Category Archives: winter information

February Features! *Winter and Your Structures*

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We have a number of resources on our website to help you with taking care of our structure over winter. We have compiled a list of “Greatest Hits” below, that you can review at your leisure and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions if you are unsure or can’t find what you’re looking for. We are always happy to help.

The best place to start is the Winter Care Pages in our instruction manual.

We also have: Winter FAQs

Video: Norm explains the situations where you would need to remove snow from a Greenhouse or Storage Building and how to do it safely

Winter Care & Maintenance
Important notes for various situations
Our structures are designed in a gothic shape with a slippery cover to be lightweight and snow resistant. This encourages the snow to slide off quickly. This is not an industrial high snow load building….

Weather Cautions
These buildings are not industrial grade shelters and, as such, some caution must be exercised under some winter storm conditions….

Winter Storm & Your Structures
Many areas have been hit with freezing rain today and even though it has generally not been enough to warrant concern for the structures, it is a good time to recap some common things when dealing with ice on buildings….

Retightening a Loose Structure Cover
Re-tightening a cover does not have to be done in one day. Taking a short cut will leave you with more wrinkles. Areas with wrinkles will flutter more and cause stress points.
This will also cause the cover to deteriorate quicker……

Temporary Fix for a Loose Cover
There are a number of instances where a cover will need to be installed in less than ideal conditions. This can be either be on a windy day or in the cold (-10C or worse) and the job simply can not wait.

Season Extension: Hanley Caterpillar Tunnels
The real lure of these buildings is their low cost and simplicity to move. Generally the area is prepared in advance and then the tunnel is moved over the area when the planting is to be done…..

Happy Valentine’s Day and Family Day! We hope you and your family are staying warm, and getting excited for the upcoming spring and growing season! We look forward to working with you on your projects in 2021!

Growing Over Winter in a Greenhouse

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There are quite a few ways to make a greenhouse more heat efficient to make it feasible to grow either through the winter or for a large part of it.

The first thing to determine is what crop(s) you wish to grow since a number of plant varieties would be considered cold weather crops. The heat requirement would be considerably less.

Since the majority of heat loss is through the roof, the most common method of making a greenhouse more heat efficient is by adding a layer of plastic to the outside. With the benefit of a small blower there is an air pocket created. The closer that this air pocket is to “dead air” the less heat transfer that there would be. 10 to 15 cm is considered the ideal gap. When there is more then 15cm there will start to be movement of air and greater heat transfer. It is impossible to have a perfectly uniform space because of the way the plastic goes over the ridge and is fastened around the edges.

It is important not to have any holes in the plastic. The resulting air loss with a hole would result in air movement and less heat efficiency.

It is often thought that a lower greenhouse is easier to heat since there is less surface area to lose heat. The reality is that the bigger air volume of a taller greenhouse is less likely to have the temperature fluctuate.

To make a structure more heat efficient, the north wall could be insulated. Care has to be exercised in insulating ends since it is important not to create extra shading. Insulation can be put flat on the ground around the structure as a way of slowing down the cold radiating into the structure.

Another trick that some people have used effectively to reduce heat requirements is to make small tunnels over the beds of vegetables. This works well for the night time. It is important to have this cover removed in the day time to maximize the value of the sunlight.

If your intention is to only use part of a larger structure through the winter, it is wise to hand a curtain for the length of the ridge and then only use the south facing side. This maximizes the benefit of the sun and minimizes the effect of the cold wind.

With a little creativity it is easy to get benefits from the greenhouse even in the winter.

How to Remove Snow from Your Building

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Video: Norm explains the situations where you would need to remove snow from a Greenhouse or Storage Building and how to do it safely

 

 

Winter Weather Reminders

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These buildings are not industrial grade shelters and, as such, some caution must be exercised under some winter storm conditions….

Please see the WINTER CARE page in our installation guide for additional information. We also have a Winter Care FAQ page with articles we have posted on this topic

BEWARE of this sequence which creates a “worst case scenario”:

Freezing rain, followed by dropping temperatures, Lots of snow followed by rainfall. It is easy to triple the weight of the snow load in 30 minutes.

