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| Discussion on Building An Indoor Arena | |
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| Member: Cwbynkid |
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| Member: Stina |
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| Member: Paintluv |
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| Member: Chip |
Posted on Thursday, Jul 29, 2004 - 7:15 pm: Hi Cheryl,I have looked into these types of buildings a few years back. I visted a CoverAll building that was being used for an indoor and stable (stall) area. I saw it when brand new and then again about a year later. Here is what I recall. The dimentions were about 65' by 170': - 120 for the indoor - 50 for the stalls along the outside walls, a section of stalls, tack, etc in the center - Above the 50 feet of stalled area she had build a loft and was storing hay. All along both long sides of the structure, from the ground up was about a 4 foot wall. Then there was an open section of about 4 feet(like a continuous window the length of the building) and then at about 8 feet off the ground the fabric cover started. The long continuous window was covered by a strong wire mesh in the stall area so that horses could NOT stick their heads out. In bad weather, a fabric curtain could be raised from the top of the wooden wall up to the start of the fabric covering, totaly enclosing the 'window' on for the lenght of the building. This, in my opion, was a very nice feature. Open in sun, closed in driving rain. The cost of the building was significantly lower than bids for traditional buildings. But I'm sure costs are deeply affected by many factors, so this might not be true in other cases. The building fabic, in white, looked great new and created a lovely open and airy feeling in the building. A year later it still looked very good - although you could see some dirt/graying on the fabic. Maybe powerwashing every few years would keep it looking its best. It is my understanding from the manufacturer that (obviously) white lets in the most light (and heat!) and darker colors moderate light and heat. Also, the lighter the color, the quicker the sun breaks down the fabric material. Depending on the brand, I believe I saw warrenties ranging from 15 to 20 years on the fabric cover - so that is definately a cost issue to factor in when comparing it to a conventional metal roof building. The owner claimed that the building was warmer in the winter and cool even in the summer - could be because she had the open long sides, gable vents at both ends, passive fan vents at the top of the arch, a 14x14 ft door at one end and two 12x12 foot doors for the two aisles in the stable end of the building. That's a lot of ventilation - but in my opinion seemed absolutely necessary. Since the fabric roof has no insulation, condensation collects on it at some times of the year. She said that it drips off the ceiling structure - but not so much that she felt she needed to cover the hay in her loft or anything like that. I believe this can be a problem in un-insulated metal-roofed buildings as well. The building does not come with rain gutters so the water poors off the fabric roof and onto the ground. That's not so unusual ... providing you plan ahead with your foundation prep for the struction. However, a interesting note the owner told me is the rain would flow down the fabric roof and then wick around the horizontal pole that tensioned the fabric roof - coming into the structure. Not good!  Sounds like a pretty big design flaw to me - but I've never seen anything in the manufacturer's literature addressing this (ie how they prevent it...)The owner told me that she solved the problem by inserting some thin 5" wide plastic (like the kind of thing you see used as baseboard trim in office space) all along the bottom (pole) edge of the fabric. Then when the rain flowed from the fabric cover onto her little plastic insert, it was flung out a few inches from the building - very clever solution. The fabric is very strong, you can throw a rope over the building and walk on it. But, it can be punctured by sharp objects. Holes and tears can be repaired with a patch - but you can pretty much see them afterward. Not the best look. I was there on a windy day in April, and no fabric flapping noise. She showed me how the fabric is to be periodically tightened to prevent any flapping. In the 14 or so months since constructions, she had not yet tightened it. Overall, the building is (IMHO) more jarring on the landscape than a traditional gable structure - but I suppose natural setting, personal preference and neighboring architechture play a major role in that feeling. The white fabric lets in a lot of light - but it jumps off the landscape from quite some distance. Well, that's about it as best I can recall. I've probably used up my lifetime supply of word space on Dr. O's site.  Best of luck in your decision. Mary |
| Member: Cwbynkid |
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