Good Questions: Sailcloth Sources in SF?

Dave writes: I am looking for a place in the Bay Area that sells used sailcloth. I have seen it used in a number of applications from clothes to umbrellas. It would be a great material to cover my pergola behind my house. With the summer coming I would like to find a way to get some shade.

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Please share any sources and suggestions for this project with Dave in the comments below...thanks!

Comments (7)

I think shade cloth might make more sense for you than sail cloth. I could be wrong but I think Sail cloth is more opaque and I imagine you want to let some sun through. The shade cloth comes in differing sades of opacity so it blocks a lot of the heat but lets some light and air through.

http://www.shadeclothstore.com/products/deckshade__shadeclothapplications.html

Mendel's on Haight is having a sale on sailcloth, I think.

I think Sperry Sails, which is a company based in Massachusetts, has a franchise in California called "Sperry Tents". www.sperrysails.com or www.sperrytents.com

When I was in school, I got scrap sail cloth for art projects at The Spinnaker Shop in Palo Alto. It's a bit of a haul from the city, but the folks were super friendly and sold me scrap for next to nothing. They have a nice sunny warehouse workroom with huge tables and many work(wo)men busily cutting down sails on the premise. It's been several years since I went there but I think it's still in operation. If you can't make it there in person, I imagine a phone call could get you recommendations on leads closer to home. The Spinnaker Shop
(650) 858-1544 http://www.yelp.com/biz/spinnaker-shop-the-palo-alto

For a long term solution, can you plant some vines to cover the pergola? Then in the winter you'd still have sun when the leaves fell. Maybe wisteria or grapes?

OH!!! YOUR PERGOLA WOULD BE SOO NICE WITH CLIMBING WISTERIA OR A CLIMBING ROSE....

When we built our pergola in our first home, I used large canvas drop cloths (10'x10')from the Home Depot as the cover. I used heavy duty grommets around the edge and threaded nylon cord through them to tie it on. It looked fabulous and cost very little.