Shade cloth is the loose term for an HDPE knitted substrate that is used in the agricultural, event, construction, building, scaffolding and now branding industry.  Shade cloth technical specifications are useful for engineers and quantity surveyors specifying it as part of a tender or purchase contract. 

To specify shade cloth ideal for the purpose, it is good to know the elements that suit the job.  Knitted HDPE shade cloth specifications are related to colour, density, height, with or without sewn eyelets.  Certain shade cloth is kept in stock for example Printed Shadenet Solutions have 1.8m high black and green with eyelets top and bottom in stock, whereas most other colours need to be manufactured if a 1.8m height is needed.

A number of other colours can be specified in the standard 3m width, but don't have eyelets if they are need for rigging.  When it comes to shade cloth technical specifications, the density can be chosen based on the required application.  For situations requiring opacity, a more dense knit is ideal . . 92% which gives it more strength and you can't see through it.  A dense knit also produces a higher quality print because the holes are smaller.  Also there is more wind resistance which is a good thing for keeping the wind out, but on the other hand the structure needs to be strong enough to withstand adverse weather conditions.

A looser weave for example an 80% shade cloth is cheaper, it is more transparent and it lets more wind through.  This may be suitable for scaffolding, scaffolding towers, construction and instances where high winds could cause damage.  It is essential to get shade cloth specifications right as consequential and collateral damage as a result of incorrect choice of shade cloth for the use could result in infrastructure and public liability costs.

Shade cloth is supplied in 50m rolls 1.5m in height if it is 3m wide (ie folded in half) and 50m rolls 1.8m wide if it is the 1.8m fence height.  Often delivery to locations in South Africa can be done free of charge, but please check before final confirmation.  Please confirm the specs with our technical expert to make sure you are specifying the right shadenet configuration for your project.