The DIY System That Brings Immediate Shade To Your Backyard

It can be lovely to sit out in the sunshine, but there comes a point when most of us seek some nice, cool shade. Tarps and umbrellas are great around the patio, although many have to come down if the weather turns nasty. They don't provide a lot of privacy either. The Pylex Deck Sunblind System is simple yet remarkably effective. It is affordable, flexible, can go up fast, and introduces controllable shade to any part of your backyard.

What the Pylex system allows you to do, in a nutshell, is quickly create louvered blinds that open and close. Each set can be adjusted to whatever size suits your project, up to a maximum of 49 inches tall and 72 inches wide. If you need more height, just add another. The packs contain all the necessary parts, and they have a tough, corrosion-resistant powder coating that adds durability. To complete your desired build, all you need is a drill/driver, a handsaw like the one recommended on TiKTok (or a powered alternative), and some low-cost, store-bought lumber. You need 5/4 x 6 or 1 x 6 boards for the louvers. Assembling the Pylex system is easy. A guide bar is provided for correct spacing, so all you need to do is cut the boards to the desired length and screw everything together. Conveniently, instructions are provided on paper, pdf, and video.

Pressure-treated lumber is usually recommended for Pylex outdoor use because it is much better at withstanding the weather. It can be stained or painted to your preferred color before assembly. The Pylex components come in packs of 11 sets, but they can be used in any combination. At their most basic, the Pylex blinds can be fitted between upright posts as a backyard fence option to divide up garden areas and provide variable shade for flowers and vegetables. 

More creatively, the blinds could be placed around a hot tub, letting in light when desired but providing complete privacy at other times. You could also use the blinds to create walls and ceilings to enclose a pergola or gazebo. Keen DIYers may prefer to build their own structure, but many easy-to-assemble kits are available. If the uprights are less than 72 inches apart, there may be no need for any modification, but it wouldn't be difficult to add more uprights if necessary. Pylex blinds work both horizontally and vertically, so there are very few limits to what can be achieved with a little imagination.