A few years ago, I wrote about the fabric shelter I purchasesd for Finn and BG.
No, not cotton or silk – not that kind of fabric… tough polymer stuff they invent in labs to send to the moon kind of fabric.
This is Finn and BG’s (and now Wrigley’s) shelter. It has withstood all kinds of weather. I’ve never had to fix anything on it. As you can see, during the rainy season, it gets a bit muddy, but that all falls off in summer. I think it cost around $1600 on sale. Less expensive than framing a structure or purchasing a Tuff Shed or a carport at Home Depot.
Anyway, the reason I decided on a fabric shelter was because I knew Hubby and I could erect it in an afternoon and we needed it right away. Also, it was portable and at that time, we were renting a ranch in Santa Cruz.
So, I bought a green fabric shelter. It was supposed to be for a car, but my horses loved it.
Well… 8 years later, they are still using it daily. (Yes, we did move it from Santa Cruz to Grass Valley.)
- The Farmtek catalog has a zillion shapes and sizes. As you can see, ours was supposed to house a car or motorhome…
THE FARMTEK CATALOG: I CANNOT PUT IT DOWN!
I love going to sleep clutching my Farmtek catalog.
Almost every single page (there are 352 of them) has something I could use or covet. I dogear about 30 pages of each new catalog and dream about owning these sacred items…
It’s not that the items are expensive (well, some are…), it is because I already have something I use for that purpose – but theirs is always a better version.
Farmtek the newest inventions in wheelbarrows, lightbulbs, fans, buckets, sprinklers, timers, gardening stuff, hazmat suits, mats, knitted fabrics, barn curtains, insulation, pond liners, solar fencing… even hydroponic fodder systems now that hay prices are so high – everything you could think of that a farmer or rancher could use. Not frivolous stuff – good, meaty stuff.
- This is my Farmtek catalog. There is nothing sexy about it. In fact, I think their art director is probably also their Accountant… but, it has a ton of info and a ton of valuable farm items.
FABRIC BARN? WOW, WHAT A CONCEPT!
This time, in the front of the catalog, they had a huge fabric building and it showed several uses – and one was a covered barn with arena.
Hmmmmm.
Sure, this building is huge and way too big for a simple barn, but they have lots of sizes, you don’t need a concrete floor – or even an even floor – and look how much light it lets inside! They say it can go up in a day!
I love my wood barn. No question.
But, if we did get to move to San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles, there is a huge chance that the property would not have a nice, wood barn.
And, the way things are going right now, I probably couldn’t afford a wood barn.
So… why not a fabric building?
Do any of you have one? Could a tack room be installed? Shower stall? I’m sure hay storage and stalls would not be an issue… They say you don’t need to pour concrete. You don’t even need an even surface!
A fabric arena? Could it then also be a barn? There are every kind of shape and size… Yes, this is huge and far bigger than most would need. But this was the only photo they had depicting horses.
COST SAVINGS…
Again, I’m just discovering this myself so I don’t know all the pros and cons, but FarmTek has provided some of the pros…
This is the Con list…
This is the Pro list, according to Farm Tek.
I have no idea what this means…
ALL KINDS OF SHAPES AND SIZES…
The catalog showed all kinds of shape, sizes and door options. Many were much more affordable than a wood structure.
Do any of you have a fabric building? Please write to me and tell me how you feel about your purchase. I find this concept very interesting!
No foundation. No wood. Lots of natural light. Sturdy and portable.
Let me know!
Here was a high end door option I found very interesting. There were also some very practical options.
JEWELRY ITEM FOR MAMA TESS’ SURGERY FUND!
I don’t wear earrings and I hardly wear bracelets… but I do wear necklaces!
And, I am a fan of people that hand-make jewelry.
There is an artist on Etsy (Etsy.com) called “Slashknots”. She is one of my favs.
Well… occasionally, she will create a one-of-a-kind necklace. This was one of them. I bought it.
I love this mix-n-match of found objects and beads and pearls. I wear mine almost every day with other beaded necklaces.
I paid $188 for this necklace and it has never been worn. I’d love to gift it to one of you for $110 (including shipping) to help pay for Mama Tess’ Surgery.
SOLD! THANK YOU, PAMELA!!
THE STORY…
Then… a few months later, I was trolling her site (something I do just before bed – a bad habit) and I saw a necklace I loved and bought it – again.
It wasn’t until the next day that I realized that I had already bought it a few months previous…
I like what I like.
Anyway, I asked the artist why she made another of a one-of-a-kind and she said that she had gotten so many emails about the necklace after she had sold the original to me, she decided to make another – and I bought it again!
Clearly, I don’t need 2. This one I have never worn… but I wear the other one almost daily!
Please wear this with as much gusto as I do! ;)
I worked at a barn that had one of these. It did well, lots of light, withstood our Canadian prairie winds very well. Because it was windproof, even in the cold weather it was noticeably warmer. We rode year round except in the very coldest weather, -20s C and below.
They built a simple 2 rail fence around the inside to keep the horses away from the support legs and the walls. Or you could easily use corral panels.
Initially they had a row of freestanding stalls at one end. The kind made of 4 10′ panels. You could easily use one as a tack room or feed room. Or a washrack if you put in a floor and drainage and then you would have to consider freezing pipes and insulate or use just a hose.
Cons are heating is an issue, we didn’t have heat for the first 3 years. It could be very noisy in a rain storm and although it was a steep slope to the roof the snow would stick and then slide off when the sun came out and spook the horses. Likewise in summer it could get very hot. I rode outside a lot during the day.
Eventually they built a barn, and then in the original stall area, they built a viewing lounge which was heated, with an upper patio . Nothing fancy at all and because it was indoors it didn’t need to be weatherproof.
I would use one again.
I’d be interested in hearing about other’s experiences with these buildings. I live on a hill where, lately, we’ve seen winds of 50+ mph and once there was a night of 100 MPH winds. I think that night it was a wind shear because I think it missed me but got my neighbor 1/4 a mile away from me. I ended up with a Morton building…it was my dream for all the time I was in the service.