Engineering key to durable fabric shelters
If you’ve got a motor home, tractor, boat, off-road vehicles or other stuff to protect from the weather, then perhaps you’ve thought about fabric shelters. They’ve been around for 30 years. I’ve been well-served by a small unit at my country home since 2009 and I’m in the middle of getting a larger structure now. This article touches on what I tell people when they come to me looking for advice on whether fabric structures are worth it for the Canadian scene, plus the process I’m following as I plan my second fabric structure.
All fabric structures use a metal framework to support a weatherproof cover that protects everything underneath. Think of it as a heavy-duty greenhouse except with a thick, opaque covering, not transparent plastic. Many people (me included) find that fabric shelters deliver advantages over traditional frame buildings made with wood and shingles. Benefits include economical cost, ease of assembly, the ability to quickly relocate the structure later if desired, plus a bright, pleasant interior that’s easily warmed by the sun in winter. But there’s also one main concern about fabric shelters that often weighs on people’s minds.
“Will this thing survive a Canadian winter?” That’s the most common question I get from people who come to me for advice on fabric structures. My answer is always the same: “It depends.”
Why not a simple yes or no? The uncertainty comes down to the fact that fabric structures can be divided into two broad categories. One I call “hopeful” and the other “engineered.”
“Hopeful” fabric structures are those bargain-basement models with the floppy fabric covering that regularly goes on sale for deep discounts at big box stores. Shelters such as these are usually designed overseas in places where they’ve probably never even seen a snowflake let alone tested their products under Canadian snow loads. A conversation I had with a neighbour comes to mind.
“I bought this portable garage from the flier last week,” a friend bragged to me about six years ago as we looked at a surprisingly small package sitting in the back of his half-ton. “I only paid $350 for it”! His joy of frugality was short lived.
The winter of 2018 saw my son and I rescue this same friend’s stuff from his collapsed bargain-basement “hopeful” shelter as we cobbled together a clumsy fix.
By contrast, “engineered” structures are different. Instead of designing frame and fabric in isolation to be as cheap as possible, engineered shelters begin with a measured understanding of snow load, wind load and foundation options for that particular site. The metal frame, the fabric covering and the entire system that pulls it all together follow physical reality, all to ensure that yes, this thing can stand up to Canadian winters. Engineering like this is key if you’ve got stuff worth storing safely and that’s one reason I opted to work with a Canadian company called Calhoun Superstructure when it came time for my second shelter. I can’t imagine anyone taking engineering more seriously.
Calhoun is headquartered in the lake-effect snow belt of Ontario where they know something of snow, and they were one of the pioneers of fabric structures back in the early 1990s. I’ve also discovered that they take engineering seriously. My first fabric structure, the one I put up back in 2009, measures 16 feet x 30 feet and this the smallest size Calhoun currently makes. The one I’m working on now with Calhoun measures 42 feet x 80 feet, and while that’s much larger than most people need, the same engineering is applied to all the sizes they make.
Stay tuned for regular reports from me on the process of designing and assembling my shelter as it unfolds over the next year or so here at the end of Bailey Line Road.