AusBonsai

Yep that's essentially what I did with the carport though the frame wouldn't be as sturdy as the black ones cricket nets use, those would be steel not aluminum

Work out your frame size then what length pieces of shade cloth you need. You can cut your own sizes at Bunnings still though they are moving to ore-packaged. Cutting your own off the roll will save on wastage once you know what lengths you need for which sections. As I recall the ore-packaged 3m widths worked perfect for the roof, but I needed a custom cut section for the front face of it

TimS wrote: ↑August 16th, 2023, 11:01 am Yep that's essentially what I did with the carport though the frame wouldn't be as sturdy as the black ones cricket nets use, those would be steel not aluminum

Work out your frame size then what length pieces of shade cloth you need. You can cut your own sizes at Bunnings still though they are moving to ore-packaged. Cutting your own off the roll will save on wastage once you know what lengths you need for which sections. As I recall the ore-packaged 3m widths worked perfect for the roof, but I needed a custom cut section for the front face of it

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/cov ... CA01021309

Was this the carport structure you got?

I'm going to get one over the weekend and give it a shot.

I don't think I'll build a door on mine, just the shade on top... Unless you think it helps to make it structurally sound? I might drape the cloth down a bit over the sides to cut out the wind as well...

I will end up using the whole 50m eventually (other areas I want to shade) so I figure I might as well buy the full roll.

Yep, that was the one I used, they had a floor stock one on discount so it was around $200. It just slots together no tools required, but I did screw it to the fence to secure it.

I've stitched the shade cloth on so it doesn't flap around and looks more aesthetically pleasing, but you can drape it and attach it to a bit of pvc pipe so it could be rolled up if you wanted to go that way with it.

I decided to go for a putting a door in so it can be secured but not putting one on would save you a few hundred in wood/ sundries and a door

It's not a beautiful solution but its an easy and cheap one.

Another alternative if you don't need a big area covered would be to buy a stand alone greenhouse from Aldi/ Bunnings and then remove the plastic from the frame and put shade mesh on it

Worth having a think before jumping in about how much space you really need/ can take up in the garden before putting in 6x3 or bigger structures lol

I'll take some photos of where mine is at when I'm home for a sense of scale

This is what the carport frame idea gives you. Still a work in progress but nearly there

I was going to go a 4x8m wood frame originally but price was an issue as you found. This is still pretty big, the walkway will be along the fence line to maximise the bench space and the door opens outward to aid with that too

Superbonsaisayan if you are still thinking over the shade house idea, here is the finished product in terms of structure being built. I still need to even up the floor, put down rock or mulch and then get benches in.

Was it easy? Overall the answer is not really, but certainly less of a commitment long term than a properly footed wooden structure.

Yes it was convenient buying the frame and just slotting it all together, but there was a lot of work in the background by my father and i on how this would work and be securely in place, so it doesn't get damaged in high wind. Total costs all up to this point would be in the region of $1,000 maximum with more than half of that being the shade cloth itself.

The actual building time was relatively short, there wouldn't even be 1-week total work in it but spread out over multiple weekends with both my father and mother helping variously with parts of the build. The shade cloth is all stitched on and is quite exact in size requirement. There was pretty much only the door section left over, and a few edges left spare from the two side panels where the roof pitch is, so you need to plan out quite precisely what is going where. The two sides and the front facia piece are all pre-packaged sizes from Bunnings, the roof section was a custom size piece we measured and cut from the roll available to the public to cut their own sizes from.

It is 50% shade cloth and already is noticeably cooler underneath than outside even in late winter/ early spring weather now, so i can't imagine you would need to exceed that, though this summer will be the test.

I'm thrilled with the outcome and especially for the price, though of course a properly footed wooden structure is probably a better long-term decision.

It is a big structure, so unless you need bulk space or are planning significant expansion into Summer sensitive species like Japanese Maple, it would be unnecessary to have so much space. For conifers, and frankly most deciduous other than JM I'm not as concerned about them staying out on the benches on all but the hottest days. Given my propensity for growing JM that want to burn as soon as the temps get over 35 degrees and a slight wind picks up, some form of structure had basically become essential for me.

All really comes down to how handy you are with building project/ have friends or family who are willing to help. I'm mildly handy, but how much of an immense benefit it is having my father help with the planning and building cannot be overstated. There were times this would have been borderline impossible to do well by myself needing multiple people holding different sheets of cloth for tennsion etc.

Anway the subtext is don't rush into the carport idea thinking you'll the erect it and throw some shade cloth over it. There's a bit more than that required with it.

Wow, you could move into that with room to spare. Well done
I know your thinking possible much for flooring, I find the mozzies love to sit on the mulch under the fernery when it’s damp. It will also breakdown quickly once you’re walking on it. Just a thought.
Still great job
Cheers
Kirky

KIRKY wrote: ↑August 30th, 2023, 1:47 pm Wow, you could move into that with room to spare. Well done
I know your thinking possible much for flooring, I find the mozzies love to sit on the mulch under the fernery when it’s damp. It will also breakdown quickly once you’re walking on it. Just a thought.
Still great job
Cheers
Kirky

Great point about the mulch! It would be convenient as the rest of the garden beds are all mulched, but a lot more water will be going on the ground in the shade house as you say.

It looks like I'll fit all my trees in with room to spare but we'll see!

Bonsai and spare room/space, an oxymoron if ever there was one. At least you have a lot of yard space for another shade house
Cheers
Kirky

This looks to be a great result. Scorched leaf burn no more!

That looks great. Really tidy work on the shade cloth.

I reckon a small rock/pebble would go well on the ground there.

Follow your passion Tim, the JM are going to appreciate your effort I think, and hopefully reward you with good growth and autumn colour!

Ryceman3 wrote: ↑August 30th, 2023, 9:58 pm Follow your passion Tim, the JM are going to appreciate your effort I think, and hopefully reward you with good growth and autumn colour!

Thanks for the encouragement, mate! Honestly its been a bit of a 'rock and a harde place' situation for me with JM since moving in to my house 3 years ago.

I'm not exactly close to the beach, but even 2-3km back is still proving near enough that i get some strong costal winds that the trees can't cope with and is just too much to accept as a part of growing, but also I'm not willing to stop growing one of the two species I'm deeply passionate about either.

There will be some low shrubs planted in front and beside the shade house as a kind of wind break, but not so high that they restrict light penetration to trees inside either. Not sure how successful that will be time will tell and adjustments will be made i'm sure.

TimS wrote: ↑August 30th, 2023, 1:02 pm The shade cloth is all stitched on and is quite exact in size requirement.

Was stitching it difficult at all? Did you hand stitch or use a machine?

Because I'm looking to go retractable, I'm planning to secure some eyelets to the cloth - but will need to stitch it first to ensure it's stronger / thicker where the eyelets will attach.

SuperBonSaiyan wrote: ↑September 4th, 2023, 1:30 pm

TimS wrote: ↑August 30th, 2023, 1:02 pm The shade cloth is all stitched on and is quite exact in size requirement.

Was stitching it difficult at all? Did you hand stitch or use a machine?

Because I'm looking to go retractable, I'm planning to secure some eyelets to the cloth - but will need to stitch it first to ensure it's stronger / thicker where the eyelets will attach.

It is all hand stitched using this lacing cord specifically for shade mesh, or perhaps another brand of the same stuff I can't recall exactly where it came from

https://www.bunnings.com.au/coolaroo-25 ... e_p3301495

Just orient it so the reinforced edges of the shade mesh attached to they eyelets for maximum durability