My biggest problem with this was trying to find the right place to install it. I tried around my dock, but would have to install some extremely long, longer than the 12 foot 4x4's I bought, so I finally installed it on my patio and attached it to three palm trees. Since the trees aren't exactly where I needed them, I used 1/8" stainless steel cable. It was sort of a pain to install, but ended up looking nice. It was overcast and sprinkling when we were done, so I don't know how much shade it's actually casting on the patio. I'll update when I know more. I really like the look of it, very resort-like! I'm also not sure how long it will last in the unrelenting intense central Florida sun. I will update this review as needed.