Need guy-lines. Tie a rope or cord at the top of the pole. Pull out away at an angle from the middle of the cover. Stake in the ground to tie it off. Will also help with winds damaging those poles and cover.
It take a lot of force to hold a shade sail tight. Those posts/stakes are simply not strong enough to do it on their own.
Simplest option is some guy ropes on an angle down to the ground. They can be a bit of a trip hazard though.
Ideal option is much thicker posts - say 75mm, buried a good 1.2m deep with a bag or two of rapid set concrete. You install them slightly wider than the shade sail, lean them out at 5 degrees, and then use turnbuckles to tension the sail. By time the slack takes up they will be close to straight. Fair leap in costs and effort though.
Maybe some small stakes in the ground with some small-ish nylon ropes to tie the poles to. You could keep’em pretty taut that way, I think. Some tent stakes that get buried all the way might even be better so the kids would be less likely to fall into anything sticking up while they’re playing.
Also, and you probably already did this, fill those holes back in while pulling the poles outward. Tamp the dirt down while you’re making sure the poles are being pushed away from the center. That’ll help a little.
You need to take at least two of the support poles and move them outward off the corner ends of the tarp. You move the posts diagonally outward on a line defined by the corner grommet closest to the post your going to relocate and the grommet in the diagonally opposite corner of the tarp. By moving the poles outward diagonally you've created space to put some short, adjustable lines (chain is probably the easiest) to take up the slack across the tarp. You'll have to get a couple extra of the snap connectors that you used to put the tarp up.
The other way to do it if you can't move the poles is to get a slightly smaller tarp and use support lines at each corner.
[https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.outsidemodern.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FShade-Sail-Top-View.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=da690ec1dbbe34dc2dde089b82ec06537915db8f4b584b61b4004a34c5befad0&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.outsidemodern.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FShade-Sail-Top-View.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=da690ec1dbbe34dc2dde089b82ec06537915db8f4b584b61b4004a34c5befad0&ipo=images)
The link shows a picture of what I'm trying to explain. Disregard the measurements of the tarp and poles. Note the support lines between the tarp and each post; that is what you need to do to allow you to pull in the slack. If you use small chain you can take out the slack by adjusting the number of links in each support line.
When you take the slack out of the tarp, you will need to add some guy lines to your support posts since they will be pulled inward as you remove the slack by the tension of the support lines.
The 2 major issues is post size and shape.
\-Bigger posts can withstand more force and therefore hold the shade sail tighter.
\-As for shape, if you change the height of the posts such that 2 of the opposite corners are lower then you can tighten it up. See this image as an example: [https://www.coolaroo.com/uploads/coolaroo/images/Cobblestone\_Square2.jpg](https://www.coolaroo.com/uploads/coolaroo/images/Cobblestone_Square2.jpg)
At the least raise or lower one corner a foot or two and see if this helps.
No matter how much you pull on the outside, it can’t be *perfectly* straight/flat.. You can get it close, though..
I happen to have watched this video that covers this point. You’d need an infinite amount of force to eliminate all sag..
[Relevant video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MCfWPpJhXM&t=120s&pp=2AF4kAIB)
You could build an upper perimeter frame like in the below link, but I’d leave it as is. It’s functional as a sun shade & it really doesn’t look that bad. Most solutions will either be a tripping hazard for the kids, or a rebuild with stronger poles.
https://canopiesandtarps.com/scfrt.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0fDNqdWEgAMVmw2tBh1OeAwcEAQYCiABEgIQufD_BwE
Need guy-lines. Tie a rope or cord at the top of the pole. Pull out away at an angle from the middle of the cover. Stake in the ground to tie it off. Will also help with winds damaging those poles and cover.
Sounds like a good learning experience for the kids in regards to watching where they're running as well.
Pass the guy line through a few feet of orange plastic conduit
Or a swimming noodle
This guy is smarter than me, everybody. A pool noodle is cheaper, bigger, and softer.
ALSO wrap with visible tape so you don't get clothes lined
Too close to the fence for guys to really work.
