In Which PhysicsGirl creates shade

One of the things I love about my apartment is the deck. It's pretty big relative to the amount of inside space, so there is enough room for me to sit, drink tea, mark, and pretend to be an urban gardener^*.

One of the things I love about my deck is that it gets the east, south, and west sun. Full sun? I has it. It's also one of the problems with my deck because I am a delicate flower, sun-wise. Terrific for plants, less so for my skin. I had an umbrella, but it was square and required much constant revolving of chairs around the table to stay shaded. It's also really windy on my deck and leaving the umbrella open could get... exciting. Let's just say that the umbrella has been known to take flight. Also, several years of neglect and leaving the umbrella outside in the winter to the elements and squirrels have been unkind to the thing. It was time for the umbrella to go. But how to create shade? In a way that would also keep off a (light) rain?

The solution to this shade problem was, naturally, to build a canopy.

I've been thinking about doing this for a few years, but I finally got around to buying the supplies this past weekend. And although the rule for a project normally is buy the supplies then wait for a year or two before getting around to it, by some miracle I actually put the thing up the next morning, with some help from DC.

Behold the before:


And here is how I did it (mouse-over for the instructions):
Getting everything home:

You need:


Steps 1-3: Attaching the eyebolt hardware to the bamboo stake




Step 4: Strap the stakes to the deck.


Step 5: Admire and realize you forgot to add the shackle.


Step 6: Attach shackles.


Step 7: Finally, attach tarp using bowlines and anchor bends and enjoy!


Of course, steps 8-11 are: head back to the store to get duct tape because the "reinforced" tarp is about to tear out at the corners despite the plastic grommets^**; realize the middle seam on the tarp is no match for strong winds but duct tape is no match for the resulting hole; adjust and readjust the ropes to get the tension right to avoid a balloon effect; decide to switch the rope and shackle set-up to make attaching and striking the tarp easy, which was the whole point of using shackles to begin with.

The tarp is quite light, which is nice, but it is a temporary measure. I'm planning to get some sail fabric and create a custom canopy. I'll probably do it later in June, which gives me some time to decide how to deal with the major problem.

I mentioned*** that the umbrella had to be really low at certain times of day to give shade. I had considered that when planning the canopy, but forgot about it when installing the stakes, so right now between 3 and 6 pm, the canopy does not keep the shade off anyone sitting at the table. Which defeats the purpose of the canopy since that is when I most want to sit on my deck.^****

I can do one of two things to solve this problem. One is lower the stakes on the south-west side so the canopy is at an angle. It would be a simple and permanent solution, assuming I don't have to also move the eyebolts, and it would also let the rain drain off the tarp. The second is add a flap to that side to block the sun. I'm leaning towards the first plan; although the second has the virtue of letting me design a really ambitious roman-blind arrangement that I could lower to block the rain, it would need some kind of structural support along that side, and that's really more work than I want.

In the meantime, canopy!

^*I am not kidding about the pretending part. I think that in the past 6 years I've harvested fewer than 30 cherry tomatoes from the 4-9 plants I put out each year. In total. I'm pretty sure the squirrels get more tomatoes than I do.

I mean, I kill mint.

^**The other part of step 8 was to buy a new bistro set since Canadian Tire had one on sale for $80 and that would save me from have to re-tile the plastic table which I found on the side of the street the fall before I moved into this apartment, and which I had tiled very nicely a few years ago, but forgot to take down the umbrella one night^***** and as a result the table got blown over and the tiles all smashed. The new set is made of resin and is very pretty and grown-up looking.

^***In a mouseover. Read the mouseovers!

****After six, the sun isn't strong enough to bother me much, although I do have to turn the chairs so my back is to it.

^*****The umbrella was closed, just still in the table. It really is very windy up here.