Tarp Covered Outbuildings

[goodhors]

Has anyone built one of the newer style tarp covered buildings? I know they come in all sizes, but we are looking at 30’ x 40’, to use as a storage building for tractor accessories and a couple trailers. It would have metal trusses, the tarp roof and some kind of door or curtain coverings for the ends.

Husband has been talking to folks with these type buildings, getting likes and dislikes, what they did and would change if they had a “do-over”.

We understand having a great base to build over is really important, then options like material for sidewalls, height of sidewalls, type of floors are up to owner. One couple has built two themselves, to save money on construction using Amish crews. They advised getting tarps dark outside, white inside to prevent hay bleaching like they get with the all-white tarp cover. Darker outside is still very light inside, just that hay stays greener. They had to rent a lift to get tall trusses up, held in place with cables. They said after the first 3 trusses were up, holding each other in place, the rest were very easy to get in place, cabled. These are older folks, probably 60s, did not think it was really hard to put up. They used Farm-tek kits, thought it was well labeled, had good directions to follow.

Of course nothing will last forever, but you can buy new tarps which are the most vulnerable part. Their buildings are still nice with one about 4yrs, the other is 2yrs, been thru a couple nasty Michigan winters.

So I was wondering if other COTH horse folks have built any of these type buildings and your experiences in construction, storm tolerance, how well they last with use. I do not recall any posts about this topic to refer to. Thank you

[clanter]

might want to check zoning (if you are in an area that is under zoning)… that type of structure here would be considered temporary and not allowed

[goodhors]

Thanks, will do. Such structures are pretty common locally, so we do not expect any problems.

[4horses]

I have a tent stall. It works great! The tarp is just starting to rip up after several years and a couple tropical storms. Not sure the new ones will last as well. We coated our tarp with flex seal- it certainly seems to improve longevity.

[RolltopTX]

@goodhors

Has anyone built one of the newer style tarp covered buildings? I know they come in all sizes, but we are looking at 30’ x 40’, to use as a storage building for tractor accessories and a couple trailers. It would have metal trusses, the tarp roof and some kind of door or curtain coverings for the ends.

Husband has been talking to folks with these type buildings, getting likes and dislikes, what they did and would change if they had a “do-over”.

We understand having a great base to build over is really important, then options like material for sidewalls, height of sidewalls, type of floors are up to owner. One couple has built two themselves, to save money on construction using Amish crews. They advised getting tarps dark outside, white inside to prevent hay bleaching like they get with the all-white tarp cover. Darker outside is still very light inside, just that hay stays greener. They had to rent a lift to get tall trusses up, held in place with cables. They said after the first 3 trusses were up, holding each other in place, the rest were very easy to get in place, cabled. These are older folks, probably 60s, did not think it was really hard to put up. They used Farm-tek kits, thought it was well labeled, had good directions to follow.

Of course nothing will last forever, but you can buy new tarps which are the most vulnerable part. Their buildings are still nice with one about 4yrs, the other is 2yrs, been thru a couple nasty Michigan winters.

So I was wondering if other COTH horse folks have built any of these type buildings and your experiences in construction, storm tolerance, how well they last with use. I do not recall any posts about this topic to refer to. Thank you

There are many positives and negatives. The atmosphere is something that can’t be beat for the same price in other structure types. However, I’m not sure that’s an important quality if you are just storing equipment… but also consider the value of your equipment and the impact it has on your property taxes and resale. I’m learning some really hard lessons due to 3 separate and devastating cover failures in the 8 years since we built our own Clearspan building. My building is much larger than yours but a few tips to look out for:

• Their 20 year cover and 50 year truss frame warranties are VERY limited. They do not honor any warranties either expressed or implied unless you have “stamped engineered drawings”. The design paperwork indicates that they include 3 copies with your transaction (what they don’t tell you is that if your location doesn’t have applicable building codes, they don’t include them… thus giving them an excuse not to honor the warranty even if your building fails significantly under their stated ratings).
• They sell you on the ease erecting these buildings yourself, but don’t tell you that can easily void the warranty because it’s also contingent upon the ”contractor being knowledgeable and have experience putting up structures of similar size and type.”
• If you finance your building through them, watch out for the “AS IS” clause at the end of your loan negating any further expressed or implied warranties. For example, if they did actually honor some parts of the warranty, I would lose the other 5 years at the end of my 10 year note.
• Warranty pricing: the warranty DOES NOT cover shipping (count on at least $1000) or labor for repairs… which isn’t unheard of… BUT they also only warranty via a straight line amortization scale. So if you paid 50,000 for your building and you replace a cover through the warranty 10 years into a 20 year warranty period, they will deduct 10 years of your building’s cost FROM WHATEVER THEY DEEM IS THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE is to replace that component. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!!! Certain components of the building have different length warranties but they don’t specify how much of the sales price that component makes up to even get some clue where you are at in the amortization timeline. Per my own experience I was told via email that the cost to replace the cover was only 10% of the cost of my building. That alone was an EPIC LIE. Any way I tried to do the math… the replacement cost of just ONE cover (out of three covers) without shipping or labor is DOUBLE the amount he told me. For just the metal frame and the 3 fabric covers, I paid $99,870 give or take a $100. To replace the 2 covers that I lost in 2 separate incidents THIS YEAR, the quote price is $40k+… with labor and shipping the total comes to $79,000!!!
  -the warranty clock doesn’t start over on parts replaced under warranty at all.
  -the warranty is NOT transferable even within the supposed time frame. If you sell the building outright or try to sell it with your other real property, you’ll need to disclose that info so you don’t get sued for non disclosure.
  -Per their limited warranty and written agreement, of course they aren’t responsible for broken shards from the broken fluorescent light fixtures all mixed up in my arena footing or the damage from weather exposure to my $6000 kick walls or my arena mirrors, or all the lessons I can’t teach because I don’t have a ducking indoor arena!