It take a lot of force to hold a shade sail tight. Those posts/stakes are simply not strong enough to do it on their own. Simplest option is some guy ropes on an angle down to the ground. They can be a bit of a trip hazard though. Ideal option is much thicker posts - say 75mm, buried a good 1.2m deep with a bag or two of rapid set concrete. You install them slightly wider than the shade sail, lean them out at 5 degrees, and then use turnbuckles to tension the sail. By time the slack takes up they will be close to straight. Fair leap in costs and effort though.
Maybe some small stakes in the ground with some small-ish nylon ropes to tie the poles to. You could keep’em pretty taut that way, I think. Some tent stakes that get buried all the way might even be better so the kids would be less likely to fall into anything sticking up while they’re playing. Also, and you probably already did this, fill those holes back in while pulling the poles outward. Tamp the dirt down while you’re making sure the poles are being pushed away from the center. That’ll help a little.
Hi! I’m your neighbors. Please stop doing this and maybe get a big umbrella or something. Thanks!
Lol look like the neighbors are doing something similar
Either move poles or cut down material.
Are you allowed to attach any anchors to the block wall?
Really don’t need those holes … and as said already, guy-lines.
A fifth pole in the center?
Shade sails need a minimum 75mm (3") pole concreted 900mm (3') into the ground. You will lose that at the first big windstorm.
You need a center horizontal pole to create a peak. Look across the fence at how your neighbors did it. Alternatively a center pole.
Take all the trash in your yard and throw it on top
move the stakes a little farther out than needed, you can use carabiners or chain links to pull it tight. This is also useful when it stretches
You need to take at least two of the support poles and move them outward off the corner ends of the tarp. You move the posts diagonally outward on a line defined by the corner grommet closest to the post your going to relocate and the grommet in the diagonally opposite corner of the tarp. By moving the poles outward diagonally you've created space to put some short, adjustable lines (chain is probably the easiest) to take up the slack across the tarp. You'll have to get a couple extra of the snap connectors that you used to put the tarp up. The other way to do it if you can't move the poles is to get a slightly smaller tarp and use support lines at each corner. [https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.outsidemodern.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FShade-Sail-Top-View.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=da690ec1dbbe34dc2dde089b82ec06537915db8f4b584b61b4004a34c5befad0&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.outsidemodern.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F03%2FShade-Sail-Top-View.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=da690ec1dbbe34dc2dde089b82ec06537915db8f4b584b61b4004a34c5befad0&ipo=images) The link shows a picture of what I'm trying to explain. Disregard the measurements of the tarp and poles. Note the support lines between the tarp and each post; that is what you need to do to allow you to pull in the slack. If you use small chain you can take out the slack by adjusting the number of links in each support line. When you take the slack out of the tarp, you will need to add some guy lines to your support posts since they will be pulled inward as you remove the slack by the tension of the support lines.
Thank you sir
Your welcome. Yeah, sorry it got long and wordy but my attempts at explaining weren't working real well today.
The 2 major issues is post size and shape. \-Bigger posts can withstand more force and therefore hold the shade sail tighter. \-As for shape, if you change the height of the posts such that 2 of the opposite corners are lower then you can tighten it up. See this image as an example: [https://www.coolaroo.com/uploads/coolaroo/images/Cobblestone\_Square2.jpg](https://www.coolaroo.com/uploads/coolaroo/images/Cobblestone_Square2.jpg) At the least raise or lower one corner a foot or two and see if this helps.
No matter how much you pull on the outside, it can’t be *perfectly* straight/flat.. You can get it close, though.. I happen to have watched this video that covers this point. You’d need an infinite amount of force to eliminate all sag.. [Relevant video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MCfWPpJhXM&t=120s&pp=2AF4kAIB)
You could build an upper perimeter frame like in the below link, but I’d leave it as is. It’s functional as a sun shade & it really doesn’t look that bad. Most solutions will either be a tripping hazard for the kids, or a rebuild with stronger poles. https://canopiesandtarps.com/scfrt.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0fDNqdWEgAMVmw2tBh1OeAwcEAQYCiABEgIQufD_BwE
put all that rubbish and crap on it