case studies Archives | Page 10 of 10

Black Swan Farm

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 10:02 pm.

Challenge – Indoor arena for year-round activities
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Building
Size – 85′ wide x 120′ long
Application – Indoor riding arena

In the summer of 2013, David and Brenda Webster purchased a sprawling 36-acre piece of property in the northwest Columbus, Ohio suburb of Ostrander. The family, who is well-connected in the equine community, enjoyed riding their horse which was boarded at a local farm, for personal enjoyment. Prior to purchasing the farm, their horse was kept at an indoor facility, but the Websters quickly came to terms that during the oft-harsh winter months in a state bordering a Great Lake, they needed an indoor arena for their new farm.

“One winter without an indoor [arena] made me realize I couldn’t live without one,” Brenda Webster stated. After a recent site visit to another indoor facility in the area, she subsequently found ClearSpan Fabric Structures on the Internet. “It was the [natural] light and peaceful atmosphere that I loved most about these types of buildings,” explained Webster. “Since I show in ranch versatility, I like to keep my horse in shape year-round, and ClearSpan has given me the opportunity to do just that.”

Shortly after the 85′ wide by 120′ long Hercules Truss Arch Building opened, the Websters decided to start offering open arena time, clinics and lessons. “On the second Saturday of each month, the arena is available for open group riding time,” mentioned Webster. “During the second Sunday of every month, we are providing private mini-lessons to equine enthusiasts of all ages. We also decided to use white silica sand as footing, which is conducive for beach volleyball for my son and his group of friends.”

The 10,200 square-foot building was installed with three doors on the east end of the building. The versatility of a ClearSpan building, however, allows the Websters to add accessories, even at a later date. “The building is working out very well,” said Webster. “But to help with cross ventilation, we may consider adding one more door – this time at the west end of the building – since it’s currently a solid end wall.”

The ClearSpan building has fulfilled the primary objective of being able to ride indoors during inclement weather, especially in the winter, and has exceeded overall expectations. “The natural light that the building yields makes it very bright inside. When it rains, it’s quiet inside,” stated Webster. “Having a ClearSpan arena has allowed us to open the farm up for riding lessons, clinics, open arena time – and even some indoor beach volleyball for the kids!”

For more information on Black Swan Farm and their ClearSpan structure, visit www.blackswanfarm.org.

Black Swan Farm

-->

Bella Rose Farm

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 9:57 pm.

Written by clearspa_wp

Challenge – Bright and peaceful riding environment
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Building
Size – 100′ wide x 180′ long
Application – Indoor riding arena

Pete and Tammy Baldine, along with their daughter, Professional Trainer Laura Reist, are the owners of Bella Rose Farm, a hunter/jumper show facility located in Morris, IL. The Baldines needed an indoor arena that would provide a bright and peaceful riding environment, and that would also be able to endure the harsh Illinois winters. After extensive research, they decided to purchase a ClearSpan Hercules Truss Arch Building.

The Baldines are extremely impressed with the atmosphere of their ClearSpan building. “The lighting is great. You really don’t need to turn on any lights during the day because it is so bright. Also, there are no spooky areas or dark corners to scare the horses, so they love it,” says Tammy. They also enjoy the peacefulness of the structure, and she says, “Even when there’s heavy wind or inclement weather, the building stays very quiet.”

Pete admits that he was initially worried about the durability of a fabric structure, but now says, “The structure has proved to be extremely sturdy. We recently got two feet of snow in one night, and I was delighted to wake up the next morning to find that the snow had slid right off the sides and left the building completely unharmed.”

Another aspect the Baldines liked about the ClearSpan experience was their interaction with the construction crew. “ClearSpan was very diligent in helping us understand exactly what we were getting and how the installation process would work,” explains Pete.

Pleased with their purchase, Pete states, “The ClearSpan building was lower in price than our other building options, but after the benefits we have experienced, we would still choose a ClearSpan structure in the future, even if it wasn’t the least expensive option.”

Horse Riding Arena with white Fence

Horse Riding Arena with lighting

Horse Riding Arena inside photo with lighting and end wall accessories

Horse Riding Arena with lighting

Horse Riding Arena inside photo with lighting and end wall accessories

-->

Barsness Dairy

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 9:53 pm.

