Residential shade sails
Fixings
Shackles, turnbuckles, roof plates, wall fixings and posts — the hardware that takes the load on every residential sail we install. Here is what we use, and why.
Why it matters
The part you never see is the part holding it up.
A shade sail is only as good as what it is tied to. The fabric gets the attention, but it is the fixings that carry the load — through every sea breeze and every summer, for the life of the sail. A backyard patio gets the same marine-grade hardware as a council job.
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316 marine-grade stainless
The shackles, turnbuckles and wire rope fittings we install are 316 stainless. In Perth air, anything less streaks rust down your wall inside a season.
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Load spread, not concentrated
Plates and brackets are sized so the pull is shared across rafters, battens or masonry — never hung off one screw into sheet metal.
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Tensionable for the life of the sail
A turnbuckle on every corner means the sail can be taken back up to tension years later, without anything coming down.
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Chosen for your structure
Tile, Colorbond, limestone, double brick, a timber patio, or nothing at all — each one needs a different answer, worked out on site before anything is drilled.
On site
How a fixing point gets made.
Four things happen at every attachment point, long before the sail goes up.
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01 Find the structure
We work out what is actually behind the surface before we commit to a fixing point.
- Roof sheeting and tile profiles
- Rafter and batten spacing
- Brick, double brick and limestone
- Existing patios and pergolas
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02 Size the fixing to the load
Each corner pulls in its own direction with its own force. The plate, bracket or post is chosen to suit that — not to suit whatever is quickest.
- Corner loads and sail geometry
- Plate size and fixing pattern
- Post and footing where one is needed
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03 Fix into something that can hold it
Fixings go into structure, never into cladding alone. On a metal roof that means a profiled plate spanning several ribs; in masonry, an anchor into the brick itself rather than the mortar joint.
- Profiled roof plates across the ribs
- Rafter and fascia brackets
- Wall plates, pad eyes and eye bolts
- Freestanding posts where there is nothing to pull against
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04 Tension it, then check it
Turnbuckles bring the sail up evenly across every corner. We walk the job, check each point under load, and leave the whole thing adjustable.
- Even tension across all corners
- Every fitting checked under load
- Re-tensionable years later
The range
Fixings on real residential installs.
Every photograph here is from a Sail City job. Not all of this hardware is something we sell over the counter — some of it is specified and made up for the job — but it is all standard on our residential installs.
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The corner itself - layered webbing over a stainless thimble, with the perimeter wire rope running through it. -
Wire rope grips and a thimble finish the perimeter cable where it meets the shackle. -
Every corner is reinforced and double-stitched before any hardware goes near it. -
A turnbuckle means the sail can be re-tensioned years later without taking anything down. -
Hardware kept low and tight to the roofline, out of the sightline from the yard. -
A 316 stainless dee shackle and turnbuckle taking the corner load into the perimeter wire rope. -
A profiled roof plate spans several ribs, so the pull is shared across the roof sheet rather than landing on one screw. -
A larger plate spreads the load further across the sheeting and keeps the line clear of the gutter. -
Where there is nothing to pull against, we stand our own post - base plate bolted through and stayed back to the structure. -
Into brickwork - an eye bolt set into the brick itself, with a ring and shackle to take the sail. -
A wall track gives a clean, straight edge where a sail meets the house, with no gap to let sun through.
What we fix to
Whatever you have got, there is a way to fix to it.
Most residential jobs use some combination of these. Which one goes where is decided on site, once we can see what the structure will carry.
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Roof plates
A profiled plate that follows the corrugation and spans several ribs, fixed through into the structure below. The usual answer on Colorbond and zincalume.
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Fascia and rafter brackets
Where the pull can be taken at the rafter ends, a bracket fixes back into solid timber rather than hanging off the fascia board alone.
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Wall fixings
Eye bolts, wall plates and pad eyes anchored into brick, double brick or limestone — set into the masonry, not the mortar joint.
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Posts
Where there is nothing to pull against we stand our own galvanised post, footed in concrete or base-plated and stayed back to the structure.
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Wall track
A continuous track along the wall closes the gap between sail and house, for a straight edge and no strip of sun down the side.
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Wire rope, shackles and turnbuckles
The perimeter cable, thimbles, grips, dee shackles and turnbuckles that join sail to fixing and let the whole thing be tensioned.
Reference
The parts and fittings catalogue.
The full hardware range with sizes throughout. Some of it we stock for over-the-counter sale; the rest is specified as part of an install. If you are after something in particular, ask us.
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Parts & Fittings Catalogue
The same 316 stainless hardware and hand-finished fittings we install ourselves — bolts and rods, brackets and plates, shackles and swivels, wire rope, turnbuckles and fasteners, with sizes and prices throughout.
Residential enquiries
Tell us what you are shading.
Send through a few details and we will arrange a free on-site measure and quote. The fixings get worked out once we can see the place.