Bali treehouses, gazebos and playhouses

Enjoying your backyard is all about relaxation in pleasant and comfortable surroundings. However there can be hot-spots in the summer months, particularly around the pool, patio or sundeck, or in the children’s play area.

It can get very hot in the midday sun, particularly if your backyard faces east and west. To keep your backyard cool when the temperature rises, create shady comfort zones using a tropical gazebo or cabana.

Tropical Backyards offer a wide range of traditional Balinese gazebos which will add a cool, shady and tropical touch to your backyard - perfect beside the pool or over an outdoor bar.

Alternatively we can offer a wide range of umbrellas with traditional thatched roofs supported by attractive coconut wood posts.

Tropical Backyards have recently added tropical thatched umbrellas to their range of outdoor lifestyle items. Hand-crafted in Bali, these attractive umbrellas will bring shady relief to your backyard during the hot summer months.

Roofs are made from traditional alang-alang thatch and are supported by beautiful coconut wood posts. The umbrellas come in a wide range of sizes and styles and will add a tropical touch to your backyard.

Alang-alang thatching has been used for hundreds of years on the island of Bali as a traditional form of roofing. Alang-alang is made from the grass Imperata Cylindrica and is called alang in Bahasa Indonesia and Malay.

Alang-alang is still made in the same traditional way and are often constructed using bamboo rafters, although nowadays timber is becoming more common - although more expensive. The peak of the roof is usually finished with decorative terracotta "crown." The eaves can then either be cut horizontally to form a straight fringe, or left uncut with the grass drooping Tahitian style.

Alang-alang is a good insulation against heat and is extremely attractive to look at, both from the inside and outside. It is also very durable, in some cases lasting for up to twenty years although the usual life-span is around six to eight years.

Many factors affect the life span of alang-alang, which is a natural organic material and under a constant process of decomposition. Factors include the quality for the material, the pitch of the roof and whether there is water from an upper roof falling on it.

Alang-alang roofs require no finishing or maintenance however a spraying with varnish on the inside will enhance their appearance.