There are other issues regarding the written agreement that I have issues with but that is post larger than I’m willing to write at the moment. Notice that I’m writing this at 3 am? There’s wind storm that’s been raging all day with threat of thunderstorms…My anxiety is so bad during storms that I can’t sleep despite taking xanax, Amitriptyline and 100mg of benedryl.

Your experience may be different, but keep an eye out and don’t make the same mistakes I did. As a general rule, don’t rely on the salesman’s claims even if it’s via email because it’s typically inadmissible because of the parole evidence rule. DO NOT pay any down payments until you’ve read the purchase agreement, financing agreement, landlord agreement and any other agreements incorporated or connected to the original purchase agreement at least 100 times and make sure you are 100% okay with every provision(and contradictions) with your agreement.

good luck!

[Bluey]

@RolltopTX

There are many positives and negatives. The atmosphere is something that can’t be beat for the same price in other structure types. However, I’m not sure that’s an important quality if you are just storing equipment… but also consider the value of your equipment and the impact it has on your property taxes and resale. I’m learning some really hard lessons due to 3 separate and devastating cover failures in the 8 years since we built our own Clearspan building. My building is much larger than yours but a few tips to look out for:

• Their 20 year cover and 50 year truss frame warranties are VERY limited. They do not honor any warranties either expressed or implied unless you have “stamped engineered drawings”. The design paperwork indicates that they include 3 copies with your transaction (what they don’t tell you is that if your location doesn’t have applicable building codes, they don’t include them… thus giving them an excuse not to honor the warranty even if your building fails significantly under their stated ratings).
• They sell you on the ease erecting these buildings yourself, but don’t tell you that can easily void the warranty because it’s also contingent upon the ”contractor being knowledgeable and have experience putting up structures of similar size and type.”
• If you finance your building through them, watch out for the “AS IS” clause at the end of your loan negating any further expressed or implied warranties. For example, if they did actually honor some parts of the warranty, I would lose the other 5 years at the end of my 10 year note.
• Warranty pricing: the warranty DOES NOT cover shipping (count on at least $1000) or labor for repairs… which isn’t unheard of… BUT they also only warranty via a straight line amortization scale. So if you paid 50,000 for your building and you replace a cover through the warranty 10 years into a 20 year warranty period, they will deduct 10 years of your building’s cost FROM WHATEVER THEY DEEM IS THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE is to replace that component. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!!! Certain components of the building have different length warranties but they don’t specify how much of the sales price that component makes up to even get some clue where you are at in the amortization timeline. Per my own experience I was told via email that the cost to replace the cover was only 10% of the cost of my building. That alone was an EPIC LIE. Any way I tried to do the math… the replacement cost of just ONE cover (out of three covers) without shipping or labor is DOUBLE the amount he told me. For just the metal frame and the 3 fabric covers, I paid $99,870 give or take a $100. To replace the 2 covers that I lost in 2 separate incidents THIS YEAR, the quote price is $40k+… with labor and shipping the total comes to $79,000!!!
  -the warranty clock doesn’t start over on parts replaced under warranty at all.
  -the warranty is NOT transferable even within the supposed time frame. If you sell the building outright or try to sell it with your other real property, you’ll need to disclose that info so you don’t get sued for non disclosure.
  -Per their limited warranty and written agreement, of course they aren’t responsible for broken shards from the broken fluorescent light fixtures all mixed up in my arena footing or the damage from weather exposure to my $6000 kick walls or my arena mirrors, or all the lessons I can’t teach because I don’t have a ducking indoor arena!

There are other issues regarding the written agreement that I have issues with but that is post larger than I’m willing to write at the moment. Notice that I’m writing this at 3 am? There’s wind storm that’s been raging all day with threat of thunderstorms…My anxiety is so bad during storms that I can’t sleep despite taking xanax, Amitriptyline and 100mg of benedryl.

Your experience may be different, but keep an eye out and don’t make the same mistakes I did. As a general rule, don’t rely on the salesman’s claims even if it’s via email because it’s typically inadmissible because of the parole evidence rule. DO NOT pay any down payments until you’ve read the purchase agreement, financing agreement, landlord agreement and any other agreements incorporated or connected to the original purchase agreement at least 100 times and make sure you are 100% okay with every provision(and contradictions) with your agreement.

good luck!

Thank you for such a clear explanation.

In a way, the real question here is, why would someone want to use a temporary structure as those are where for about the same, at times less very large cost they can have a permanent one?

[clanter]

might also verify your insurance coverage, we had a friend in OKC that HAD a coverall arena… which was destroyed in a wind event… it was not covered under their property insurance, they were under the belief it was

[RolltopTX]

@Bluey

Thank you for such a clear explanation.

In a way, the real question here is, why would someone want to use a temporary structure as those are where for about the same, at times less very large cost they can have a permanent one?

They can be designated and designed as permanent structures or temporary structures. In Texas, my building was significantly cooler in the summer. Metal radiates heat downward.

If care is taken to build the building fit to suit the topography and climate conditions, these buildings can last as advertised.

[Bluey]

@RolltopTX

They can be designated and designed as permanent structures or temporary structures. In Texas, my building was significantly cooler in the summer. Metal radiates heat downward.

If care is taken to build the building fit to suit the topography and climate conditions, these buildings can last as advertised.

In our very hot summers, easily days over 100F, our metal, covered arena with a galvalume white/silver roof is a good 15-18 degrees cooler under there than outside.
Not sure how any other could improve much more on that.