Five thousand square feet of roof
A fifty by one hundred foot building covers about five thousand square feet, enough to park a combine, a seeder, a sprayer and the tractors that pull them. After harvest across the Prairies and farm country elsewhere in Canada, that is exactly the equipment that needs a roof. A storage shelter of that size is a serious structure, and three things decide how well it lasts: the fabric, the doors, and the care it gets before winter.
What does 32 ounce fabric actually mean?
Fabric weight is measured in ounces per square yard. A 32 ounce PVC cover weighs twice as much per square yard as a 16 ounce one, and most of that difference is a heavier woven base cloth and a thicker coating on both sides.
The base cloth carries the tension that holds the cover tight over the trusses, so a heavier weave resists tearing when wind or snow pushes against it. The coating shields that weave from sunlight and water. More coating means more time before UV exposure turns it brittle, and more protection when a branch or a loader bucket scrapes the surface.
Color and translucency matter as well. Where the cover is white or light colored, daylight passes through, so a storage shelter can often be worked in during the day without lights, and it stays cooler in summer than a dark cover that absorbs heat.
How a drive through storage shelter changes equipment flow
Long implements are awkward to reverse. A seed drill behind a tractor, a header on a trailer or a grain cart all need space and careful backing to park in a building with one entrance, and every backing maneuver is a chance to catch a truss or a door frame.
Doors at both ends remove most of that. Equipment enters one end and leaves from the other, so parking becomes a matter of driving forward in a straight line. The doors still need to be wider than the widest implement plus its mirrors and any folding parts that hang out, and there must be room outside each end to line up before entering.
How the doors close matters in a Canadian winter. Whatever the door style, it should seal against the frame when shut, since a door left partly open lets wind blow in under the cover and snow drift across the floor, and a drift inside a doorway is hard to clear before the next move.
Tension is what makes snow slide off
A tight cover sheds snow. Its smooth, firm surface lets snow slide down the curve or slope of the roof, especially once the sun warms it. A loose cover sags between trusses and forms shallow pockets where snow collects, melts slightly and refreezes into heavy ice.
Those pockets concentrate weight on small areas of fabric and on the trusses beneath them. A fabric building that was tight in September can loosen as the cover settles and the frame shifts, so tension checks belong on the calendar before the first snowfall:
- Re-tension straps and ratchets along both sides
- Clear drifts from the base of sidewalls
- Inspect fabric where it rests on trusses
- Close doors fully during high winds
Snow should be cleared carefully when it does build up. A soft broom or a roof rake with a padded edge moves snow without the puncture risk of shovels or metal tools, and working from the ground rather than climbing onto the cover keeps people safe.
Snow load and permits are local
Canada’s building code assigns different design snow loads to different locations, and the difference between a mild coastal site and a heavy snow belt is large. A structure of this size should be checked against the rating required where it will stand, not against a general figure.
Many municipalities also require a building permit for a large truss building, sometimes with engineered drawings and anchoring details. Asking before the site is prepared avoids having to change plans after the frame is up.
The ground under it
A large storage shelter needs a level, well-drained pad. Water that runs under the base plates softens the ground around anchors and freezes in winter, which can lift parts of the frame unevenly. Compacted gravel graded slightly away from the walls keeps both the anchors and the stored equipment dry.
Anchoring has to suit the soil. Ground anchors driven deep hold well in firm clay, while sandy or wet sites may need concrete blocks or footings, and the manufacturer’s anchoring guidance combined with the local snow and wind requirements decides which is appropriate for a particular storage shelter.
TMG Industrial’s Heavy Series 50 by 100 foot shelter pairs dual trusses with a 32 ounce PVC cover and drive-through doors, and like any fabric structure of that span, its performance through a Canadian winter depends on local snow ratings and a cover that stays tight. A walk around the building after every major storm, looking for loose straps and new abrasion, catches small problems while they are still small.