Shelter Logic Shed VS Wind Storm

[Vindicated]

Last year, we purchased a large-ish Shelter Logic brand “Garage In a box” to use as a temporary run in.

It did a good job, until a spring windstorm ripped it out of the ground and it ended up in a tree. Seriously.

The good news is that it did not do any damage to horses or fences during it’s flight.

The bad news is that several ribs and stays are bent, as well as a few holes/tears in the cover.

We are hoping to get it working well enough to store hay in it this winter.

I believe the major issue was that with one end open, the wind was able to make it into a balloon-if you will. I am hoping that with both ends closed, the wind will have to come in only from the bottom edges.

Has anyone had any luck fixing these?

I am thinking about the following.
Re-bending the ribs into shape.
Using metal conduit to replace the broken stays
T-posts on every leg to hold it down.

What about repairing the cover? Will tarp repair pieces suffice?

[Simkie]

I’d bolt it to concrete footings to keep it secure.

[buck22]

Touching wood, my Shelter Logic has been my hay and carriage barn for several years now, standing up to Irene and a direct hit from Sandy. Recently a 40’ oak tree gave me a few new skylights, but even with that the damage was minimal and easily repairable.

A huge portion of my success is owed to the location, hidden in a stand of trees for a great windbreak (worked great for the wind for so many years, trees apparently needed to even things out a bit).

If its possible to move the location to someplace with a windbreak, I would. I don’t know of too many success stories with these types of structures when left out in the open. Even if you have a large truck or tractor or anything you can park along side it, will help.

Rather than using the 4 augers that came with the unit, I purchased 12 huge eyebolts, each nearly 3 foot long, pounded those into the ground with a sledgehammer and then used the strapping that came with the unit to batten down the structure.

The tent has excess length on the sides for a reason, back fill a foot of dirt along the length to keep the sides down from flapping.

Cutting a hole in the top of the “door” on either end has worked well for me allowing wind to travel through rather than pull it apart. Also was critical for keeping condensation from happening in the summer. It literally rained on my hay one summer from the inside. Talk about a sad shock.

Finally, I have heavy duty tarps spread over the top of the tent and tied off to logs that run the length of the structure. These are primarily to deflect small branches, but it really minimized the damage when the tree plunged through the roof and keeps the main tent from flapping.

When I went to repair my holes, I used waterproof Gorilla tape. I don’t like the tape made for fixing the tent, it peels up when its humid.

Main thing to see if you can do though is a windbreak of some kind. Anything will help.

[wildlifer]

If you used the anchors that came with it, for some ridiculous reason, ShelterLogic only includes the short (and they even call them “temporary”) augurs & strongly advises use of the 36" version for permanent installation (which you may have done, just wanted to share the info).

I have a 10’x10’ that is my hay shed & has weathered a hurricane & tropical storm on top of a hill (don’t want water running under or pooling around it, despite triple layer of moisture barrier on ground + pallets) this year. However, as you noted, leaving one end open would very likely make it an inviting hot air balloon!

I do keep the door closed on mine at all times unless grabbing hay or airing out on nice days. I installed vents (thermostat controlled screened vents with fans on their website, or simpler vents with screen but no fans from Home Depot) on either end near the roof peak (literally, just cut a hole & fasten in). The soil was so hard when I put it up (over 2 days with 3 people, easy my @$$), we actually had to drive holes with neighbour’s hydraulic post pounder to put the 3’ anchors in! 0.0 The wind might rip the steel cables or shred the tarp, but those anchors will never move EVER, ROFL!

You can order new covers by themselves from ShelterLogic if there is more damage than is worth your time to repair. I LOVE mine and would absolutely redneck it & rebend the poles if I could. If you have a heat torch to soften the metal, that may help.

I put mine in the open on purpose, so nothing could fall on it (giant oak tree annihilated my work truck last year) & with the vents & airflow around the bottom sides, it’s had no problems. I have, however, always had it at least half full of hay & am about to refill with some winter supply, so the hay provides a nice soft ‘bulk’ right inside the outer wall.

Not a drop of moisture in there though & kept my hay perfect through all of NC’s crazy humidity. I desperately needed a hay shed and for $219, I just couldn’t beat that and it has more than earned its keep. I even have a lovely big black snake in residence as a guard.

[Pehsness]

We actually just put one up to use as a combo hay “barn”/run in shelter. It’s in a fairly sheltered location unless we get some kind of freak wind storm from the east (very unusual). I’m interested to see how it holds up for the winter. We have a plan b available if absolutely necessary, but I’m hopeful this will work until spring at least and even beyond then for wood/hay storage.

We definitely have to get more anchors than just came with the unit. I think the directions are pretty clear that they’re only temporary. I’m also going to line the outside with straw bales so wind/snow can’t get in underneath. It was cheap enough that if it only lasts one year I won’t be too too upset, but I also am keeping fingers crossed that I am not realizing plan B in the midst of a January snowstorm.