What is a cantilever shade?

Designed with flexibility and style

From umbrellas and sail shades to cantilevers, there are so many types of shades available. When looking to shade your outdoor area, consider the cantilever shade and how it can benefit your space.

Cantilevers provide shade with both flexibility and style. They are designed with off-centered posts in order to allow for unobstructed open space without the interference of a column.

Types of Cantilever Shades

While the main design feature of the cantilever is the same, there are a variety of cantilever shades to consider including standard, hanging, suspended, t-cantilever, dugout, and custom cantilevers.

1. Standard Cantilevers
Standard cantilevers are great for covering areas that require a lot of open space including car parking shade, walkways, bus stop seating, bleachers, and more.

2. Hanging Cantilever
Hanging cantilevers can cover great distances. They are designed with a max width of 18', but they can be configured with multiple bays in order to cover any distance.

3. Suspended Cantilevers
Suspended cantilevers are designed for areas that need more shaded space. They utilize suspension braces at the top of the structure in order to support the extended shade canopy.

4. T-Cantilevers
T-cantilever help keep the number of posts to a minimum. They typically feature a single column per beam up to an 18' width. When a beam length exceeds 18', an additional support column will be needed.

5. Dugout Cantilever
The raised design of the Dugout Cantilever allows the shade canopy to cast a direct shade on your intended area. What’s more, it’s easy to install! It can also be customized with fabric panels between the columns to block the wind.

6. Custom Cantilevers
If you have a unique space, our talented team of designers and engineers can work with you to create a custom cantilever shade solution. A great example of this is our project at the USSSA Space Coast Complex.

Features and Benefits of Cantilever Shades

1. The cantilever design allows for considerably more usage of the space below the canopy.
2. Many of our cantilevers are equipped with our Glide Elbow™ mechanism, which allows you to easily attach and remove the shade fabric.
3. Because the cantilever allows for great flexibility, it can be utilized in many different types of spaces from parking lot shades to outdoor dining areas.

Uses for Cantilever Shades

There are many types of spaces that would benefit from a cantilever shade including:

• parking lots
• bus stops
• walkways in schools and retail centers or malls
• dugouts in sports venues
• bleachers and stadium seating
• shaded seating in parks and outdoor dining spaces

If you think a cantilever shade is right for you, contact us to get started!