You’re in a Windy Area? We can help

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We have many structures in very windy locations from coast to coast. This is probably the most common comment we get from people who reach out to us. We have experience and extra steps we take to help ensure your structure doesn’t end up as an expensive kite. We have been diligent in our articles and instruction manual to help these situations, but ultimately it’s up to the customer to heed these warnings.

One of the things that is stressed in our assembly instructions is the importance of tying your frame off in both directions as soon as you have the first section of ridge installed. This is typically done with rope coming down from the ridge as an inverted “V”. The sooner this is done, the easier it is to hold everything plumb.

It is worth noting / stressing, that this is not a long term replacement for the wind braces. The wind on the collective surface of all the hoops is capable of exerting a tremendous amount of force.

When one does the math, there are actually cases where the wind pushes with more force when there is no cover on the building then with a cover!

A 20’ x 48’ x 12’ high structure with 4’ spacing has the same amount of hoop surface as an 8’ x 14’ wall. This is an example why the ropes used to hold the frame straight is not intended as a wind brace.

Once the hoops are all installed and the purlins attached, it is important to install the wind braces before proceeding. The purlins are what tie all of the hoops together and then by angling the wind braces down from the rows of purlins, you would be bracing the whole structure.

In photos on our website,you will see our smaller structures have fewer wind braces than the larger ones, which accounts for the above math mentioned. This has been developed with our experience, as well as the engineers who have assessed our structures.

There are different notes on placement, direction and location that will help your structure survive the wind as well. We do our best to go over all the scenarios with you when you’re discussing your purchase with us. The more details you can give us the better. Obviously we aren’t able to account for everything you may encounter, but it is our intention and mission to set you up for success as best as possible. We don’t want your greenhouse to end up flat or blown away anymore than you do! And this is also why we reiterate,

There’s no such thing as too many anchors!

We look forward to helping you find your Shelter Solution!

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Here at Multi Shelters we can work with you to fit whatever budget you have in mind for your project and publish sample prices freely for you to compare.

We have found a balance that provides the economy so many seek, while not sacrificing any quality of the structure or customer service.

Feel free to contact us for a custom quote for what you have in mind. We can work together to reach your goals. Flexibility is what we do at Multi Shelter Solutions.

Our biggest niche still remains that we don’t bend any steel before getting an order. We are able to customize it to fit in just the right spot, or alter how it’s done for your unique request. We bring almost 45  years of experience to each and every call or email that we receive from potential and existing customers and welcome standard as well as outside the box projects.

That factor is how we’ve come up with our “igloo” structure, the airplane hangars, our “flying” greenhouse that was lifted onto an apartment building, and more! We pride ourselves on being able to help you find your best shelter solution, no matter how “out there” an application may seem. We’ve seen pretty much everything and look forward to your project ideas and challenges.

Check out our application pages to get you started and start the ideas flowing, there’s many to choose from. Thank you for your interest in Multi Shelters and we look forward to hearing from you in 2019!

 

Working With a Customer to Adjust a Quote to Fit a Budget

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The person asked for advice when the quote came in over the money they had in the budget.

  1. What not to do
  2. Taking out double plastic, modifying roll up sides and keeping ends simple
  3. Working with us for flexibility on shipping

We received a call for a greenhouse quote with double plastic and roll up sides and were asked to make sure freight costs were included.

The total quote was just over $8000 and we received a note back saying that the budget they had was $6500 and asked if we had any advice on bringing the costs of the quote down.

One area that we consider a last resort is to reduce the size of the structure. When you reduce the building size by 25% you may reduce the cost by 10% and you will reduce potential return by 25%.

If you are not growing in the winter the extra cost of the double plastic with inflator which reduces heat loss can be taken out. It can be added again later when growing cycles change.

Going with steel and wirelock for the top of the roll-up sides is the cheaper way of doing it long-term but for immediate savings, go with wood.

Fancy ends do not contribute anything to the return of the greenhouse so keep it simple and use those savings for extra square footage of production space.

When you have flexibility on the timing of your project we are able to group more orders together to have each customer save on delivery expenses.

If this sounds like the kind of advice you would like to have when you are looking for when it is time to make a structure purchase, please keep MSS in mind. Our goal is to help you get it right and we look forward to working with you on your project.

Be sure to subscribe to our community connection newsletter and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay informed. tinyurl.com/MSSCommunnity

How to Patch an Unreachable Hole

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Occasionally there will be damage to a spot in the cover that is really hard to get at. The approach and advice given here, for safety’s sake, is a 2 person job. If you have a double cover structure, first unplug the inflator fan.

You will need to attach a padded cross piece to a long ladder. This piece should be 50% longer than your structure hoop spacing. i.e. if you have 4’ spacing your attachment should be 6’ long. This cross piece should be located high enough so that when you lean the ladder against the building it will be making contact with the “bulge” of the hoop.

The base of the ladder will be quite a ways out from the building. It is important that the helper firmly anchor the base of the ladder so that it can not kick out from underneath the person climbing the ladder.

If the hole in the cover is past the top of the ladder, you can lean against a hoop while standing on the ladder.

The area of the cover damage must be dry and warm before trying to put on a patch. Patches will not stick well to cold or damp covers.

As always, please call the office if you have any questions or need any clarification on this information.

Worst case scenario weather reminders for today

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reminders from Norm for how to keep your structure safe in today’s weather

please also review the 3 videos recently posted from our winter q&a

Getting Your Structure Ready for Spring

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From our recent Winter Q&A

  • Reduced anchor holding power in wet ground
  • Ventilation ahead of planting time
  • Uninflating roll up sides
  • Coping with excessively with loose covers
  • Extra protection for tender crops

Stay tuned for future Q&As and submit your questions to be featured!
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Green Tarps Discontinued: Effective Immediately

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We want to share new changes to our product offerings with any customers who have ordered the 12mil green tarp in the past or have an outstanding quote for it.

Since we have received relatively few calls for this product and our supplier is faced with a rather extreme minimum order, it has been decided that MSS will no longer offer the 12mil green tarp.

This is effective immediately and applies to any outstanding quotes as well.

For those that insist on green tarp, we will need to refer you to a company that makes the heavier tarp in various colours.

We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your trust in our products.

Caring for your Structure after a Snowfall

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Segment #2: Caring for your Structure after a Snowfall

  • How much snow is a problem or dangerous
  • Balanced and unbalanced snow loads
  • The correct pattern for removing snow
  • Handling Structure Damage
  • Coping with Snow / Ice / Rain Combination

Stay tuned for future Q&As and submit your questions to be featured!
Sign up for our Community Connection Newsletter tinyurl.comMSSCommunity