Umbrella Glossary

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Lifeguard Umbrella – lifeguard umbrellas is made from a basic patio umbrella with a valance and tilt mechanism. Lifeguard umbrellas are used to shield lifeguards from the sun while on duty in their lifeguard chair.

Market Umbrella – the common term used to describe umbrellas that have a canopy with a straight edge instead of the hanging fabric valances; made popular in use in outdoor markets throughout Europe; our standard specification for construction of a market umbrella includes a single wind vent

Offset Umbrellas - an umbrella that is literally suspended by an overhead horizontal ‘arm’ connected to a vertical pole, or offset pole, that is off to one side of the umbrella canopy. These umbrellas do not have a center pole thus providing a shaded area with no obstruction underneath the suspended umbrella canopy. These offset umbrellas are secured with either a freestanding base that requires 400 pounds or more of weight to securely hold the offset umbrella in place; other more permanent bases can used to fix these umbrellas in place in a secure manner. These umbrellas are perfect for tables that do not have a hole in the tabletop to accommodate a traditional center pole umbrella. Side post umbrellas can also be used to provide shade over benches, pools, spas or any other area that can’t effectively use a traditional center pole style of umbrella. Also called Side Post Umbrellas and Cantilevered Umbrellas.

Outdoor Umbrella – outdoor umbrellas are made with wood, fiberglass, or aluminum frames with acrylic or polyester fabric to withstand the elements of year-round weather. Outdoor umbrellas come in a variety of sizes ranging in 6’ diameter up to 11’ in diameter.

Patio Umbrellas - an umbrella that is generally characterized by a canopy with hanging valances framed on a standard aluminum popup frame; our standard specification for construction of a patio umbrella includes a non-vented canopy with hanging valances trimmed in your choice of any available color of acrylic trim

Promotional Umbrellas – an umbrella with the primary function of providing a medium for advertising a message or brand with the shade function being secondary; any of our umbrella frames can be used in conjunction with printing on the panels of fabric and be considered a ‘promotional umbrella’; however, most promotional umbrella applications involve quantities of 100 or more and tend to use the lower cost aluminum popup frames similar to the ones used for our standard patio umbrella style

Resort Umbrellas – a term that is used to describe an umbrella that is manufactured to a more demanding set of rugged specifications to allow service in applications with an aggressive environment and/or high level of continuous use such as could be expected in commercial installations like beachfront locations, hillside and mountainous locations, basically anywhere with gusty winds where umbrellas may be installed an not monitored closely; since Sunbrella fabric is top-of-the line quality, we differentiate commercial umbrellas by way of the frames that are used to build the umbrella; we stock several different types of commercial frames that incorporate fiberglass and/or marine grade aluminum into the construction of the umbrellas; our commercial umbrellas carry multiple year warranties

Restaurant Umbrellas – a general term used to describe umbrellas that are used in restaurant applications; the most common umbrella used in these applications depends on the type of restaurant where the umbrellas will be used. Upscale restaurants tend to use the market umbrella design almost exclusively while casual restaurants tend to use the patio umbrella design with hanging valances; many of these umbrellas may also include printed logos related to the restaurant

Side Post Umbrellas – an umbrella that is literally suspended by an overhead horizontal ‘arm’ connected to a vertical pole, or side post, that is off to one side of the umbrella canopy. These umbrellas do not have a center pole thus providing a shaded area with no obstruction underneath the suspended umbrella canopy. These sidepost umbrellas are secured with either a freestanding base that requires 400 pounds or more of weight to securely hold the sidepost umbrella in place; other more permanent bases can used to fix these umbrellas in place in a secure manner. These umbrellas are perfect for tables that do not have a hole in the tabletop to accommodate a traditional center pole umbrella. Side post umbrellas can also be used to provide shade over benches, pools, spas or any other area that can not effectively use a traditional center pole style of umbrella. Also called Offset Umbrellas, Cantilevered Umbrellas and Sidepost Umbrellas

Single Wind Vents (SWV) - A SWV patio umbrella features a single vent placed in the optimum area at the top of the umbrella canopy. This provides basic wind and heat venting and is that standard vent among all patio umbrellas sold. In small patio areas and places where wind is not a big factor, single wind vented umbrellas is your answer if cost is a factor. It also allows for a single, uniform look to your umbrella cover.

Sunbrella Umbrella – is a sun umbrella made with Sunbrella furniture grade or marine grade fabric. Sunbrella is owned by Glen Raven Mills in North Carolina.