Heres a better pic :)

{{gwi:410170}}

Those tie-downs better be tied to some heavy blocks of concrete or else it may end up in south Phx! The wind through here was ferocious. Had to close all the umbrellas. I may just hold onto one someday and fly away like Mary Poppins...

I would put some tent pegs on there to hold it down. The major problem with that one that I can see it there is no place in the roof for the air to escape thus the wind will pull it out of the ground.

I bought one from Wal-Mart for $99 for the same reason as you did. I have my potting bench in there and can move stressed plants out of the sun. What I like about the one I got is that it has sliding curtains that I can open and close (to hide my mess when visitors are coming) and as I said it is vented on the top so that air can escape easily.

Mine fits SNUGGLY between my block wall and the house (side yard) It's really wedged in there, so I'm hoping the chances of wind will be lessened? I was going to get a market umbrella...but I could just see it blowing away. I didn't use the stakes that came with it (tiny) I used the ones from my Greenhouse, I guess we'll see? All I know is I have a small FORTUNE in Topiaries that are burning :(

I had one last year. It was great till a storm picked it up and threw it on our roof. Part of it stayed hooked, so it just bent and ripped and flew. I miss it...it was great. It was on the patio and I had it tied to some shelving and the poles staked and cement blocks and heavy rocks around the poles. Not enough, obviously.
:0(
Still have the poles...figure I can use them for something someday...
I think Awanda got one too...hopefully hers made it.

Shadeless Sharon

Is there a way to put holes, a vent, or something in it so it won't totally catch the wind?

GT I have mine between the south wall and the greenhouse. Last night's wind didn't move it. Hubby staked it down with big iron stakes. I'm hoping it makes it though the rest of the summer. I picked mine up from Biglots, of course, for the same price as yours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Biglots Canopy

Stake it good! We had one last year, too. Lost it to the monsoons as well.

Can't beat the price for what you got! I need side yard shade so bad and wish I could put something up. About 5 years ago before the back patio was in, I put up a big vehicle canopy for temp shade...secured it with 3' rebar stakes driven in at an angle. Same problem with the wind catching under it...it would lift slightly off the ground and "dance" there, straining to fly away, but it held thru some bad wind storms...scary to watch, but it did ok. If they're secured well, they would probably just tear apart before they would break loose.

We had bought one of those shade carports and we lost it in the wind. My dh ended up changing the poles out to steel. We even had the original poles attached to huge railraod ties and the wind bent the poles.

Depends on windy it'll get by you.

After one or two of mine ended up in Apache Junction, I modified mine and it works 98% of the time. I cut the canopy starting at the peak, down each side about halfway down, following the roof poles. This gives you four triangles that peel down from the top. I happen to own a grommet tool so at the end of each cut I placed a grommet to keep the cut from traveling any further and tied it at the grommet point to the frame. Then I attached velcro tabs 1/2 way up each side of the triangles and at the top. When the wind blows too hard, the velcro comes appart and dumps the air. Depending om the material your canopy is made of, you may have to reinforce your edges where you make your cuts. You may have to expiriment with the size of you velcro tabs, but I found 1/2" x1/2" squares worked well for my material which was 65% sunscreen. It's important that you reinforce the ends of your cuts. If you don't have a grommet tool, a paper punch will work. the hole helps keep the cut from traveling, and you can add a square of duct, aluminum or other strong tape for extra strength. If you don't reinforce the cut, all the flapping arround will finish off the canopy. I found that cutting halfway was adequate for my canopy, but your wind exposure, material and overall weight all have an effect. More or less may work.

superb solution jkochan..you must have an engineering background!!..thanks for the post,its quite helpful.I know we all could use more shade,but the winds can be fierce!!

The only drawback to the above method is if your awning is also used for rain protection... for obvious reasons.