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WHAT ABOUT SNOW LOAD?
The heavy guage pure vinyl used to make Sundomes is EXTREMELY slippery. (Just try walking on it when it is wet!) The snow slides off so fast..much faster than my metal roofed barns that have a steeper pitch. The most important thing is to have the building TIGHT! We will help you determine the correct settings for your building. If there does happen to be a terrible storm, one that would cave in steel structures or rip the ordinary tarp type buildings (and sometimes twist their frame), the Sundome may come down. Just push off the snow (a big job!), turn on the fan and voila! your building is back up with little or no damage or expense.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR?
Obviously we have to get horses/equipment/product in and out of the arena. The arena must be attached to a double entry door building. It can be as big or small as you want, but must accomodate at least a 10 by 12 foot door at the arena end. You come in, close the outside door and pass thru the building, opening the inside door. When set correctly, that door can be left open almost indefinitely. We try to get thru in a few minutes and shut the door, just to save pressure. But there is no problem with the building deflating with ordinary use.
IS THERE ALOT OF WIND IN THE BUILDING?
The only place you can feel the difference in air pressure is at the entry doors. We have found that it works really great to turn the pressure down during the day so the arena is not as tight. We turn it back up at night just in case there is big wind or snow overnight. We always leave it tight during the day during bad weather or if some snow happens to be sitting on the top that hasn't slid off yet.
WHAT KIND OF FAN IS USED AND IS IT NOISY?
We used a large industrial fan with a computer control. I will admit we did have some trouble at first. It kept turning itself off and was driving us crazy. But we got that straightened out (a computer problem, of course) and now it is great. The fan is extremely quiet. The only time you can hear it is when it is blowing fast to pump up the pressure. Most of the time, it is cycled way down and hardly idling. When it is on low speed, you cannot hear it, even standing within 10 feet of it. It is on 220 and is a 5 horsepower. I guesstimate that it costs me only $50 to $75 a month to operate!!!!!
WHAT ABOUT HEATING IT?
Since there is a fan going all the time, it would not be too difficult to heat. However, the special material it is made out of is treated to be solar efficient....warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I am going to hang a heater over my tack up area in the entry building..but I am not going to go to the expense of heating such a large space as the arena. I don't ride when it is below -20. It's not good for my horses...and it sure isn't good for ME!
WHAT ABOUT LIGHTS?
This building is so bright inside you would never have to light it during the day....no matter how overcast! If you ride at night, that's easy. Just buy some construction-type, energy efficient lights and place them along the sides, shine them up towards the roof and there you have a BIG lamp shade, reflecting the light all over evenly...and without any shadows to scare your horse!
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