Here’s an annex floor that makes great sense when camping.
The problem with a poly tarp (plastic tarpaulin) as a floor covering, is it collects dirt which is then transported into the sleeping areas of the tent or camper making for regular cleaning or sweeping. Then if kids come in from playing with sand on their feet, the poly tarp is about to get punnished again. In situations where the ground is damp or soggy, an impervious floor covering over the natural ground is almost essential, but for the sake of this topic we will be referring to coastal camping or areas where conditions are dry and the stay is less than a few weeks in any one place.
Consider the benefits of a knitted fabric with a high tensile strength that is water resistant and you have the ideal floor covering for your camper annex.
Shade cloth, also commonly referred to as Sarlon cloth, greenhouse shade or horticultural shade cloth is a knitted fabric using a polyethylene base material. Knitted shade cloth is much stronger than woven shade cloth and is suitable for a wider range of applications. Common uses for our shade cloth include:
- Horticultural usage
- Agricultural applications
- Fencing mesh for cutting visibility and dust
- Scaffolding mesh for the building industry
- Creating shade sails, and shade covers and canopies over pergolas
- And a caravan annexes.
This material is well suited to temporary floor covering in camping situations as it allows dirt and sand to fall though. It provides a dry surface for wet feet so works affectively in the camp shower also. Also used under tents as a base, what a good idea! At departure, simply pick up the cloth and shake out the debris, roll or fold it up with less damage to the ground than if you had of used a solid floor or poly sheeting.
Domestic shade cloth refers to shade cloth which has tape-filler knitted into the fabric. This helps create a higher UV or block out. Commonly referred to as “domestic grade shade” because it isn’t designed for tensioning up over large structures (such as commercial greenhouses). It still has excellent longevity.
Commercial shade cloth refers to a range of monofilament shade cloths. What this means is that there is no tape-filler in the cloth. To get the density, the knit is tighter. Essentially, monofilament shadecloth is a bit like bulky fishing line knitted together. The tighter the knit the heavier, and stronger the cloth. The heaviest monofilament cloth is an 80% Commercial Grade Shadecloth which has a 306 GSM (grams per square metre) weight. Compare that for example to a 30% grade monofilament cloth which has a 90 GSM weight. Both will serve well as an annex floor, the heavier grade however, will be more than twice the price and unnecessary by comparison.
To get a price on our heavy duty knitted outdoor shadecloth annex floor, shipped to your door, CLICK HERE! Be sure to include the size of your annex and colour preference. Stock Currently Unavailable
7 comments
Hi John, yes mate we couldnt get supply gurantee on the type of shade cloth we needed so had to pull the sales page down. Really appreciate you asking about it though. May I suggest going to Bunnings and buying their heavy duty off the roll. Its pretty good for the price. You will just have to make up the clips yourself. If you need further advice please get back in touch.
Your information about annex flooring is very pertinent for me, since it implies that the material can be made up for any size. However, the price link for the outdoor shadecloth annexe floor is not working, so I can’t get the price of any flooring, which I need now. In any event, how do I order from you, because I can’t find that information on your web page?
Thanks Em, I think its fixed now. We have some other sizes available so let me know if there is a particular size and I will tell you if we have it. Davo.
Hi just wondering what the correct measurements are… the link says 5m x 3.5m but when you click into the link the measurements are 4m x 3.5m …Could you clarify the correct measurments please. thanks. em
I bought yours – good price and the extra pegs etc make it good value. Thanks for shipping so fast.
I scored myself a truck tarp that was made out of 90% shade cloth. I use it as a ground cover between my tent and my kitchen setup and put the table and chairs in the middle. Its about 4 metres wide by 8 metres long. My wife loves it and wouldnt come camping without it. She can bath are two young boys and they can play with their cars and trucks on it without getting dirty again. Its great over sand too and nice to take the shoes off and walk on.
We use shadecloth under our camper floor and it works well in allowing sand etc to pass through it. It also seems to reduce the amount of condensation that can develop under the floor. Have used it at places like Fraser Island and it is pretty good.