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A beautiful tiki bar siting beside a pool on a sunny day. Palapas give your pool deck, garden or patio an exotic tropical island feel, and setting them up is a breeze.

You’ll find a great range of palapa designs on the internet and on this site, including everything from simple shade umbrellas to tiki huts and thatched roof pergolas.

Palapas are constructed very simply from panels of thatching material over a timber support structure. It’s very easy to install the palapa yourself, based on your own custom palapa design. Just follow the links from this site for more information.

A few tips to keep on mind when choosing your palapa.

Palapa thatch covers are hand made from natural materials. The reeds may be stained, or sometimes coated with a polyurethane material to make them water resistant, and highly resistant to rotting.

Unlike canvas umbrella covers or timber roofing materials, air can circulate freely through the reeds of the palapa cover, keeping you cool and comfortable on warm summer days, and providing a high degree of wind resistance. Under normal conditions, the thatching material on the palapa will last around three to five years before needing to be replaced. The timber support post will usually come with a protective stain finish, which you can reapply when necessary.

A very important factor to take into account when choosing your palapa is the fire retardant properties of the thatching material. Some palapas are designed to be fire retardant, while others are not, so it’s important to check the product details carefully. Do not purchase a palapa with non fire retardant thatching if you plan to use it near a barbecue or outdoor firepit.

For more information building a Palapa, please read this book review on Tiki Hut Construction. This book is written by Kevin Dunn and it has all the steps to build your own Palapa.