How to model Sun Shade Sails

[BraveUserMike]

First off, I’m using Home Designer suite 2019.  I last used Home Designer in May of 2025.  I was dealing with some complex roof issues then that I was able to overcome well enough to get accurate roofs for perspective views with the help of the forum.  I only use the program for designing stuff for my own home so I have a pattern of learning to use it well enough to accomplish a project and then forgetting how to use it before the next project I need it for.

 

I need to add some sun shade sails to cover the driveway in front of my garage and the boat parking in the side yard behind the driveway.  I’ve helped hang some sun shade sails for other people before and they usually end up having to anchor them differently than they had planned.  The sails like to be stretched straight out at 45 degree angles from their corners so there is a straight line of tension from the opposing corner so anchor placement needs to be planned along that line, not along sides.  I’m going to need to install poles to do this and I want to model it in home designer so I can get the pole placement and ideal height of each pole planned out with some certainty before I start drilling holes and pouring concrete.

 

If you don’t already  know what a sun shade sail is, it’s a piece of fabric with buckles in the corners that you hang taught with straps or cables to provide shade and protection from rain.  Installations go from interesting arrangements of different geometry sails on quality structures that add architectural interest to poorly hung squares that look tacky.  I would like to end up more towards the 1st side of the scale than the latter.  

 

I had started planning this out last May and have a design with 7 poles already placed but no sails.  I want to model the sails to verify/correct the pole placement and determine the ideal height of each pole.  I have my survey in the design already so I can trace the driveway which I haven’t added to the design yet.  The driveway surface will have to follow the terrain surface.  I think I remember there being a tutorial for that.  Hopefully working through that will bring back some of what I used to know how to do in the software.

 

The sails will be at varying pitches, each sloping in 1 or 2 directions.  Stretched fabric doesn’t stay square, the edges curve in.  If someone experienced could share some pointers on the best way to model them it will probably save me a lot of trial and error as I work through this.

 

 

[Robborito]

Have a look at this discussion;

There are numerous other discussions and library items.

Jeff.

[y-g-m-n]

I know if you open any of the Elevation views, one can rotate objects looking at them.

So how you place camera matters. 

 

Select it by clicking with mouse and you get the EDIT doohickeys.

Grab the triangle one and you can rotate things in that view which then carry over to the model. 

I did it once to make a satellite dish from a 3d shape.

 

See screen shot below - just a random thing I did to show you.

 

So may take looking at object and thinking of your end result.

 

Would be nice if the program had rotate objects about XYZ axis but this works just takes practice to get your end result.

 

 

[BraveUserMike]

thank you both,

 

I’v gotten a little further with this.  Someone pointed out the library and although it only lists versions for 2023 and later I was able to use the 2023 version in my 2019 software.
Using the kite version of the sail in that library I was able to get something resembling what I want into the design.  It’s not perfect but it was good enough to be able to define the post locations.  I don’t think rotating the sail will do what I need.  With the library I’m working with you can pick from a few different versions of rectangular sails and then adjust the “height” so the shape of the sail is set by your choice out of the library and the height setting which basically adjusts the difference between the highest and lowest point of the sail.

 

Here are some snippets from where I’m at now.  I have two identical sails both connected to the same high point on the house which is the correct point where I actually want it.  Going straight out from that connecting point the corners of the two sails connect together to a cable that goes out to a post at the property line.  That single post is at the vector of if each sail had its own post straight out from a line drawn through the center of each sail to the corners opposite of these corners.  Each sail has its own post at the property line for the other far corner.  The rear sail has a mounting point into the poured concrete between the 1st and 2nd floor.  The front sail has a post at the front corner of the garage.

 

I want the 2nd corner of each sail next to the house to be higher.  The correct attachment points are there in the design now.  If I were to rotate the sail to get the corner there I would end up with one of the other corners out of place.  I don’t think this can be done without being able to select a corner of the model and adjust the shape of the sail.  Maybe this is a feature in one of the later versions of the library?

 

 

[BraveUserMike]

I tried importing the newer versions without luck

 

[BraveUserMike]

I came up with an arrangement with the provided shapes that I like; no rotating necessary.