Our backyard patio is about an 8 foot concrete slab and my kids love to play out there, but it is so hot and sunny. What can we do to very cheaply add some shade? We are renting and can't do anything big, and can't afford much anyways.
We do have good shade trees, but they are on the other side of the yard and muddy under them anyways so the kids don't play there, and we can't add any more trees near the home.
I was thinking of just getting a yard umbrella with stand and sticking it on the concrete, but worried it would be easily knocked down, and the big ones are pretty expensive (over $250 or so)
Any ideas?
I love all the ideas you got from the other ladies! One I didn't see was did you speak to the owner of the house you are renting? A shaded patio would increase the value of their house so they may be willing to help you with the cost.
Yep! We got a canopy like that for the beach O. year for about 30 bucks and figured if it blew out to sea--no big loss. We still have it 5 years later! You should be able to pick O. up WAAAAAAY cheaper than $199 at this time of year.
Also, we bought a cantilever umbrella for our deck and I LOVE it. I would never use our deck if it weren't for that umbrella...it looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Oakland-Living-Rochester-Cantilever...
We got our on sale for about $80-100. The larger the better....good luck!
Get a couple of canopies or one like this.....http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-16-x-8-Instant-Shelter/...
It's 16x8 and it's 199.00.....it's like a tent without sides......you can get smaller ones and they are cheap right now.....Look at Big Lots, Dollar General, etc....any walmart, target.......put them in like milk cartons of cement to keep them in place as to not fall down. As long as the kids are careful, they should be fine.....you can even put cusions or something over the legs to protect the kids......
Just make sure they can't get blown over by the wind......and in the winter you should take them down, they aren't built to hold snow.....
Good Luck and take care.
I would avoid a "market umbrella" with stand. I know they are cheap this time of year, but usually don't provide much shade, and they are so tippy when the wind blows, it would be a danger to your children. The pop up tents with 4 legs are a better choice, more stable.
In 'Like Water for Chocolate' they have sheets pinned up on tall supports (like an 8' post driven into the ground or something) to make outdoor 'rooms' for sleeping during hot, humid weather... It looked like they weren't attached all the way along the sides, so they could blow a bit in the wind and not tear, I think.
Could you put some posts so you could do something similar?
How about a Sail Sun Shade (http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Square-Sail-Sun-Shad.... We got one for our patio and it works great. The only thing is you do have to attach the ends to posts but it's well worth it!
Try Sunsetter retractable awnings. They also give you a $200 coupon towards your purchase; their prices seem pretty reasonable. They have a website you can ck them out & get a free info packet which should include the coupon. Hope this helps.
For a real cheap fix you could get a tarp or two and rig it around your patio. My hubby did that to our little gated area and it works out OK.
You can get an umbrella. They can be found now on seasonal clearance. I know Target had some on clearance before they put the school stuff out. Check Amazon or Overstock.com. Or Big Lots.
how about one of those pop up tent or canopy that are used at market days. they are fairly easy to put up and have four legs that can be tacked down for stability. we bought one a few years ago and they cost about onehundred dollars then. good luck.
