FAQ - Patio Umbrella

A cantilever umbrella provides unobstructed shade to the space underneath the canopy, making it a perfect shelter for patio seating, dining, and commercial venues like cafes and restaurants. In addition to common features like 360 rotation and height adjustment, some cantilever umbrellas even feature an automatic opening and closing function to give customers a more convenient experience.

Size and Shape: Consider the area you want to shade and the seating arrangement you prefer. For instance, a 15 x 9 ft double-sided umbrella is perfect for lounging, but if you want to create a dining place, a 10 x 13 ft cantilever umbrella would be a better choice.

Canopy Material: Polyester fabric is a popular and suitable material for patio umbrellas as they are durable and weather-resistant.

Metal Frame: Choose a structure made of aluminum or steel tubes.

Umbrella Base: Choose a heavy base that can be filled with water or sand.

Additional Accessories: Check if the umbrellas have extra features like height adjustments, LED lights, and an auto-opening design.

Polyester fabric is the best material for outdoor patio umbrellas. This material is resistant to wear and tear and good at retaining color. With a PU coating, they are also excellent at UV reflection and water blocking, providing reliable protection.

Generally, a light-colored patio umbrella, such as white, beige, or blue, can reflect more sunlight and heat than dark ones. However, you should also consider if the color is suitable for the surrounding environment.

Darker colors like blue, navy, and black can absorb a great portion of UV rays and heat. With these colors, you can prevent harmful rays from reaching your skin.

To give your spot the most shade, a square or rectangular patio umbrella is the best option. They often provide up to 30% more shade than the round shape. Besides, changing the angle of your canopy is another effective way to maximize the shady area.

The size of your cantilever umbrella depends on your intended use of the shady area. Specifically, if you have a table under the umbrella, the canopy size should be 1-2 feet wider than the table's edge to ensure your planned area will be fully covered.

Disadvantages of Cantilever Umbrellas

Portability: The base for a cantilever umbrella is quite heavy and hard to move around, but a base with wheels can be a wonderful solution.

Wind Resistance: Although most cantilever umbrellas can withstand winds up to 20 mph, they can still be damaged if encountering extreme wind conditions.

Price: The average price of cantilever umbrellas is relatively higher than double-sided umbrellas due to their premium materials and construction.

It’s common to see a cantilever umbrella sway when there is wind. The slight sway can help the umbrella to counteract the wind and maintain its structure in a balanced position. However, it’s recommended to close the umbrella if your cantilever umbrella sways too much in the wind.

Yes, a base is required to secure your cantilever umbrella. A heavy-duty base can hold the pole of your umbrella tightly, preventing the potential risk of falling. You can choose a fillable base with wheels to gain more portability.

Water and sand are both suitable and easy-to-get materials to fill up a base, but sand often has a heavier unit weight (1600 kg/m³) than water (1000 kg/m³). If you need to frequently move around the umbrella, water is a suitable option. If you want to maximize the stability of your base, natural sand is recommended.

The specific load of your base depends on the umbrella’s size and weather conditions. Generally, a 10*10 cantilever umbrella requires a base of 180 pounds of weight to stay steady, while a 10*13 cantilever umbrella requires at least 200 pounds of weight. Be aware that a larger cantilever umbrella in a windy condition will require more load.

If you want to keep the cantilever umbrella in a fixed position, you can dig a hole in the deck or concrete floor and build a mounting with in-ground anchors. For a temporary enhancement, you can add extra sandbags or other heavy loads to the existing base.

15-25 mph.
A cantilever umbrella secured with a solid base can withstand winds up to 25 mph. The wind level exceeding 25 mph may cause damage to the canopy and structure of the umbrella.

A cantilever umbrella usually has better wind resistance compared to a double-sided umbrella. The umbrella features a double telescoping structure or a hydraulic design often provides greater resistance against wind.

You can leave the patio umbrella open outside in summer as long as the weather conditions are pleasant. However, the color and protective coating of your patio umbrella may fade quickly due to long exposure to strong sunlight.

Most cantilever umbrellas can be left out in winter, but we suggest you store them inside your house to avoid potential damage from the low temperatures and frost.

Patio umbrellas with neutral colors like brown, gray, and beige often tend to fade less than darker colors. Besides, coatings and solution-dyed fabrics can also slow down the color-fade effectively.

Market umbrellas are often constructed with a straight pole and a canopy with scalloped trim. In comparison, a patio umbrella features a rectangular canopy supported by a cantilever. 

There are a variety of outdoor shelters that play a similar role as patio umbrellas, such as pop-up canopies, sunrooms, pergolas and gazebos.