Our structures are designed in a gothic shape with a slippery cover to be lightweight and snow resistant. This encourages the snow to slide off quickly.
This is not an industrial high snow load building. We do our best to always point out applications where the capacity of the structure is being compromised. Extra hoops or thicker steel are an economical way to increase wind and snow load capacity. We take pride in the sturdy shelters we manufacture and supply, but must point out that we cannot warranty against weather conditions

Snow removal, when occasionally required, is a simple task. Uneven snow loading is deceiving, since the total weight is not a problem but the lateral force can cause the hoops to distort.It is rare to have any significant snow build up on the roofs; however,

DO NOT GO INSIDE A BUILDING WHERE THERE HAS BEEN OBVIOUS STRESS!
Be aware of these scenarios where excessive snow build up is possible and damage could follow:
A wet snowfall followed by dropping temperatures
A building 90° to the prevailing wind (drifts could form on the backside of the building)
A building attached to and situated downwind of a taller building (significant drifting)

A building 90° to another building that has a higher roof, could cause a surge in snow weight when the snow on the upper roof slides off.

Preventative measures for excessive snow build up (where possible):

Build structures inline with the prevailing wind
Build structures level from side to side to create uniform shedding
Do not attach your building to a larger existing building

Install a heat source to melt the snow

Economical additions to increase your structure’s snow resistance:

Install cable or tubular cross-ties at each pair of hoops, to create a triangle (when using cables there is no need to put them under tension)
Place wooden or metal support posts under the ridge. These can be suspended from the ridge with no more than ½” ground clearance. This will provide support as soon as there is load and structure movement will not dislodge your supports.

Use closer hoop spacing for the first 12’ section away from another bigger building

Pointers for removing snow:

NEVER remove all the snow from one side and then the other
Remove the snow off the top of your building before using a machine (snow blower, etc) along the sides

Use a padded piece of 1×4 wood on a pole (create a “T” shape) as the best tool for gently bumping the inside of the cover

So You Want to Buy a Book for Christmas?

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Norm published two books that we wanted to let you know about. It is the perfect size to fit in a stocking, or cozy up and read while dreaming of your new greenhouse or planning your storage building to keep snow off your valuables!
 “So You Want to Buy a Greenhouse: Your Guide to Planning a Greenhouse Purchase” &  “So You Want to Buy a Shelter: Your Guide to Planning a Soft Covered Structure Purchase”

​It’s available on Amazon for purchase, or you can go through our facebook page

​It’s available on Amazon for purchase, or you can go through our facebook page

 

 

We appreciate your support and always welcome testimonials, either directly on Amazon to improve our visibility to help more people, or by email to multisheltersales@gmail.com and we will share them on our social media! Thank you for your feedback

It has already proven to be a valuable resource for many. You can email or call the office and we will ship you out a copy if you don’t want to purchase online.

“I should have known that I would get into this business when I was younger because the highlight of my birthday was always getting new pieces to my Mechano set. Now, I often describe these structures as big Mechano sets. It feels very fitting.”

Are you considering purchasing a greenhouse to start your own operation?
Are you unsure of all your options and what you should know?
Do you want to know what you’re getting into?

Using Norm Eygenraam’s 45 years experience in the industry, we have created this book for you to help! Through illustrations, tips, stories, photos and more, we help you understand all you need to consider. We do use Multi Shelter Solutions examples throughout, as that is what we have easiest access to, but this is by no means a sales book.

This guide is meant to inform you of your choices and show you key considerations in your planning journey. We have tried to make this book as informative as possible, no matter which direction you choose to go.

Enjoy, and happy planning!

Available on Amazon for purchase, or you can go through our facebook page
We appreciate your support!

Important Winter Care Articles

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We have published a few articles regarding winter care and maintenance, and suggest anyone who has purchased a structure from us to review them to make sure your shelter is safe over this winter. As always, we are available for anything you are wondering or concerned about. We would be happy to help.

Winter Care & Maintenance
Winter Storm and Your Structures
Putting up Structures After Snowfall
Weather Cautions
Temporary Fix for a Loose Cover
Retightening a Loose Cover
Installing Before Winter