Document 6461084

@
) The shadecloth
installation
industry is largely
unregrulatedin
Australia. The
installer may have
little knowledge
about the corlect
method of desigrn
and installation
to ensure proper
protection.
) Some
shadecloths
are susceptible
to stretching,
whether'through
incorrect
tensioning during
installation, or
deterioration.
This may
reduce their W
protection.
haveembraced
theoutdoors'like
no
A ustralians
f ilother nation,
withcompact
courtyards
andrambling
backyards
readily
converted
intoextensions
of ourliving
areas,
thanks
to synthetic
shade.
A rangeof smartshade
devices
comeintrendystyles
andvibrant
colours,
and
manyofferreassuring
claims
of maximum
ultraviolet
protection.
radiation
{UVR)
hasfound,
CHOICE
however,
thattheUVRratingof
theshadecloth
is onlyhalfthestory.
Theshadecloth
industry
is largely
unregulated
andserious
knowledge
gapsexistinthewaythesedevices
should
bedesigned
andinstalled.
lgnorance
ofthelevelofshade
coverage
necessary
thechoice
ofmaterials
andwherea shade
structure
should
beorientated
in relation
tothesun
mayallcontribute
towards
a structure
thatprovides
protection
dangerously
inadequate
againstthesun.
lf theshadecloth
is improperly
stretched,
thiscould
alsoreduce
itsstatedUVRprotection.
WHYSHADE
DEVICES
FAIL
Accordingto architectJohn
Greenwood,directorof the
shadeauditfirm, WebShade,
there are a few reasons
most shadedevicesfait.
. The wrong materials
are used,such as shade
fabric with too low a
.
.
ptastic
UVprotection
levet,or eventranstucent
roofinginstead
of onethatis potycarbonate,
whichoffers99%UVRbtock.
T h es h a d e c to th ' s tru c tu
reotbi genough
isn
to
createshadeoverthe targetarea.
Po o rp ta n n i nogf w h e res h a dei s si ted,suchas
noterectingshadewhereit is needed.
16 IWWW.CHOICE.COM.AU
Can you trust the industry?
Withtheexceptions
of Oueensland
andVictoria,
where
installers
mustholda validbuilder's
licence,
anyone
can
setthemselves
installer.
upasa shade
Evenwitha builder's
licence,
thereis noguarantee
qualifications,
aninstaller
willhaveanyspscific
experience
or advanced
knowledge
of shadedevices
andtheircorrect
installation.
A high-protection
shadecloth
in sucha waythat
couldbeinstalled
protection.
its
compromisesstatedUV
"There
process
is noformaleducation
of howto put
upa shadecloth,
sotheonlywayisto gooutthereanddo
it,"saysJohnSimmonds,
director
of Billabong
in
Shades
"Theproblem
Victoria.
withthistrial-and-error
method
is
thatsometimes
theerroris madeandthecustomer
has
to payfor it."
Technical
aspects
of howto design
anderectan
effective
making
shade
sailinclude
suretheclothhas
therighttensile
strength
to takedifferent
windloadsand
thatthesupports
aresufficiently
stable.
0rientation
to
thesunalsomatters;there
is littleusehaving
theshade
yourneighbour's
pit.
sheltering
barbecue
What's in a shadecloth?
- knitted
Therearetwotypesof shadecloth
andwoven.
Mostfordomestic
andcommercial
useareofknitted
grades,
fabric,
eachavailable
inseveral
fromlighttoextra
heavy.
fabricsgenerally
Commercial-grade
offersuperior
protection
intermsof UVRblockandstrength
astheyare
designed
forlarger
spans.
Domestic-grade
shadecloth
is
(seeDomestic
soldathardware
stores
andCommercial
page18),andofferbetween
Knitted
Fabrics,
Shadecloth
forbothplants
50%and99%UVRprotection
andpeople.
Australia
recommend
Cancer
Councils
across
shade
structures
havea UVRblockof atleast94%.
fabricoff
you'rea DlYer
upshade
sizing
Whether
a hardware
shadesailfrom
a readymade
theroll,buying
supplier,
a
shadecloth
from
swatches
at
or
looking
store
. Choosethe fabric wisety Dark,ctosetywovenand heavyfabric
A
shadecloth
rating.
