare fabric, post positions and the hours you want covered.
Carport shade sails · Sydney
Custom carport shade sails for Sydney driveways, with room for doors, gates and roof racks. Compare shade cloth, waterproof cover and cantilever layouts.
Council approval · NSW shade sails
Almost never, for an ordinary home sail. What decides it is the size, the height, where it sits on the block and the land, with links to the NSW rules.
Show us where the posts cannot go.
Send a photo and the area you want covered, or book a free site measure and quote.