I would appreciate your feedback.
Am located in upstate NY, cold, dark, snow, rain. We are building a boarding facility, 20 stalls plus indoor arena.
I am investigating the “fabric” constructed arena…steel frame, warranty for 20 years. Cost is equal to a conventional Arena, maybe a little more. I would appreciate feedback from anyone with experience regarding these “fabric” products; ability to withstand wind, snow, condensation, sound.
Is this something you would ride in?
thank in in advance
I would think the fabric would be much less r why not go with a regular structure. I would think a regular structure would have many times the life span.
We checked into becoming a dealer of fabric covered buildings long ago and just were not happy with any of it.
We could not in good conscience sell them, compared with regular metal barns.
They are not considered a permanent structure, they are not that.
You really can’t compare those to a permanent structure.
There is only one advantage to fabric barns, to many disadvantages, one that you have to replace the fabric sooner or later, you do get more natural light.
A metal barn will stand much longer, we have several built in the 1950s that are still like new.
Now, you can add light to metal barns with skylights, not really recommended over the main arena, they eventually leak, or with light panels, directly under the eaves or somewhere along the walls.
The most convenient for areas like yours seems to be to build an arena, self contained, four walls and then add the barn as an overhang on one, both long sides or front or back, or as an L to the main structure.
You can add large slider windows, a whole North wall of light panels, unless so far North you don’t have a heat problem in the summers and then you can put light panels on any side you desire.
The barn part, being lower at the eaves, so no room for light panels on the wall itself, you may want to have skylights over the aisle for light.
Do spend very, very long time looking at other barns in your area, in all kinds of weather, see what works and what not, talk to anyone that wants to tell you about their barn, most people love to do that.
Go to fairs and shows and talk to the ones there.
Take a million notes and pictures, roam the internet, google “barn images”, “horse barn images”, “horse barn images in the north”, just keep studying them until you have a very good idea of your options.
Thank you
I built a Clear Span fabric building last year. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY! RUN FAR AND FAST! Their crew tore it 16 times putting it up and patched it. The fabric is draped and sagging (not like the pictures on their website at all). The rolling windows along the length of each side allow rain and snow in when closed (and not a little). They tell me that this is “normal function” for the windows (too bad they didn’t clue me in to that before I built the thing). The doors are put up crookedly. And they claim I still owe them $$$! They are saying the draping and patches are all cosmetic, and the building is functional. Meanwhile, I have friends asking, "What is Wrong with your building? It has cost me just as much as a traditional building, and now, the lawyer’s fees…
I built a Cover All, years ago, and loved it. They have gone out of business, so I went with this company, thinking I was getting the same thing. How wrong I was… You are better off riding outdoors. 
The fabric indoors can be very, very noisy when the snow rolls off. Not something I would want in a boarding barn. If the pricing is the same, not sure what the downside is with going with a permanent structure.
Cannot comment on the ClearSpan company but the Cover-All (brand name company) were 5 star in my books. Both for quality of product and installation. As with everything compare apples to apples…not every “fabric cover” building is built or installed to the same spec’s. I have built both a Cover-All and a traditional steel and wood framed arena. Both have their pro’s and con’s. Both were excellent in my opinion. Cost about the same…
Forget the fabric. A neighbor has one and he regrets it. You will too when the snow starts to melt and starts skittering down the sides. They’re an eyesore and not an asset to your property value like a true building. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing the right way the first time.
I would personally prefer a permanent sturdy building, but your comment made me think of one downside to the permanent structure: inspections, building fees, and increased property taxes. These three items may be (depending on building codes and requirements in your area) significantly different for a temporary structure and a permanent one. But while you are doing the math, be sure to figure in the cost advantages as well. A temporary structure is a depreciating asset and a permanent structure is generally appreciating (tax-wise the structure can be depreciated, but I’m talking about resale values).
So I would figure out a few scenarios for myself and calculate costs. For example, I would calculate a scenario based on selling the property in five years, then ten years and maybe a third scenario where I would sell in 20 or 30 years. If you find out there will be major differences in maintenance costs such as the cost of re-doing the fabric shell after so many years, add in that cost as well. Then consider how much the arena will add to the value of your property as a capital improvement. For example, around here if you build a swimming pool it adds something like $5000 to an appraisal, even though swimming pools cost much more than that to install. I’m sure the same theory would apply to arenas and other outbuildings, and you may even find that a temporary building like a fabric arena actually reduces the value of your property, but you would be smart to ask a professional appraiser about that. Here are some categories which come to my mind, but you might be able to make a better list. Also, my figures are made up but you can see the value of doing the math because there can be a huge difference in the result based on the actual figures:
Scenario 1, Build Fabric Arena and Sell Property in 5 years
Initial Cost of arena
Building fees (permits, inspections, etc.)
Property taxes for five years
Capital improvement gain or loss/difference in value according to an appraiser
My Made Up Example:
So let’s say your fabric building costs $100,000 plus $1,000 in building permits, property taxes are zero over five years because it is not a permanent structure and the capital improvement value is also zero because the appraisers in your area don’t give credit for temporary structures. You would have a cost of $101,000 or a cost to you of $20,200 per year.
If you run the same scenario with a metal or permanent building, let’s say the structure costs $90,000 (since you said your quote was less for the permanent building) plus $20,000 in building permits and fees, property taxes go up $900 per year for five years which totals $4,500 and the building adds $50,000 to your property appraisal. The costs and gains total $64,500 which comes out to $12,900 per year.
