This is an homage to a man so honest he would rather lose a job than compromise the quality of his labor--a man who would rather disappoint a homeowner than commit one to spending unwisely. His name is Mike Tenenbaum, and he owns PerfectShadeSails.com.
I need some kind of shade for west-facing bedroom windows heat-scorched in summer despite low-E glass. AlumaWood wouldn't do because code requires a minimum of 80 inches of headroom we don't have. Same with a lattice-top. I did some research and discovered that shade sails can be designed even for difficult situations.
Online, Perfect Shade Sails provided immediate information no other company posted. Mr. Tenenbaum uses materials for his shade sails with the highest warranty available in the industry--15 years. No other company offers this high quality Australian material. The next highest warranty was 10 years, and some offer only 5. He's also the only shade sail company exclusively making wire-edge sails rather than web-edged, which stretch to compromise the tautness of sails. Web-edges are much easier to use.
I was sorry that the first question in his posted FAQs explained he comes no farther south than LAX, because we live in Orange County. Still, I hoped to persuade him to venture down to Surf City. He answered my phone call faster than any of the companies doing business nearer to our home.
He asked a few pertinent questions no other answering company has asked and promptly honed in on critical obstacles for our proposed project. Those hot windows are on a second story balcony. He explained how much pull would be on any ground post, how deeply its hole would have to be dug, and what circumference would be required for the cement pour. In short, he took a good deal of time to patiently explain why our proposed project simply wasn't feasible.
Then he told me he had an equally difficult spot at his own home, and that he'd bought a cantilevered Costco umbrella for about $500 which did the trick and was still holding up after 5 years. (Costco still sells it, now for $599.)
I've seen several so-called shade sails flapping wildly in the breeze around our neighborhood. These are no doubt ready-made sails anchored improperly by DIYers. It's quite apparent that when shade sails aren't correctly installed, they're downright dangerous. So, hats off to Mike Tenenbaum, who's given me a semi-permanent solution for about 10% of what I might have paid for shade sails that ultimately wouldn't work. At the very least he's saved me several appointments that most likely would have provided me the same bad news--or fudged on the facts.
Thank you so much, Mike. Live long and prosper. read more