Written by clearspa_wp

Challenge – Onsite protection from the elements for hay and equipment
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Building
Size – 65′ wide x 150′ long
Application – Storage for hay and farm equipment

Peder and Susan Barsness own and operate a 140 cow dairy farm located in Starbuck, MN. At Barsness Dairy, Peder and Susan raise their own corn and forage on 450 acres of land. Since they are able to produce all of their own hay with their own equipment, they needed plenty of space to store the finished hay, as well as to protect their valuable equipment during inclement weather.

The Barsnesses had been renting indoor space to keep their hay dry or covering it with tarps. All of their extra equipment had to sit outside because there was no space for it. Susan explains, “It cost us a lot of extra time and money hauling the hay back to our farm for winter feeding. Also, keeping our farm equipment outdoors resulted in a cluttered yard and was hard on the equipment.” It was clear that the Barsnesses needed storage space of their own, and they found it one day flipping through a catalog.

After receiving a catalog in the mail from one of ClearSpan’s affiliate companies, the Barsnesses realized a Hercules Truss Arch Building was a perfect solution to their problem. Since Barsness Dairy is located on a big hill, expansion options were limited. Susan notes, “The hoop-style ClearSpan buildings allowed us to store more hay and equipment than a traditional post and frame building of the same size.”

The Barsnesses decided on a ClearSpan building for many reasons. Explains Susan, “ClearSpan was easy to work with, had lots of options and provided us with a quality product and a warranty to back it up. They offered us customer service!” She continues, “So far this has been a wonderful building. It provides ample storage with virtually no unusable space. The extra clearance in the roof allows us to maximize hay storage capacity.”

Overall, the building is exactly what Barsness Dairy needed. “We love the brightness without the expense of daytime lighting. We have maximum usable space because we aren’t fighting with wooden rafters. It allows us to have a quick and easy place to drive our big tractor, square baler and hay trailers into during a summer rainstorm. We also love the reduced taxable cost of the building, both upfront and in property taxes,” says Susan. Besides storage space, the Barsnesses are finding some other great uses for the building. Notes Susan, “The building even has enough room for indoor horseback riding in the winter! Our new building is great!”

For more information on Barsness Dairy and their ClearSpan building, contact the Barsnesses at pederb@hcinet.net.

Business Dairy

-->

Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Dept.

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 9:40 pm.

Written by clearspa_wp

Challenge – Total roof collapse of existing fire station
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Building
Size – 50′ wide x 40′ long
Application – Temporary fire station and apparatus storage

Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, a combination fire and rescue department with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, serves a densely populated area of Falls Church, VA. With a minimum of 13 career and volunteer firefighters staffing the station at any given time, the department is prepared to answer an average of 9,200 calls each year.

When record snowfall of 25″ occurred on February 8, 2010, the station suffered a total roof collapse that damaged five pieces of fire apparatus, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage. Department President Gerry Strider knew that they needed to erect a new building quickly so that the Bailey’s Crossroads VFD could continue to serve the community.

Strider explains, “After researching online, we discovered ClearSpan Fabric Structures. A ClearSpan Hercules Truss Arch Building seemed to fit our requirements exactly. The footprint of the fire station is dense, so we needed a structure that could be erected on the concrete ramp. We will also need to be able to relocate it when the station is being rebuilt.”

Bailey’s Crossroads VFD chose a 50′ wide by 40′ long Truss Arch Building to use as their temporary fire station. The structure has three roll-up vehicle access doors with automatic openers to accommodate a fire engine and two EMS units. “We respond to about 25 calls a day, so we are going in and out of the ClearSpan structure all day,” Strider says.

Especially important to a busy fire department like Bailey’s Crossroads is not having to spend a lot of time on station upkeep. Strider notes that the lack of maintenance that ClearSpan buildings require is very important to their needs. He continues, “The guys like the structure, and ClearSpan is customer friendly. It only took the ClearSpan construction crew a week to put it up and it is anchored well. We are considering purchasing another ClearSpan structure for our ladder truck.”

For more on Bailey’s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department and their ClearSpan Structure, visit www.bxrvfd.org.

3 door bay for service vehicles

3 door bay for service vehicles in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for ambulance in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for yellow firetrucks in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for firetrucks in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for service vehicles in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for ambulance in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for yellow firetrucks in a white fabric structure

3 door bay for firetrucks in a white fabric structure

-->

APAC-Missouri, Inc.

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 9:09 pm.