UVR
checkfortheshadecloth's
bl.ocko
s r a b s o r b sm o r e U V r a d i a t i o nt h a n t i g h t e rf a b r i c s .D i f f e r e n t
t b i t i t i e st o b t o c ko r a b s o r bU V r a d i a t i o n .
f
a
b
r
i
c
s
h a v ed i f f e r e n a
witha 98%UVRratingmeansit blocks98%of
UVR
guide,shadectothshoutdprovidesat least 940lo
general
As
a
radiation.
ultraviolet
protectionor greater.
" M o sp
t e o p lgeof o rc o l o uar n dc o s ti n c h o o s i n g
director
JohnGreenwood,
. Consider
saysarchitect
shadecloth,"
a shadeauditof thesitewhere
a shadeauditConduct
qualified,
and
"From
Youdon'thaveto be professionatty
shadeis required.
theshadeaudits
of shadeauditfirmWebShade.
publ
.i cati ons
canbeusedasa gui del g o
A
ustrati
a'
s
C
ounci
t
C
ancer
knowledge
is
a
huge
there
it
is
obvious
we havedone,
the
assessing
A shadeauditinctudes
to www.cancercounci[.com.au).
e ake
w h i l eb u y i nagn d
g a pi nt h ec h o i c epse o p lm
currentshadeof a siteaswe[[thetypes,timesandmonthsof use.
t hge m . "
installin
hetpto ptana shadedesignthatmeetstheneeds
A shadeauditwil.l.
use.
of thesi teandi tsi ntended
has
Greenwood
audits
shade
lnthenumerous
he
andNewZealand,
0ueensland
in NSW,
conducted
. Setectyour instatler carefutty Checkthe credentiatsof the shade
if theyknowtheUVRprotection
askshisclients
always
. o e st h e c o m p a n y
p r o v i d e ra n d t h e q u a t i t yo f t h e s h a d e c t o t hD
used."l findit
andthetypeof material
oftheshadecloth
i n c l . u d ea s t r u c t u r a Ie n g i n e e r ' sr e p o r tf o r t h e s i t e a n d s t r u c t u r e ?
? o t h e y p r o v i d eo n g o i n gs e r v i c e ss u c h
W h a t w a r r a n t ya p p l , i e s D
thetypeof materialthe
knows
veryrarewhensomeone
m
a
i
n
t
e
n a n c ea n d c t e a n i n g ?W h a t a r e t h e
c
h
e
c
k
s
,
a
s
s
a
f
e
t
y
is madeof andhowmuchUVR
bought
sailthey
shade
s p e c i f i c a t i o nos f t h e c t o t h u s e d ?H a s i t b e e ni n d e p e n d e n t ttye s t e d
saysGreenwood.
blockit offers,"
t o c o n f i r r pt h e U V r a d i a t i o np r o t e c t i o nl e v e t ?W h a t i s t h e d u r a b i t i t y
of stretching.
Thenthereistheaddeduncertainty
of the ctoth?
"TheUVRblockisthesinglemostimportant
determinant
. D oyouneedapprovat?
C onfi rmw i thyourl ocaIcounciwl hether
sunburn.
against
of protection
thedegree
of assessing
youneeda permi tto putup theshadecl oth'
dueto improper
isstretched
Butwhena shadecloth
saysChristopher Source:CancerCouncilNSW
itsUVRcouldbelowered,"
installation,
a
Warehouses,
of Nolan
director
managing
Nolan,
since1920.
shade
thathasbeeninstalling
company
duringthe
"Wesimply
gota couple
Generally,
ofguysto pulla shadecloth betakennotto distortclothstructure
is
no
There
preparation
test
specimens'.
the
of
up
when
open
shadecloths
Some
directions.
indifferent
knitted
in UVR
to testthechange
testmethod
standard
Thekeyis in howyouputit
andsomedon't.
stretched
conditions," shadecloths
understretched
formaterial
transmitted
JohnSimmonds.
Shade's
up,"saysBillabong
stretchand
ofthe
scientist
seniorresearch
shadecloth saysDrPeterGies,
of Oueensland-based
TonyWatt,director
atARPANSA.
