Shade cloth

vic · Post by **vic** » Sat May 14, 2005 10:04 am

The central shade structure in our camp will be 20x20 ft. We have a sturdy framework and we need some advice on the cover. We are considering a woven product "aluminet" as an alternative to black shade cloth. The artists in camp like the silvery, metalic finish on this stuff and it may be cooler in the heat of the day. The down side is that it is more expensive than black shade cloth. I would be interested in hearing about experience with aluminet as well as conventional shade cloth.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Sat May 14, 2005 3:13 pm

OK...

IF you are flush, $$$ wise, get the aluminet *and* the black, put the aluminet on the sun side and the black on the inside-side. Otherwise I'd soend the $$$ and go the aluminet - that reflectifity not only looks cool but you don't get the heat absorbation of the black.

ThePikey · Post by **ThePikey** » Sat May 14, 2005 7:05 pm

We had aluminet last year, it rocked big-time.

*gives official Pikey seal of approval*

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:15 am

I covet enough Aluminet to cover my domes....It's TOUGH, too. Damn nice stuff. Easy to tie into shape, and low MOOP factor.

jmdinn · Post by **jmdinn** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:35 pm

Two thumbs up from me!

HIGHLY recommend Aluminet. Held up without a flinch in last year's wind. Nice light permeation during the day and easily 10 degrees cooler under our struture than neighboring stuctures.

Most shade cloth sites also offer clip-on grommets. I recommend those as well. They get better purchase on the cloth without tearing and you can put them just about anywhere.

Aluminet seems to be a new hot item for the burn, so you may want to get your order in earlier rather than later. The place I got mine from was clearly a small operation that would have had hard time filling 100 orders in 3 weeks.

=)

falk · Post by **falk** » Mon May 16, 2005 3:29 pm

How much does it cost?

Wakawaka · Post by **Wakawaka** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:57 pm

Search/Google 'aluminet' and you'll get plenty of places to get quotes and buy online. It's fairly pricey although it's way better than any tarp or shade cloth I've used before. It's pretty kick ass.

Also try shade cloth from a garden/home improvement store. Pretty cheap and works well. I think it was about $30 for a 6x30 piece. I go all crazy and cut it into panels and secure it to 1x1's along 2 parallel sides and use those for siding rather than tarps, they roll up nice for transport too. You get shade and it allows for air flow. Doesn't do too much for dust or rain but what are ya gonna do.

vic · Post by **vic** » Mon May 16, 2005 9:31 pm

For those of you who have used aluminent, would you recommend getting the edges taped, or just leaving it rough and using the clip-on grommetts? For a 20x20 piece, how close would you put the grommets?

Wakawaka · Post by **Wakawaka** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:26 pm

Our aluminet came with grommets, I think about 2'-3' apart. If you do it yourself I would recommend folding the edge over once or twice and using a grommet tool, the kind with metal fittings you use a hammer and awl type thing on, rather than the plastic clip on stuff. Good grommets and edging (and my personal favorite....zip ties) will save you a shit load of hassle when the wind kicks up. Better off spending extra time in the garage preparing than dealing with it on playa.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue May 17, 2005 4:58 am

Aluminet is loosely woven, so you could "hem" the edge by gathering a little and looping around (backstitch) with fishline or heavy thread, knotting frequently.
It's a MUCH heavier solution, but cheaper- Truck tarps, which are like shadecloth but heavier...designed to hold down dumptruck loads and such.
I'm definitely looking to dump my penny jar on some aluminet. The Snowman will be a collage of silver tarps, aluminet (hopefully), and truck tarp with AOL CDs riveted on.

Elemental666 · Post by **Elemental666** » Tue May 17, 2005 10:27 pm

hmm, was wondering, Aluminet can't really be painted without loosing some of its effectiveness right?

I was considering a 2ply method to cover my dome. 70% shade cloth on the inside 10oz duck canvas on the outside so I can paint it. Think this would work out ok?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:37 am

You want to put shade mesh underneath canvas?

Isn't that like wearing a Speedo on top of a Utilikilt?

jmdinn · Post by **jmdinn** » Wed May 18, 2005 12:48 pm

1. DO NOT USE METAL GROMMETS ON ALUMINET
It's a loosely woven fabric (MUCH looser than standard shade cloth or load cover cloth) and the metal grommets won't hold. The clip grommets work very very well. We spaced them about every 18 inches.

