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Easy set up sturdyas long as you keep it out of the sun. If you plan on actually using it as a shade sail, however, the fabric will be visibly deteriorating after the first year. By the end of the second year, it will be so brittle and crumbly that it will develop a hole if it is pinched lightly between the fingers (or an acorn falls on it, or a bird touches it, or a gentle breeze moves it, etc.).Two of the pictures show the shade sail deployed over my patio; it is about two years old at this point. A few days after the pictures were taken, the rip had enlarged to cover the entire sail and I had to take it down. The third picture is of a piece from the sail taped to a light background so you can see how damaged the fabric is.But wait! you say, the sail is covered by a 3-year “commercial” warranty! That warranty turns out to be worth much less than you might think. I wrote to the manufacturer/seller using Amazon’s ‘Contact Seller’ feature, explaining that my sail was only two years old and the fabric had deteriorated to the point that it was developing rips and holes from normal use, and that it was weak, brittle and crumbly to the touch.I’ve attached a transcript of our correspondence below, but to summarize the company’s position: If your sail has ever experienced a wind gust over 40 mph, your warranty is void. Not sustained winds, mind you, but a single gust of wind over 40. They fully expect you to go outside and take down your shade sail for every rain storm, cold front or even brisk spring day that could possibly generate a wind gust over 40 mph. If you are not prepared to state (or possible prove; I didn’t bother to find out) that you have done this, your warranty is void. It doesn’t matter what kind of actual damage you’re reporting, as they don’t seem to have any interest in improving their product. In the complete absence of any evidence, they will insist that your damage was caused by ‘high wind’ and use that as an excuse to dishonor your warranty. Since they know that no reasonable person would act as they require, they’ve essentially got a ‘Get Out Of Warranty Free’ card.You might think I’m exaggerating, so I’ve included, absolutely verbatim, the full text of our correspondence after my initial contact, taken directly from our Amazon-hosted emails. You can decide for yourself if they are acting in good faith.==============================Dear Customer,We are so sorry to hear what happened. Could you please kindly provide us your Order ID and a photo of the damage part as well as your current shipping address? Also, do you know how the damage occurred? For example, did an object puncture it or was the item kept up during severe weather that would not be considered normal weather, such as winds gusting higher than 40 MPH? Please advise. We will wait for your reply until we take further action. Thank you!Best regards,Yvonne==============================Yvonne,I’ve attached a few pictures, all taken along one edge that was easy for me to reach and photograph. Some of them are of actual holes or rips; others just show how the ‘cross’ fibers are crumbling and disintegrating. They are so far gone that the slightest touch opens up holes and tears. The sail also sheds a fine brown dust that you can sometimes find underneath the sail on windless days.It appears to me that the sun has just aged the fabric so much that it is fragile. Just lightly pinching the fabric will create a hole. Also, the entire sail has lost enough of the ‘cross’ fibers that it no longer blocks much of the sun.Thanks,John Bendiksen===============================Dear customer,Thank you for providing the photos. Also, do you know how the damage occurred? For example, did an object puncture it or was the item kept up during severe weather that would not be considered normal weather, such as winds gusting higher than 40 MPH? Please advise. We will wait for your reply until we take further action. Thank you!Best regards,Mabel===============================Mabel,As I have said several times, the damage is due to the entire fabric of the sail deteriorating. As the fabric gets weaker due to the cross threads disintegrating, rips and holes are opening up.I don’t understand the repeated questions about winds gusting over 40 mph. There is not an area in the country that does not routinely have gusts over 40 mph, during ordinary rain storms or even a moderately gusty cold front. Unless you live in the atrium of a large office building, this is considered ‘normal weather’. I hope you are not trying to use that as an excuse to not honor the warranty.John Bendiksen===============================Dear Customer,Thank you for letting us know. Our policy warrants against manufacture defects, such as improper stitching, faulty grommets or premature fraying or deterioration of the fabric. However, our warranty does not cover damage from improper storage conditions, improper care/cleaning, or misuse. Damages due to high wind regardless of duration, severe acts of nature are not covered under our warranty policy. And we always suggest our customer to put down their sun shade sails during the bad weather. Since this damage was caused by winds 40mph or higher and ordinary rain storms which is considered "severe weather" instead of manufacture defects, we are sorry to let you know that this damage/situation is not covered under our warranty. But if you would like, we could offer you 30% off if you would like to purchase a new one. Hope you would like this offer. We really appreciate your support and understanding! Please let us know if you have any questions and concerns. We are always more than happy to help. Thank you!Best regards,YvonneThe cords to attach them to the ends were not strong enough, so we used chain instead. It looks great over our patio.For the money paid for a 12x12 sail this is not a bad product BUT The fabric to this product is similar to a tarp. It is a woven pattern and rain does and will come through. This can not be sprayed with sealant to stop leaks due to the holes in the fabric. This product should be purchase a foot smaller than you think you need because of stretching. We had rain the day after installing and the tarp stretched quiet a bit. It did shrink back up a tiny bit in sunshine but it now needs adjusting after only 3 days of install (and yes we had it pulled TIGHT) the sun still comes through but it does block a lot of the rays. a GOOD POINT to this is that this does lower the temperature under it. It comes with a 3 yr warrenty which is good because I do not believe this product will last more than one season maybe two. For a commercial grade product I was disappointed in the fabric. It looks nice after installation, but touch the material and you see how cheap it actually is. (feels plastic almost) we purchased the larger install kit and I am going to have to pick up some others locally so that I can pull the sail even more. We are happy with looks and sun shading ability but product material was not what we expected. If you want something to keep rain out even just a little bit this is not the product you want.So far so good... I will need to add a couple more grommets.Great for shade. Had to drop one corner down a little so water would drain off better. If rains hard water will still pool on the shade sail but it will seap through it to reduce the load on the mount pointsI'll be honest. I wasn't expecting much given the price point. However, this canopy is pretty well made and was easy for me to install. I ordered the 14x14 and it covered my patio nicely. We'll see how long it lasts, but I'll be happy if it gets through the summer.Just put up my Windscreen4less 16'x16' Sun Shade Sail Canopy. I used 2 4"x4"x10" post concreted 2' in the ground. I bought some hardware from Amazon too. One end I attached to the house, and the other to the 2 post. I got "Instant shade" the sun really beats my patio door and damages the door frame and door paint. Now I can refinish the paint job in the shade and insure that the pain job last. As a woman can tell you it was not hard to do. There are some You Tube videos that you might find helpful. I would highly recommend this item. I already purchased another for my guest house. I will post another review with pictures and another later down the road to let you know how well it holds up.Grandeur non-conforme