These are made up figures but you can see the value of determining the difference. Also, there are more factors to consider, one of which is the affect on your income taxes since you can write off property taxes if you itemize. You can also see the value of running different time scenarios. For example, the longer you stay in your home, the more taxes you will pay on that permanent structure and it might make a huge difference in your bottom line and in your choice of structures. Of course property values historically go up over time and there is that.
After all of that, there is the intangible cost or benefit which can make all the difference. You might say, “I want choice X because it is pretty and I like it,” (my husband calls it The Cool Factor) and that can trump all those other figures.
It is an interesting point. In our area, anything larger than 12’x10’ needs a permit, inspections, etc., even pre-fab storage sheds. But the point is valid. Understand if you town code approves or taxes the buildings differently and weigh that into the equation.
I have a friend who built a temporary structure for that reason: once the thing was built he was done paying, whereas he would have been paying property taxes on a permanent building forever. He ended up getting a divorce and the ex sold the barn as part of the settlement and it was dismantled and moved. It is important to run the numbers because OP might be in an area where outbuildings do not increase the value of the property at all. Then there are areas where the appraiser might add value but the area has developed in such a way that buyers consider a barn or arena to be a liability and the price of the property is reduced by the market; buyers look at it as something which will cost them money to tear down.
Of course, I am getting into the financial feasibility when that is not what the OP asked. She/he asked what people’s experiences were with a fabric barn and its “ability to withstand wind, snow, condensation, sound.”
I was in your boots 10 years ago. I thought I wanted a Coverall, but on looking into it further, I ended up going with a steel, pole barn type arena for a number of reasons:
I have been extremely happy with my steel building. Since the time I built it, several of the fabric ones in our area have collapsed due to heavy wet snow load. (At one time I heard that Coverall had gone bankrupt due to the number of lawsuits over this type of collapse. Not sure if that is accurate, but I haven’t seen their adds any more in several yeas.) My steel arena stands unscathed.
My arena was designed to be light and airy. It has a clear ridge cap and about 3 feet of the side walls, just below the eaves, is also clear panel. (The panel is something they use for race car windshields, but formed to match the same contours of the steel siding. My contractor and the lumber yard rep recommended it.) I absolutely love riding in there. In the 10 years I’ve been doing so, I think I’ve turned lights on maybe a half dozen times. (I do ride mainly in the daytime, but the light in there is as good as being outside. Many people comment about it.)
If I were to do it again, I’d go steel post and beam again, hands down.
Good luck. It’s an adventure, but if you take your time, do your homework, hopefully you’ll end up with a building that you love as much as I love mine.
My sister lives in upstate NY and I would be very concerned about the snow load that one of those coverall buildings could hold.
I have probably one of the toughest permitting departments in my state. Getting a permit to build a horse barn was a nightmare. But the benefit of a permit is that the construction blueprints are actually reviewed by engineers to make sure that it meets requirements for snow load, wind, etc…
I live in a very windy area. 35-40 mph sustained winds with gusts around 55mph is called an average Tuesday. Real storms are much stronger. I can sleep better at night knowing that someone, other than the company hired to build the barn, checked the blueprints.
We might not get a lot of snow, but we get “Cascade Concrete”. It is not unusual to get maybe 4-5" of snow on a roof and then get rain. That weighs a whole lot!!
Better to be safe than sorry with buildings. In my experience everything bad only happens at night in the dark.
Considering where you are putting up your boarding facility, you want the indoor attached. If you are doing this and invested in it, then do it right the first time, deal with the permits, taxes etc. Those are things you should have been prepared for that when you started this endeavor and are able to factor into your costs and whether you can afford it all as it is. This is one of those times when buying a preexisting property with barn and indoors would probably be cheaper if there was something in your area for sale.
I would not plan on NY not getting their tax dollars because someone said a fabric building is not a permanent building.
I am also amused by the comments about snow falling off the roof being loud. Snow falling off the roof of a metal building is loud and scary. That is something a person (and their horse) will have to deal with no matter what building is built.
A properly engineered fabric covered building is very much a permanent structure (not a temporary one although this myth still seems to exist). Building permits are based on square footage. Therefore 2 identical sized buildings will cost the same for the permits. Fabric or steel roofed. FYI. A Cover-All or the newer We-Cover type roof is not an “eyesore” but thanks for thinking so for those of us that own one. Good grief! Each to your own opinion. Based on the popularity of these types of structures I would think many, many thousands of people would disagree with that thought. 
Constructing one of these here is actually an item that has to have a hearing because they are considered an eyesore and all your neighbors have to agree to
let you put one up.
Thats why nobody here has one. Because nobody agrees they are an asset to a property.
Great comments. NY is notorious for taxes. The potential of a $8K to $10K increase in property tax is not out of the question, should I go with a conventional building. The other issue I am dealing with is NYS fire code. Depending on the COE the arena is either ag or commercial. If it is commercial it needs a fire suppression system…which is another big expense. I am speaking with people who have had “fabric” based arenas <5 years. The consensus is that it is brighter, bigger feeling, and that their riders like it a lot more. Lots to think about.
Soloudinhere I have no idea at all where you live. But I can tell you that NO neighbour is going to influence our local township building inspectors or approval boards concerning the style of a building providing it meets all zoning and engineering codes. That is like saying your neighbour can’t build a house in a style you don’t like the look of either. If the building lot is zoned for agricultural uses, and the building meets the building code and the proper paperwork and fees are in place it gets built. Period. Whether it is considered an asset to someone else’s property is absolutely none of your business either.
Those kinds of hearings are definitely a thing where I am.
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