2. Hemming and seaming will give you a cleaner edge, but it's not necessary with Aluminet. The comapany that sold me my aluminet acually recommended not getting the edges taped. I still don't know why. If you get your edges taped, you'll need to use metal grommets on the edges.

3. I would expect that you could paint aluminet with any paint that adheres to plastic. But I also think it would lose a lot of effectiveness. I suspect it's reflective properties have much to do with its performance. That's largely what makes it superior to regular shade cloths and load cover cloth. Neither of those reflect heat nor do they allow hot air to pass through as easily.

Umm ... I think there was something else ... maybe I'll remember it later ...

PM me if you want the name/site of the company that sold me my aluminet last year.

Wakawaka · Post by **Wakawaka** » Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm

[quote="jmdinn"]1. DO NOT USE METAL GROMMETS ON ALUMINET
It's a loosely woven fabric (MUCH looser ....

I stand corrected. Our aluminet was pregrommeted, if that's a word, so I left it as was. I used my nifty metal grommet maker on shade cloth which worked very well.
I thought you were going to say... DO NOT USE METAL GROMMETS ON ALUMINET... because you'll be electrocuted!!!!!, ...I was disappointed.

3. I would expect that you could paint aluminet with any paint that adheres to plastic. But I also think it would lose a lot of effectiveness....

Yup, it's got a great trippy silver flashy color as is, and it's like that for more than just fishing for trippers.

edit cuz i'm a tard

Elemental666 · Post by **Elemental666** » Thu May 19, 2005 1:43 am

Bob wrote:You want to put shade mesh underneath canvas?

Isn't that like wearing a Speedo on top of a Utilikilt?

Well the idea was that canvas still lets a lot of light through, tho that my change once it painted. However I might not want to use the same canvas cover next year and I'd still have the shade cloth. Having the shade cloth under the canvas I could also incorporate some wind flaps to let the breeze through while still having shade covering...

I think I'll get the canvas painted and see how it does that way then decide on the shade cloth.

Ebenezer Squeezer · Post by **Ebenezer Squeezer** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:06 pm

I see a bunch of different shade levels for aluminet. Did you get the highest (70%) or something else?

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 3:08 pm

we're looking at the 28'x28' aluminet shade.

we are doing a 2 pole design this year with 1 of our shade structures, and i'm a bit worried about the aluminet's strength to just have a pole put in the middle and thought of industrially sewing a 14" round piece of cordura where the poles will go to ease the pain on the alumanet.

do you think this would work well with this textile, or should we look into their "colored" shade clothes?

thanks in advance,
-b

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 5:26 pm

ok,
after doing some research and talking to a nice gentleman named Rick Jerald at Envirocept Greenhouses, the makers of Alumanet, i found the answers we were looking for.

While Aluminet is a great reflective resource to use with an existing shade cloth or grid of rope (line), it's not that strong in regards to playa winds and especially if you want to do a single pole design and drape the shade structure over the tie down lines. (like sticking a pole in the center of the textile for support)

however, their "colored shade cloth" seems to be an excellent textile for the playa. it's a woven mesh and is much stronger than the Aluminet, making it perfect for our needs of a 2 pole shade design.

we ARE going to sew in a circular patch of cordura for the 2 main support poles just to be safe, but even if you just used the groments, you'd be fine. it's good stuff.

that's all. hope this helps. see you in the dust.
-b

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:19 pm

falk wrote:How much does it cost?

Funny, I was just about to say that a silver tarp with UV blocking might be better because it would be cheaper, but, I've heard about Aluminet a lot on this forum and I just looked up the price and it appears to be betwen 28 and 32 cents per square foot. So a 20x20 piece would be about $120 (if my math is right).

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using Aluminet over a store-bought UV-blocking silver tarp? Can grommets be added with a regular grommet kit? Does it stand up to being pulled on by bungee balls as a tarp would?

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 7:23 pm

Wakawaka wrote:Doesn't do too much for dust or rain but what are ya gonna do.

Oops. Back to silver tarp for me (since we'll be using our shade area for wind and rain protection, too).

Shade cloth

Shade cloth

Aluminet! WAY COOL!

aluminet

RE: Hemming, Seaming/Taping and GROMMETS

Re: RE: Hemming, Seaming/Taping and GROMMETS

Re: RE: Hemming, Seaming/Taping and GROMMETS