Section
Radiation
is alsoconcerned, Ultraviolet
Industries,
Pro-Knit
manufacturer
transmit
atthe
Science
andVision
of 0ptometry
TheSchool
betestedunder
should
fabrics
thatshade
arguing
more
testsonshadecloth
of NSWhasperformed
University
thata
Heasks:"Whatisthepointofstating
tension.
UVRthan
Dain,
Professor
Stephen
Standard.
to theAustralian
offers
butwhenstretched
has97%UVR,
shadecloth
says
Laboratory,
unstretched.
of its0pticsandRadiometry
director
a lowerprotection?"
with
vary
will
stretches
thathowmucha shadecloth
a testmethod
fordevising
whichis a problem
installation,
Stretching the truth
state.
a stretched
thatincludes
no
to ourknowledge,
thesesuspicions,
Despite
"How
onhow
depends
stretch
much
shadecloths
in
UVR
change
for
any
tested
been
have
shadecloths
So
installation'
in
the
supported
they
are
where
and
stretched.
protection
being
levelwhen
governed
not
be
should
manufacturer
provided
a
shadecloth
protection
by
shadecloth
theUVR
Currently,
saysDain."Generally,
bywhatis outoftheircontrol,"
AS4174
andcanbe
Standard
byAustralian
is covered
more
and
dostretch wouldtransmit
knitted
shadecloths
and
Protection
Radiation
bytheAustralian
measured
donotstretch
Wovenshadecloths
(ARPANSA),
UVRthanunstretched.
Wool
Australian
Agency
Nuclear
Safety
areverysmall.
changes
(AWIA)andtheUniversity
muchatall,sothetransmission
of NSW.
Authority
Testing
"Aninteresting
project
mightbeto takedown
andlndustrial
Scientific
andCommonwealth
TheA\MI'A
in
useforsometimeandtestit
has
been
(CSlR0),
that
shadecloth
tests
shade
meanwhile,
Research
0rganisation
wouldbethemajor
stretching
which
in
state,
in
the
used
strengths.
fabrics
fortearandtensile
quantify
applied
tension
the
to
need
"ARPANSA
Wewould
change.
in
testing
outshadecloth
carries
results,"
of useto drawmeaningful
andtheduration
forsynthetic
Standards
withAustralian
accordance
hesays.>
s h a d e c l oTt hh.es t a n d a rsdp e c i f i et hsa t ' c a rseh o u l d
BEFOREYOUBUYSHADECLOTH
BU
R.U A2ROY( )I 9T 7
W W W . C H O I C E . C OF
ME. A
Domestic
Extra-heavy
and
claimsbetween
84-90%
UVRblock.
Commercial
Heavydutywith 90%
U V Rb l o c km
, ade
of monofilament.
r 0 u n 0y a r n s .
I
I
I
t,
Commercial
N o U V Rb l o c kf i g u r e s
s t a t e db, u ti s c l o s e l y
k n i t t e da n dc l a i m s
$H
"UVExtrablock".
Classification of sun-protective
levels of shadecloth
Oor.r,l,
"Medium"
UVRblock
of between
640/o-700/o
stated
onrolls.
Common sense
A u s t r a l ihaa so n eo f t h eh i g h e sstk i nc a n c e r a t e si nt h ew o r l d ,
fo r s u n -p ro te c ti cv leo th i n g
i n c l udes
Th eA us t r alian
S t anda rd
A ustral i ans
aretreatedfor ski nca ncereach
Morethan380,000
s y s t ems i mi l ato
r th a tu s e dfo r s u n s c re en
a cl a s s if ic at ion
y e a r- a b o u 1
t 0 0 0p e o p l e a c hd a y .H a l fo f a l lA u s t r a l i a nasr e
o u t,th e c l o thm aybe
De p ending
on howm u c hU VRi s b l o c k e d
w i thski ncancerat somestagei n thei rl i fe.Skincancer
di agnosed
" Go o dp ro te c ti o n""V
, e ryg o o dp ro tecti on" ,
. or e
as of f er ing
d e sc r ibed
cancerseac hyear M
for 80%of al lnew l ydi agnosed
accounts
pr ot ec t i o n " .
o r "Ex c ellent
i n Aust r alia
aredi agnosed
ever y
than9500newcasesof mel anoma
s e rei s a n e e dfo r a si mi l ar
TheCanc er
CouncN
i l SWb e l i e v eth
peopl
e
year,w i thabout1600
dyi ngannual l yfrom
ski ncancer .
of shadecloth.
