hoop buildings

[ROAD WARRIOR]

I am considering putting up a hoop building. Want to hear the pros and cons or experiences anyone has. Thanks. RW

 

[yuppiecowboy]

Hay and equipment storage or cattle shed? I have seen many, as I too am looking into them, the best Idea I have seen was two stacks of bunker block as the base. tall enough and stout enough that cows cant damage it.

Beats the tar out of a pole building for the price for sure.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

A little of both - storage and livestock

 

[worthabit]

A little of both - storage and livestock

We put up a 40' x 100' calhoun superstructure a few years ago, cattle in one end, equip. in the other. really like it.

Make sure you anchor the posts in concrete and I would recommend the white tarp to let in as much light and heat as possible.

We kept an eight foot wall so that you could park tractors, etc right along the side.

The tarp was put on in about 45 minutes, how many shingles or sheets of steel can you put on in that time?

When we were pricing, the buildings became more expensive when they were wider than 40' because you had to use 8"x12" instead of 8" x 10" and they had to be spaced 8' apart instead of 10'.

the only con, (and it really is minor) is that we put in the tarp roll up doors. These fold up like an accordian and get heavier as you put them up. Ours our 20 feet so they do get  heavy by the time you put them all the way up. These accordian folds do hold water if they are left up in a rain as well.

hope this helps.

 

[Jill]

We have looked at these for several years, if you end up getting one, let us know how you get along with it.

 

[cpubarn]

I have an unused bunker silo that I would like to cover with a hoop building for hay storage, any tips on tarps for that too?

I don't know if I should cover it all, or start on top of the sidewalls (12'?)

Brand suggestions?

Mark

 

[Cattledog]

We've been thinking about putting one of these up as well.  One of my buddies has one for hay and really likes it!  The only problem that I have with it is how they look.  I don't think they're the prettiest things I've seen.

 

[vcsf]

I put up a 50 foot wide Cover All building just over 13 years ago strictly for cattle.  I was quite satisfied with it for the first ten years and then the stitching started to give out the fabric itself was still in good shape but the thread seemed to rot out.  I believe that I just had bad luck and got a cover made with poor thread as I know of a couple of buildings a year or two older that have not had any problems in this regard.

I placed the building on a four foot high wall that consisted of three 2X6's lined with 3/4 inch plywood.  I did this after talking to friends who had built one with the wall made totally out of 2X6 and felt that the cracks allowed too much wind to pass through and recommended what I did.  This worked well and cattle never did any damage to the fabric cover.  My building has fabric end walls as well with a roll up doors that function like a roll tarp.  If I was doing it again I would price out making the end walls with steel and a proper door.  At the very least I would look closely at the door as what I have is awkward to use and can be a major problem in the wind to raise and lower and as worthabit has indicated the accordion style also has problems.  I know some better options are available now.

I really think a person has to look at what they want to use the building for and plan accordingly.  I went with a fifty foot wide building with the intention of placing a handling system along one side and using the rest for loose housing for calving cows.  My friends have a thirty foot wide building of the same square footage that they use for loose housing at calving  where their building will retain a fair bit of heat in the winter mine does not with a similar number of cows in it due to the fact that it is probably at least ten feet higher to get the extra width and all the dead space loses any heat from the cattle.

 

[cpubarn]

Are there differences in weight of fabric?  Some have a "skylight" in the center, do those help?

 

[jnjarr]

FYI - Just heard this week from a friend, that was getting ready to break ground for a fertilizer building using concrete walls and a fabric cover from "Coverall", that Coverall Buildings went bankrupt.    They were fortunate that their Coverall dealer still had their money and the dealer has picked up a new company to complete the building.  Can't remember the name of the new building, but it is made by Pride of the Farm.

 

[vcsf]

FYI - Just heard this week from a friend, that was getting ready to break ground for a fertilizer building using concrete walls and a fabric cover from "Coverall", that Coverall Buildings went bankrupt.    They were fortunate that their Coverall dealer still had their money and the dealer has picked up a new company to complete the building.  Can't remember the name of the new building, but it is made by Pride of the Farm.

Yes Cover All shut down production and laid off most of their workers in late March and was granted creditor protection.  A Lot of their problems are related to facing some lawsuits over building collapses. The most notable of these would probably be the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.