When you’re trying to minimise the natural scalloping of your shade sail, or just want it to fit neatly in and around your home a sail track can be a great solution. But what is a sail track and what does it mean for your shade sail design?
Rope or Sail Track
Sail track, sometimes referred to as a rope track, is used for fixed shade sails, blinds, commercial signage, campers and caravans and marine applications. The metal rail can be easily attached to a wall, or other structure and a shade sail can be threaded into the track ensuring the sail runs straight along that edge. Sail track comes in a range of gauges for different thickness of fabrics and can be bought by the metre from most hardware stores.
Shade sail design with a twist using sail track along the skillion roofline
Designing with Sail Track
Sail track is a common solution for patio and deck shade sails as they ensure there is no gap in the shade between the house and the sail. They can also be an effective solution when standard roof mounts are not a feasible option. Sail track also offers a modern and seamless design where your shade sail is an extension of your existing home and not an obvious add on.
Sail track is easy to utilise along one edge of your sail, just remember you still need anchor points at either end of the track. Sail track can be used to fit tight in corners and can even be utilised on every edge of the sail depending on your design and structure. You can’t just thread any sail into a track so it’s important to know which edges will be mounted into a sail track. Called a sail track edge or rope track edge the sail edge will be made to fit into your gauge of track and ensure the overall sail tension is maintained.
These privacy sails use sail track on the vertical edges for practical coverage
Installation
Installing the sail track itself depends on what you’re attaching to. Your sail track needs to be anchored securely to ensure it can take the load of the installed sail. Depending on what the facia is made of you may need to install supports or braces behind to ensure the strength of the mounting. For example, you may be able to attach directly into brickwork or masonry, but when mounting directly to a tiled roof facia extra support will need to be added.
When you’re installing your shade sail with a sail track there is just one additional step. Before attaching your points with shackles start at one end of the track and thread the sail track edge into your track. It will be snug but should move with relative ease. Once the sail is in place ensure it sitting smoothly and not bunching up inside the track. Then you can attach the points to the anchors at either end of the track. Continue as normal attaching the remaining points and tensioning the sail. Take care while tensioning the sail that it does not bunch up, pull unevenly, or move around in the track.
Your Custom Made Shade Sail
If you’re ready to go, you can order your sail online right now. Just remember to include your sail track edge measurements in your order and have them clearly marked on your diagram.
The team at Custom Made Shade Sails is here to ensure that whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or an experienced tradie your shade sail experience is simple and stress-free. You can learn more about the basics of designing your shade sail and installing it with our simple guides.
Do you have a specific question or need some expert advice? Call us today to speak to a member of our experienced team about the design and installation of your shade sail and how you can use sail track to get the custom made shade sail that is right for you.
Removing a row of tiles in order to add supports for the sail track