According
to a
systemfor the UVRprotection
! lide!
! lopS
! l a pS
! e e kS
i l u s t r a l i aS' sl i p S
C a n c eC
r o u n cA
" anA us tra l i aSnta n d a rd
fo r s h a d e c l o sthi mi l ar
to the
sp o k es per s on,
w i thclot hing,
beseechi ng
usto protectoursel ves
campai gn,
f or s un- p ro te c ticvleo th i nw
g i l li mp ro vceo n sumers'
cl a ss if ic at ion
i s a catch-afor
ll t he layer s
hat,shadeandsungl asses,
sunscreen,
products
level."
witha lowor highUVRprotection
abilityto identify
yourski nneedsagai nstharmfulU Vrays.
of protecti on
" S hadei s an essenti al
en
x p l a i n eth
d a ts hadecl oth
A S t andar ds
A us t r a l isap o k e s p e rs o
partof thesunprotecti on
c om binat ion, "
"
The
i n th a tfa c to rss u c hasthe
provi
si
on
d i ffe rsf r oms unpr ot e c ti vcel o th i n g
of
str
at egically
s
saysthe counci l 'spokesperson.
e mth e subj ects, pl acedshadecanbe hi ghl yeffecti ve
d e si gnands iz eof t hes h a d es tru c tu red,i s ta n c fro
i n reduci ng
U Vradiat ion
a n dd i ffu s e ra
d d i a ti o na,sw e l la sthe physi cal exposure,
th e l ev elof r ef lec t ed
morecom f or t able.
the envi ronment
asw el las maki ng
l o ca t ion
of a per s onwi th i nth e s h a d es tru c tu rec,a na ffectthel evel S hadeal onecanreduceU Vradi ati on
by75 %, "
exposure
pr ov ide dT.h i si s w h yth e s u n -p ro te c ti vl evel
sof
e
o f p rot ec t ion
aboutbuyi ngshadesai l sor havi ngs hadeclot h
Forpoi nters
an
s s u c h ,a r en o ti n c l u d e idn t h e
s h a d e c l o t oh r, a c l a s s i f i c a t i o
, B eforeY ouB uyS had eclotpage
h,
see
i nstal l ed
by a professi onal
A u s t r a l i aSnt a n d a rfdo r s h a d e c l o t h .
N
S
W
.
from
the
C
ounci
l
17,toradvi ce
C ancer
"UV Rc las s if ic ati oi snn o ti n c l u d e idn th e s ta n d a rd
for
of th e clot h
N ol an:" A s far as sel ecti on
S aysC hri stopher
i t i s d i ffi c u l ttod e te rmi nan
s hadec lotbhe c a u s e
e
syn th et ic
the clot h,t he
i s concerned,
a rul eof thumbi s thatthe heavi er
n r i te msw h i c ha ren o ti n cl ose
e p ro te c ti ofo
a ccu r at em eas ur of
greater
In myvi ew ,oneshoul dno tgett oo
the U Vprotecti on.
p ro xim ittyo t he s k inan dth e c o mmi ttedei dn o tw a n tto provi dea
therei s al w aysgoingt o
hungup aboutthe U V Rbl ock,because
t,i t w as
fa l ses ens eof s ec ur it yW. h i l eth e c o m m i tteceo n s i d e rei d
y uir es
ot her
refl ected
radi ati on,
w hi chl ogi cal lreq
be si gni fi cant
s uchi n fo rm a ti owno u l dg i v ea fa l s el e velof
d e ci dedpr ov iding
and
andsunscreenBlack
.
suchas cl othi ng
formsof protecti on
p ro te c t ion
t o us er sasth e rea rema n yo th e rfa c to rsto c onsi der,"
green
really
for
absorpti
on,
but
should
arebettercol ours U V
dark
A u s tra l isap o k e s p e rs o n .
sa yst he S t andar ds
notdi ctatechoi ce."
it hasnotreceived
anyproposals
Australia
toldCH0ICE
Standards
on
of a shadeclotdepends
h
A s w el l ,gi venthattheperformance
for shadecloth
but
standard
or requests
to reviewtheexisting
finda skilled
i t i s i mportantto
andi nstal l ed,
thew ay i t i s desi gned
whowishesto doso (goto wrruw.standards.org.au/).
welcomes
anyone
I
andi nstal l er.
desi gner
andexperi enced
18 IWWW.CHOICE.COM.AU
II
'if
The risk to childcare centres
Lack of knowledge and
expertise in the industrY,
resulting in shade devices
that fail to provide
adequate protection, has
signiflcant implications for
childcare centres, which
are legally obliged to have
adequate shade as Part of
their licence conditions.