Written by clearspa_wp

Challenge – Lack of adequate material storage
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Buildings
Size – Three 65′ wide x 60′ long
Application – Storing asphalt recycling material out of the elements

APAC-Missouri, Inc. is an asphalt, construction and aggregate company with locations throughout the state of Missouri. Owned by parent company, Oldcastle Materials, APAC encompasses operations ranging from concrete and asphalt paving to aggregate production. One of APAC’s functions is recycling used roofing shingles into asphalt material for use on highways and roads. The asphalt shingles are highly porous, and easily absorb moisture and radiant heat from the sun. Since APAC lacked storage space for the asphalt material, it was stockpiled outdoors, in full contact with the Missouri elements.

“We just had to pile them outside, and they were collecting a lot of moisture,” APAC Asphalt Plant Superintendent Robbie Freels says. Before the shingles could be recycled into usable asphalt material, complete removal of all moisture was required. This increased fuel and handling costs, and also added unnecessary time constraints to the process.

Freels spoke to several farmers in the Missouri area who had purchased ClearSpan Fabric Structures for use in their agricultural operations, and who recommended the durable, versatile buildings as a storage solution. With those recommendations as a stepping stone, Freels began exploring his options. After researching several companies that specialize in fabric structures, Freels decided to work with ClearSpan.

Freels commented on the high-quality materials, “The fabric and the size of the pipe looked a lot sturdier than other fabric buildings we were looking at.” He went on to state that the affordable price of the building was also a deciding factor.

The company purchased three 65′ wide by 60′ long Hercules Truss Arch Buildings for locations in Marshall, Columbia and Linn Creek, MO. All of the structures are currently being used to store the asphalt material out of the weather.
APAC built each of the structures on a 6′ concrete block wall, and got the most economical solution with almost 100% usable space inside. The structures cost less than a traditional wood or steel building, and the height was needed to allow access for trucks, materials and equipment. “We got the most space we could possibly get,” Freels says. “We pile the shingles up to the rafters.”

The ClearSpan structures store the material safely and efficiently, and Freels comments that the company may not stop with just three buildings. “We are extremely happy with the three of them, and we’re talking about purchasing a couple more to use for our quarry operations,” he says.

White Fabric Storage Building

White Fabric Mining Storage Building

White Fabric Storage Building

-->

Anacostia Community Boathouse Assn.

Posted on October 1, 2015 at 2:44 am.

Written by clearspa_wp

Challenge – Quick relocation
Solution – Two Hercules Truss Arch Buildings
Size – 93′ wide x 140′ long, 55′ wide x 50′ long
Application – Temporary boathouse and meeting space

When the District of Columbia began a large-scale transportation project to replace two major bridges spanning the Anacostia River in Washington D.C., the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association (ACBA) found themselves caught in the middle, literally. As part of the project, the city had to tear down ACBA’s existing boathouse which was located between the two bridges.

Says Jennifer Ney, president of the association, “We decided on the location for the new boathouse with the city and they needed to move us quickly to prevent costly delays to the $300 million bridge project.” She continues, “Because of the rush, our temporary boathouse had to be built in a short timeframe. The biggest challenge was that the structure needed to be affordable, but large enough to accommodate our storage needs. We worked with an architect who recommended ClearSpan.” ACBA chose two Hercules Truss Arch Buildings. The larger of the two is used to store the association members’ rowing shells, canoes and kayaks.

Ney explains, “We needed a structure that would have the capacity to manage the 160 boats that belong to our members. The boats range in size from 6′ single boats to 60′ eight-man rowing shells, and the ClearSpan structure really suits our unique storage needs. The high clearance allowed us to work with a boat rack manufacturer to develop a rack system where we could stack boats seven high.” In the smaller building, the association has meeting and training space, as well as lockable storage stalls along two sides.

At their previous location, ACBA had the use of old naval buildings and were only able to store about a third of the boats inside. Ney says, “This is a huge upgrade. We are able to provide indoor storage for everyone and the facility is really comfortable, even in the summer.”

She continues, “Currently, our plans are to raise funds and begin building a permanent facility in ten years. We are quite happy with our ClearSpan structures and want to either build around or reuse them as part of the permanent facility.”

To learn more about the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association and their ClearSpan structures, visit www.AnacostiaBoathouse.org.

Marina Building for Rowing Facility Inside Photo

Marina Building for Rowing Facility Night Photo

Marina Building for Rowing Facility

Marina Building for Rowing Facility Night Photo

Marina Building for Rowing Facility

-->