I lol'd at number 3 because I can completely relate. I didn't even know what a mud dauber was until I got a patio umbrella!

Great advice. I never thought of drilling a hole through the pole

Or maybe you could use a sun shade sail.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sun shade sail

We just bought an offset 11' umbrella from Costco. We are not ones to leave something like this open and leave the house. The base is filled with 200# of sand. It folds back and has a cover for longer term protection. It has been standing on my deck during the last week during some very heavy wind and rain and it hasn't budged (it's been closed, btw). The fabric is Sunbrella too.

Last house we had a 12x13 canopy structure on the deck. I really loved not having to worry about opening and closing umbrellas, etc. It was just always up and ready. We replaced the cover of that ($80) annually because it always seemed that a Noreaster would rip through the week before we planned to take the cover off and rip it.

I do know they make the awnings that roll out from the house with a wind sensor. (Costco has a deal with one manufacturer, if you are a member).

Before we bought the 11' one from Costco, we were at a patio store where they had a 13' offset Party Umbrella. It had lights, very heavy base too. Unfortunately it had a center globe light and a radio also. We didn't want those two things.

Oh, and the one Costco has online is around $900, not sure why. In the store it was about $500.

Bee

We have a 14ft sunbrella retractable awning over our bedroom deck. It extends 8 ft and was originally attached to the side of our brick house with lag screws. A wind gust pulled it out of the bricks--- and pulled out one of the bricks, too. We had to have the awning reattached to the underside of our roof trusses, which is more complicated than it sounds. This anchored it where it was supposed to be, but the wind whipped through and ripped the heavy duty (not the umbrella or upholstery weight, this is MUCH thicker and heavier) awning. So we got a wind sensor, which sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't.

We live in Georgia, BTW, in a low valley not known for high winds, but a strong gust at the right orientation can be very damaging anywhere. We thought about a sun sail, but the thought of it coming loose and whipping around on the patio is too much for me to even think about!

If you have a Chipotle Grill near you go and see their umbrellas. They are made in Italy and are crazy expensive. But...they withstand all that has been commented on above...wind, rot, etc. They never come out of the stands and they never break. If money is not a problem then these are the umbrellas for you.

I am not at home or I would go by and see the brand. Sorry...you could also call a Chipotle near you and ask them to go out and read the label to you. :) c

I agree with kswl in that none is better than any other. I haven't delved that deep into figuring out how to not break them; rather I have delved deep into getting the best price on umbrellas so that that it doesn't hurt as much when I inevitably replace them year after year. My vote for cheapest patio umbrellas? Aldi. Last year they had 9 ft aluminum patio umbrellas for $29.99. They follow the same seasonal patterns on their sales. Last year the patio umbrellas were on sale either the week of April 19 or the following week. I'll be looking again this year ;-)

Oh, and when I can find them, I always but the "mesh" ones in lieu of the solid umbrellas. They still shade nicely but it takes the edge off of the wind gusts,

I have no idea what brand ours are. We have the large market umbrellas. Heavy base - wood umbrella. I'm with Bee - we do not leave them open. Open only when in use. We learned that lesson years ago when a bad storm picked up not only an umbrella, but the table it was attached to and pitched it over the deck railing. Shattered the glass tabletop and of course, destroyed the umbrella. Being in TN, we use ours alot (we have one that opens over our two favorite loungers - that's a spot we use alot LOL), we use our umbrellas alot.

tina

This thread came at just the right time! I live in the countryside of Austin, and the winds are like Chicago's windy city, very unexpected to me. My patio needs a bit of shading, and even tho the umbrella wouldn't cover the whole space, partial shading would be fine and the umbrella could be adjusted where shade is needed. Thanks everyone. ;o)

I stopped buying the wooden umbrellas due to their breaking so often and now only get the ones with bendable plastic spokes (is that what they are called?) which will not break when they fall. I also got one that has lights in the spokes, which is kind of fun, but they are yellow lights which surprised me and I didn't like at first. But, the yellow lights will not attract bugs like the white ones will. I will try and find out who makes them if you want. The wooden umbrellas are so much more attractive, but I got so sick of having to replace them every year.

Hey,
TN storm took ours crashing into the concrete. The rib connecting the top of the main pole and the bottom of the cover, the top rib?, snapped in half. Anyone know where just to replace that? It's 52 inches, maybe someone has something in there umbrella graveyard even
Thank you...Trent

Gail, please do share the manufacturer of your umbrella with lights on the ribs. I used to have a solar one like that and would love to find one again.

Thanks!

I found my octagonal umbrella at the swap shop at the dump. It lasted about 15 years for me! Unfortunately, when I pulled it out of the basement this spring, mice had dated away at the top of it, so I've had to buy a new one.

It was an aluminum crank umbrella with a valance. Valance umbrellas are hard to find now, but I love them, and fortunately I mentioned my disappointment to the owner of the store I was buying the new umbrella from, and he looked in his book, and lo and behold, in the Commercial section, they have them! So I've got a 9 foot, octagonal umbrella with a valance coming.

What I do, though, is drill a hole in the umbrella pole JUST where the pole meets the underside of the table, and then I put a pin of some kind through that hole. Umbrella cannot be lifted out of the stand/table that way. I have it over a rectangle table, and it's fine.

Cyn, last year I bought this type of light for my dining table umbrella. It's really nice when it's on, and it's chargeable, so no electrical cord. You just snap it on. If you want to lower the canopy, you have to take it off.

Mine is The Savannah Outdoor Umbrella

We decided there is no umbrella that really holds up to the wind and sun that we get in our backyard, so we had a pergola built out of cedar. Much happier!

Just bought a 9ft aluminum crank with tilt at Aldi's for $29.99 ... I love it! Better than the one I had bought two years ago for twice the price and no tilt or crank.

http://www.fixya.com/support/t474957-hampton_bay_patio_umbrella_bent_pole

Found this site with many patio umbrella fixes! Hope it helps some of those 'Patio Umbrella basement graveyards' LOL! I loved that phrase hehehe!

My 10' square patio umbrella top section where the fabric is spins heavily in the wind, looks like a flying saucer even with slight breeze but the pole and stand are stationary just the top fabric part spins and is dangerous to be under it when it spins because it go low on sides. What can be done to stop the top part from spinning? I have 120 lbs weights on base.

I bought this Umbrella from Corliving it has an aluminum base and has lasted me 4 years. I noticed they started selling replacement canopies this year it might be time for a refresh!

https://www.corliving.com/collections/umbrellas/products/deluxe-offset-patio-umbrella