Put away your backyard shade structure when the summer is over. We bought this one two years ago and didn't put it away over the winter. When the windy rainy days of spring hit, it just couldn't take it and totally collapsed.
If we had taken it down during the fall, it would have lasted many years. As it is, the limited use we got out of it was probably not worth what we paid for it. We are going to try to salvage the metal pieces for using in the garden.
By Jess from Hillsboro, OR
We had a similar thing happen after a couple years of use, but I didn't let it go to waste. We took it apart and fashioned it into a very nice arbor which I now have grape vines growing on with a bench seat underneath. And all it took was some metal screws to screw it together.
