Question: The shadenet feels like a plastic material, how long will it last?

Answer: The shadenet is manufactured from knitted HDPE ( High Density Polyethylene ). It is treated for u.v. radiation and is guaranteed for at least 8 years against u.v. degration. * See specification data.

Question: Will the sun not fade the colours and how long will the colours keep their brightness?

Answer: All colours are pigmented with a light fastness of 7 to 8, which has the highest resistance to fading. The shadenet is guaranteed against fading. * See specification data.

Question: What about wind, will the shadeports not be damaged by wind?

Answer: The shadeports are designed to withstand moderate to high wind speeds, similar to conventional metal roofed structures. The specific windspeed rating of the shadeports can be adapted to comply with local conditions and building codes. The standard GMM - Shadeport design is suitable for use in windspeeds gusting up to 90 km/h ( +/- 60 mph.) By upgrading the sizes of the steel tubing on the structure, windspeed loads of up to 192 km/h ( +/- 120 mph.) can be achieved.

Question: What about rust, and can the shadeports be installed in coastal areas?

Answer: Coastal installations have no effect on the shadenet. All metal components are hot dipped galvanised to relevant specifications and carry a similar duration guarantee to that of the shadenet itself.

Question: If the shadenet is accidentally damaged or holed, would it require the replacement of the whole shadenet?

Answer: The shadenet is "lock-stitched" in order to avoid a run or tear in the material if accidentally holed. In the event that a shadenet is accidentally holed, your local GMM - Shadeport agent will be able to repair small to moderate size holes in the shadenet on-site, without having to replace or to remove the complete shadenet.

Question: What about Hail, will this damage the shadenet?

Answer: The original application of the shadenet was to provide cover and protection against hail damage. GMM - Shadeports are totally suitable for use against hail damage. Furthermore, the utilisation of GMM - Shadeports against hail and sun damage should result in a significant reduction on your insurance premium in this regard.

Question: Is the shadenet waterproof?

Answer: GMM - Shadeports can be supplied with shadenet of various densities. The densities of the complete
range of shadenetting vary from +/- 20 % to 100 %. See the specification sheet on the various densities of shadenetting we recommend for normal shadeports. The densities of the recommended single colour shadenets vary from 70 % to 90 %, with an approximately corresponding percentage of water run-off.

Shadeports manufactured from the recommended shadenetting is thus not waterproof and a certain percentage of rain will penetrate the shadenet. In a practical situation the following results have been observed; with light rain very little, if any moisture will penetrate the shadenet and the tendency is for the area below the shadeport to remain dry. It is only with heavy rainfall or wind driven rain that moisture penetrates the shadenet.

Some of the GMM - Shadeport designs can be manufactured from shadenet which is 100 % waterproof. Due to the non-elasticity of the waterproof shadenetting it is only suitable for use on some of the GMM - Shadeport designs.