Patio Furniture Umbrella

Patios are great, but without a good cover they can be boiling hot in the summer.

Some are lucky enough to have natural shade through trees while others are built under cover for more protection. But if your patio is not covered, a patio furniture umbrella is the best and least expensive way to get the shade you need.

There are however a lot of choices, and knowing which one to get can be confusing. So here are some things to think about before you order your umbrella.

First, consider the location. Where you plan on placing the umbrella is extremely important. You'll have two basic choices in patio umbrellas. One goes through the center of the table on your patio and the other is free standing. If you patio area is large you will likely want to get a free standing model. There are many sizes and shapes so think about how much area you want to shade. An umbrella that goes through the table will simply shade those who are seated.

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Patio furniture umbrella stands are also important. The heavier the umbrella, the heavier the stand will need to be if you want it to be sturdy. Obviously a free standing umbrella will need a heavier base.

Now let's think about the area you want to shade. How large the area is will determine how large your umbrella should be. A good guideline to follow is that the umbrella should be about five feet bigger than the area that you want covered.

When you are trying to decide on what type of frame you want, you basically have two choices; wood or metal. The things you need to consider here are your decor and how you plan on using the umbrella. A metal frame usually has a push button tilt or crank lift. The beauty of this is that you can angle the umbrella to direct the shade. And you can still match your decor with a variety of colors. A wooden patio umbrella frame on the other hand cannot usually be rotated and is opened using a pulley. Most wood frames are made from teak or hardwood.

If you've decided you want a frame that tilts (good choice), you now need to pick the tilting method. A collar tilt is the most common and easiest to use. You simply rotate the collar on the frame. You can also get a push button tilt or a crank tilt.

Now let's decide on the material you use. Sure you want shade but you want to be protected from the sun, and maybe even the rain if you like to sit outside during a nice summer storm. A PVC canopy will block all the the UV light and will best be able to withstand harsh weather conditions. A canvas canopie is durable and also good at blocking out the sun. But most canvas canopies are not water resistant. If you go this route you may want to have your canopy treated to make it waterproof. The last material is shade cloth. It will block up to 95% of the UV rays, but it is not completely waterproof. It will however resist a small amount of rain.

The last thing to think about is the kind of patio furniture umbrella. Here you have 4 main choices.

The first is the center pole. This is the most common. Like a typical hand held umbrella the ribs will spread out from the pole. If you get this, be sure to get a heavy and sturdy base.

The crank and tilt is a lot like the center pole, except there is a crank between the pole and canopy. If the area you want to shade is larger this is a good choice because you can rotate the angle of the umbrella to block out the sun in any direction.

The third type is the Cantilever umbrella. The curved arm supports just one end and is great for a big space with a dining set. It's also good when a swimming pool is nearby because it can be rotated a full 360 degrees allowing you to position the shade wherever you need it most.

The fourth and final type is the pavilion. A pavilion is square or rectangle shaped and has supports in all four corners. If you have a very large outdoor area (not necessarily a patio) you can provide shade for a large family and a number of guests. Typically people will use a pavilion on the beach or in a park, or possibly as a cover for outdoor picnics.