Under the Children's
Services Regulations
2004(NSW),outdoorplay space"must
be adequately shaded" in accordance with guidelines
published by Cancer Council NSW's Shade for Child Care
Services,inctuding, among other things, that shadecloths
should have minim:umg4% ultraviolet radiation block'
However, CHOICE discovered that childcare centres
are left to their own devices when it comes to ensuring
adequate sun protection and compliance to regulation'
When Juliet Ranieri (above), director of KU
Wahroonga Preschool, was looking to replace the mouldy
and saggy shadecloth in the school, she called flve
shade installers. Ouote-and-leave attitudes and productpushing characterised her experience among the four
flrms she didn't choose.
Only one flrm took Ranieri through the kind of
materials it would use, the UVR block of the material,
how it planned to design the shade and how that would
suit what she wanted: a simple green shadecloth with
the right WR block that was big enough to cover the
chrldren's playground.
"One installer tried to convince me I needed
multicoloured shadecloths, while another told me they
could put the new shade sail over the old poles, which I
was told later caused the sag in the old shade sail," says
Ranieri. "Another took out two business cards; he was
both a shade installer and an electrician."
in the end, she chose the instalter who offered the
most detailed explanation of what the school's $24'000
was being spent on and who was backed up with
credentials from past jobs. Not only did she make the
reference checks, she drove around to look at the work the
installer had done before. She has never had a professional
shade audit done but studied the Cancer Council NSW's
gmidehnes and SunSmart recommendations closely'
A shade audit is not a pre-condition for a childcare
service to be certified SunSmart but Ranieri conducted
her own shade assessment before she had the shadecloth
put up. CHOICE set up and attended a preliminary shade
audit for the KU Wahroonga Preschool with architect and
shade auditor John Greenwood (below). The preschool
scored 9.5 out of a possible 10 for having the right shade
materials and shade projected in the right areas'
"Juliet understood the shade needs of her site'
She knew what material the shadecloth was made of
and what protection it offered. This is rare as many
people we have done shade audits for do not know
where shade is really needed or what UV protection
is required. Her efforts in getting the right installer
have been a big factor in achieving a successful shade
outcome, " saYs Greenwood.
When he conducted audits of seven childcare centres
between January 2007 and November 2008, Greenwood
found none complied fully with regulations, despite two
being SunSmart certifled.
CHOICE asked the Department of Community
Services (DoCS) and the Cancer Council Australia for
solutions they may have considered in ensuring what
"adequate shade" is in practice, but no one seems to
take responsibility for solving the problem'
A Cancer Council Australia spokesperson says:
"Regnrlation is the responsibility of state govemments'
each of which has its own recommendations or gnridelines
for sun protection, shade in outdoor spaces and duty
of care. " She added that the Cancer Council is a nongovernment organisation, not an enforcement agency, and
cannot regnrlate for shade in early childhood services'
A DoCS spokesperson told CHOICE: "DoCS supports
moves to improve the quality of equipment used in
children's services. However, the installation of equipment
in children's
services, whether
it be shadecloths,
playground
equipment, or kitchen
facilities, is managed
by the individual
children's service.
DoCS does not have a
mandate to regulate
the shadecloth
industry." However,
the Iicence
conditions that
adequate shade
must be provided as
part of a childcare
services facilities
and eguipment
requirement falls
within DoCS'jurisdiction.
CHOICE
with
cHoIcE would like to see stare governmentsbetter monitor childcarecentres'compliance
by
required
as
shadecloth,
any
of
installation
and
audits
gruidelines.
Shade
the CancerCouncil
those guidelines,shouldbe enforcedas a conditionof licensingfor childcarecentres'
. F. A
2O
EU
BRUAR
Y OI91 9
WWW.CHOICE.COM