I've had a "CoverAll" 10x20 in the back yard for about 10 years. And very
much need another one. What I've learned ...
As other have mentioned moisture will be an issue without lots of
ventilation. Even a thick layer of plastic did not work out the way I had
hoped. You might be able to resolve the ventilation issue by leaving the
bottom off the ground but I think a better way would be vents high up in the
ends, or in my case, simply leaving the door at the end open most of the
time.
Another minor issue is how hot they will get without venting. On a warm,
sunny Minnesota day - yes, we did have one last year - it will get well over
100 degrees in there.
Like any structure, the number of supporting ribs is important and is one of
the differences when you look at the less expensive ones. In the size that I
have the ribs come on four foot centers and three foot centers. The neighbor
had a very inexpensive one on four foot centers, A very heavy, wet Minnesota
snowfall was more than it could handle. Mine, on three foot centers and
heavier fabric, is still standing after 10 years.
Easy of setup - at least in the smaller ones - seems to be in three areas.
One is "do I have some way to make drilling the anchors into the ground an
easy task". This can be anything from "have someone else do it - i.e. ask
the son-in-law to help" thru "make something that can be attached to the
post hole auger on the tractor".
The second is "do I have something tall enough to allow me to attach the
ribs together at the top". In my case "a step ladder in the back of the
pickup" solved the problem. The size that you are looking at will be more
challenging.
And the third is "can I find a calm day - or at least a calm morning or
evening - and fiends" to pull the fabric over the frame. Otherwise you
should insure that you get a brightly colored fabric so you can easily find
it when it blows into the next county. There is no need to worry about it
after you get the fabric installed. Assuming the anchors are robust and you
have done a "is the fabric reasonably tight - check all of the ropes that
hold it to the frame annual inspection" you will be fine. The only caveat
here is if you choose to leave the end open for ventilation you should also
leave the other end partially open so a high wind can "blow thru" the
structure rather than "blow up" the structure.
The rest of the setup was a very boring "do I have all the pieces". And
power tools would be a must for something in your size range simply for the
number 3/8ths bolts and nuts that would be used to tie the whole thing
together. Note of them are load bearing, they just keep the structural
tubing together.
I prefer the curved style rather than the straight side style. I give up a
little full height floor space because the walls curve in but I think the
wind load on the sides of the curved model is much lower than the flat slap
style and worth the trade off.
Arvid
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