Worth knowing - and measuring, before buying a parasol

There is nothing better than sitting on your balcony and enjoying a well deserved day off, on a warm summerday. We love to spend time in the sun and soak up the beautiful rays of sunshine, so the body can get some healthy vitamin D.

However, we can also be exposed to, too much sun when we are out, so it is a good idea to be able to create shade from the sun while sitting on your balcony. Fortunately, it is easy to create shade from the UV rays with a balcony parasol that can be put up easily.



At Balcony Living Cph, we have a wide selection of balcony parasols, all of which are good quality, so that they can be used for many years. Our balcony parasols are available in different colours and shapes that give the parasol a stylish expression, whether you prefer vibrant colours or the more neutral tones.

There are several things you need to consider when buying a parasol for your balcony. Here is a brief overview of what to consider and what to measure before buying a parasol.

Size
The size of your new parasol depends on the size of your balcony, garden or terrace. The guideline is that, if you have a balcony or a small terrace, then anything with a diameter above 2.5 metres is considered big, potentially too big. We consider a generally good size for a regular balcony is a diameter of 2 metres. You should always keep the following factors in mind: such as the tilt function and the fact that a balcony parasol can be moved relatively easily, which means that you can be more flexible when choosing a smaller parasol.

Shape
You should consider whether your parasol should be round or square when opened up. This can have great impact where the shade on your balcony is created. The most common choice is a round parasol, but if your balcony is long and narrow, a rectangular parasol could be the better solution for you.

Tilt
Further to the question of the shape of your balcony parasol, you should consider whether you want a parasol that can tilt or not. Most of our balcony parasols can be tilted at the pole, so you can change the angle of your parasol which will ensure that you have shade where you need it on the balcony. This also means that a smaller parasols with a tilt function could provide as much shade as a larger parasols that cannot be tilted.

Crank lift mechanism
A parasol can either be opened with an classic push button or by a crank handle on the pole itself. At Balconyliving, we have a wide range of balcony parasols with both a push button or crank handle. If you do not have the strength for the more common push button, a parasol with a crank handle is the easier solution. Parasols with a push button have the hoisting ropes outside the pole, where parasols with crank handles have the hoisting ropes inside the pole, so the options also have different look.

UV protection
All of our parasols provide protection against UV rays as they have an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of +50.

Colour
You will hopefully spend a lot of time under your parasol over the summer, so choose a colour you won’t get tired of. Just remember that dark colours capture the warmth of the sun better than bright colours, and it will therefore feel warmer underneath the parasol.

Parasol base or parasol bracket
Once you have found the parasol that is just right for you, then the next series of questions arise about how to mount the parasol. Here are two options: a parasol base or a parasol bracket.

The traditional solution is a parasol base, but since the floor space on most balconies can be somewhat limited, theefore we have “half” parasol bases that weigh between: 15-30 kg and can easily hold most parasols in place. These take up less space because they can be placed against the wall or the edge of the balcony.

If you want to save even more space on your balcony, you should take a closer look at our wide range of parasol brackets instead, with which you can mount your parasol directly on the balcony railings, and which therefore do not take up floor space.

Certain brackets are mounted on the rail on top of your balcony railings others are mounted horizontally or also vertically so it is a good idea to measure your rails and the space between them and decide on where you want to mount the bracket before you buy the parasol and bracket.

Moreover, be sure to check the diameter of your balcony pole and make sure it fits the diameter of the bracket.

Here you will find our large selection of durable balcony parasols, and you can also find bases and brackets so that your balcony parasol can be mounted securely.