FAQs

We ask for a 50% deposit on all goods we sell. As you can appreciate we have to buy all our raw materials before we can make your goods so a deposit certainly helps with our cash flow and our ability to offer you first class products and service. But more importantly we want to make sure you are fair dinkum dealing with WeatherSafe so your deposit helps to create the trust between us which we feel is so important when dealing with businesses these days.

We sure do! The most important part about buying anything is to make sure you get exactly what you need to solve your current outdoor weather protection problems. And the preferred way to do this is for one of our friendly team to visit you on site, or at our showroom, to find the best way to sort out your issues. We will give you the first rate advice and a comprehensive quote and best of all completely free.

It is required by law to give at least 12 months warranty on most new purchases and we will go above and beyond this in most cases. Different products have different life expectancies and we offer fair and reasonable warranties on all our handiwork. Be sure to ask one of the WeatherSafe team what is the warranty on the article you are enquiring about.

We have every payment choice available to make your transaction with us as smooth and easy as possible. Cash, cheque, direct debit, credit card, paypal, we’ll even take Bitcoin (once we work out how to!) Whatever option you decide we will make it easy for you. Just remember there may be small charges for credit card transactions.

Depending on the product you order, whether we have materials in stock or if we have to get approvals and engineering will determine how long it will take from the moment we get your deposit to you receiving your goods. We make every effort to make this time period as short as we possibly can as we know how keen you are to get your order. If there are delays then we make sure we keep you in the loop and update your delivery expectations.

We make every effort to cut down the rust factor when making and installing our blinds. Most of the hardware we use is galvanised, aluminium and stainless steel as we know what happens when things are outside in our harsh Aussie climate. If we are near the ocean then we will recommend stainless steel fittings which may cost a little extra but will stand the test of time. Our installers are full bottle on the right fitting for the right location. The actual fabrics used have no metallic content and therefore no risk of rusting what so ever.

Like everything the better you look after your blinds the longer they will last. We give all our customers a care for and maintenance sheet after the sale so you know what things you can do to prolong the life of your blinds. However different materials have different life spans and we will tell you this when we first meet. Mesh fabrics have a longer life than clear PVC blinds, but if you follow our instructions and be kind to your blinds we have seen outdoor blinds and awnings last up to 20 years.

These days we have so much choice with fabrics and colours it can be quite daunting! With Clear PVC as the name suggests the fabric is clear like glass but it also comes with tinted options to increase privacy and blockout a small amount of sun. With the Mesh fabrics there are heaps of colours available to match any décor. Headboxes and tracks are powder coated to match your interior or exterior furnishings

Blockout fabrics are the only blinds which give 100% privacy along with blocking out UV rays but unfortunately they also blockout your views. This is where the versatility of Mesh fabrics which have the ability to give uninterrupted views as well as daytime privacy come into play. The only downside with mesh is at night, when the lights are on in your outdoor room, you can see through the mesh from the outside. Clear PVC is clear like glass and offers no privacy but we have known customers to install curtains for night time seclusion.

When designing and installing your blinds we do our utmost to make sure they do the job you ask of them and that is to keep out the sun wind and rain. The added bonus is they can also keep out those pesky flys and mozzies. We have to point out that mesh blinds will let in the ambient temperature while blocking the wind and sun but they will let in a small amount of rain especially when it is heavy. Clear PVC will block out 100% of the wind and rain but will not block out the sun or let any airflow through so the different qualities of the fabrics serve different purposes and we will always discuss this with you before you order.

aThe current guidelines for any outdoor structure larger than 20 square metres or more than 2.4 metres high requires council building approval and possibly, in most commercial settings council planning approval.

These are simple documents to prove the structure will be sound, with no chance of being dangerous or falling down. The council wants to know if you are A. not covering too much of your allotted open space and B. the structure you are planning is properly engineered, fabricated and installed.

WeatherSafe will do all the hard work to check if your structure will be allowed before we send you a quote. If there is no problem we can aquire all the necessary council approvals for no extra cost other than permit costs. If you would prefer to deal direct with the council yourself we can give you all the relevant engineering and paperwork for you to complete.
Council approvals are a necessary part of building any shade structure and we will take all the guesswork out of your application.

Shade sails are in essence a big sail and when the strong winter winds arrive they put an extra load onto the sail and the fixing points and just like a yacht will try and move! We recommend you take down your sails in winter to avoid any chance of them blowing away. Having said that not all shade sails are equal. A properly engineered and fabricated sail should be able to handle most winds up to 80kms an hour. We suggest you monitor your sail when strong winds are forecast and test them for yourself. This way you will know what your particular sail will handle.

A well-made shadesail, fabricated from a first class shade cloth, stitched with UV resistant thread and tightly tensioned to properly engineered fittings, should last you more than fifteen years. The right galvanised framework should last 100 years. You are investing in a long term product so don’t be afraid to pay a little more to get a lifetime of benefit from your shade structure.

Both shade cloth and waterproof PVC do a similar job of protecting us from UV rays during our hot summers and PVC has the added advantage of keeping us dry in the winter. We often build waterproof sails and framed structures where the customer wants all year round protection. If you think you are wanting to use your shade structure during summer and winter then its obvious to choose from the large range of coated PVC fabrics designed for year round weather protection. It’s the same stuff the big stadiums use for their covers only on a smaller scale. If your shade is only required in summer then choose from the huge range of fabrics and colours in our shade cloth range. Due to the extra weight and loads caused by PVC, the engineering, (ie. the frame and footings of the structure)are usually bigger than shadecloth and therefore more expensive.

If you choose the right fabric for your particular circumstance as outlined above then your cover will last just as long as you want it to. Some fabrics have limited life spans and other can last up to 50 years. But to put a number on it, most outdoor fabrics should last a minimum of 8-12 years and the specialised fabrics have much longer lives.

Some waterproof fabrics, like PVC plastic, create an impenetrable barrier from the elements and what they are covering and others are semi waterproof. Then there are waterproof fabrics which let the air in such as canvas which ‘breathes’. The best way to test this is whether condensation builds up on the fabric. The fabric with the most breathability will have no condensation and this is a handy choice for covering all living things. Fruit and vegetable covers, tents and canopies let the air in while keeping the water out and allows for a comfortable environment.

This all depends on several factors. How long you want the cover to last, what environment the cover has to endure and of course how much you want to spend.

If you want a short term cover to sit outside for a few months then a light weight poly cover may be all you want. If however it is to cover a load on a truck travelling at 100kph then a stronger more robust fabric will be needed. If you a covering machinery in a dirty environment you need something easy to clean like a PVC plastic and if you are covering fruit and vegies, animals or humans then you need a canvas which breathes. Every application you can think of will have a purposely designed industrial textile fabric to suit you specific application. With our access to over 30 different fabric suppliers, our team has the know how to recommend the right material for your job and 99% of the time we will have a sample at our showroom we can show you.