[Bob Carriere]

We now have 7 shelters at the farm.

The early one from Princess Autowhere beige/tan colored and last the longest....3 to 4 seasons or should say years as we do not remove them for the Summer.

Last few years the quality of the silver tarps from PA is plain awful.... one season is all you will get from the siver tarps...... so we buy replacement siver tarps at PA for about $40 when on sale (24x16)....some shelters now have 3 layers of tarp.

We never had one collapse but we do have a snow patrol.... I inspect the accumulation and let out an email for clean up..... easiest has beento push the inside with a traw broom..... on a cold day your hand is too small an area and can actually punch a hole in the roof.....

The other disadvantage is that all the snow you push off the roof falls on each side and will accumulate tot he height of the roof line....... from expereince we now leave just enough room between shelters fro me to back up the 7 foot wide snowblower and clear the area. Failure to remove snow from the side will eventually ice up and push in the side walls to a point of failure.

If I had to buy new temp structure I would favour the better quality Shelter Logic models sold by Canadian tire..... made in New England sate.... tarps are 2 to 3 times heavier..... roof is domed instead of flat pitch.... and are design to withstand snow better...... they are also taller by design. CTC sells them $600 but regualrly on sale at $400.

Don't be too concerned if the model you select is marginally not high enough for a CMP....... to anchor the shelter use old railroad ties..... you gain about 8 inches...... and they give you a place to lag bolt the shelter pads into something the wind will not lift.

For extra protection we usually tie the shelter roof peak with rope to the vehicles stored inside... like wearing suspenders and a belt.

We are hoping to get some sea containers in the future and span the space between them for more storage.......but most likely will still need the flexibility of cheaper shelters......

So far, in the rural areas, temp shelters have not been a by-law issue.

Boob