PVC vs Shade Net: Which Shade Cloth Is Right for Your Shadeport?

Choose shade net if sun is your main concern. Choose waterproof PVC if you also need rain cover, or if you’re on the beachfront. Shade net blocks at least 95% of UV, lets air through and sheds wind well, and it’s the cheaper option. PVC blocks over 99% of UV and keeps rain out completely, but it costs roughly R1,500 to R2,500 more and takes more wind load, so the frame has to be specified for it. Both carry our 5-year UV guarantee.

PVC vs Shade Net at a Glance

What’s the Difference?

Sun, Rain and Heat

• Sun: both do the main job. Shade net blocks at least 95% of UV, and PVC blocks over 99%. For protecting paint, dashboards and interiors, either works.
• Rain: this is the real difference. Shade net lets light rain through. PVC keeps rain out completely, and bird droppings and falling leaves too. It gives more hail protection than open net, though it’s still cloth, not a solid roof.
• Heat: shade net lets air circulate underneath, which keeps a parked car cooler than a fully sealed cover. Under PVC the shade is total, but air moves less.

Because rain runs off a PVC roof instead of through it, think about where that water will land. A canopy that drains onto a walkway or your front step is worth avoiding, and it’s something to raise on the site visit.

Wind: Why PVC Needs a Stronger Frame

Cape Town’s Southeaster regularly reaches 60–80 km/h, with gusts above 100 km/h on exposed sites.

• Shade net lets much of that wind pass through, so the frame and footings carry less load.
• PVC is a solid surface and catches the full force, so the poles, footings, bracing and fixings have to be specified for it.

This is the most important thing to get right with PVC. Putting PVC on a frame designed for shade net can overload the frame and fixings on an exposed site.

On high-exposure sites such as Bloubergstrand, Milnerton, Table View and the Cape Flats, we increase pole gauge, bracing and footing depth.

Coastal and Beachfront Properties

Near the shoreline, the choice flips. Salt spray speeds up UV breakdown in woven shade net, so it deteriorates significantly faster in direct Atlantic exposure than inland. For beachfront properties, PVC is our default: it resists the salt-and-UV combination better, lasts longer in those conditions, and is easier to clean.

A little further inland, where salt spray isn’t hitting the cover directly, shade net is usually fine.

What Each Costs

For reference, our shadeports start from R5,500 for a single and R6,500 for a double, supplied and installed, with shade net. See what a shadeport costs in Cape Town for the full breakdown.

Colour: Mostly a Question of Looks

Both cloths come in a range of colours. The heat difference between colours under standard shade net is moderate, so choose mainly for how it looks against your house and what your estate or body corporate allows. We bring colour samples to the site visit, so you can see them against the house in real light.

Can You Switch Later?

You can re-cloth a shadeport when the cover wears out. But going from shade net to PVC isn’t a simple swap:

• The frame may not be up to it. A frame designed for shade net may not be specified for PVC’s extra wind load, so it has to be checked first.
• The City may need to approve it. Swapping shade net for PVC changes the covering type, so check with your District Planning Office whether it counts as a like-for-like repair. See whether you need council approval for a shadeport.

If you think you might want rain cover later, it’s usually better to choose PVC from the start. Otherwise, make sure the frame is specified for it. For re-clothing an existing shadeport, see our shadeport repair service.

Which Should You Choose?

Either way, we look at your exposure on the free site visit and specify the frame to match. See our shadeport installation in Cape Town.

PVC vs Shade Net FAQs