How big "Hoop Coop"?

[kodster]

Awesome input thanks.

I saw one Tuesday past in use as a greenhouse. Our winter climate (ice rain, wet snow) seems to demand that snow builds up and must be cleared from inside?

Any experience with letting snow build up?

A hoop house is ideal for those conditions, because the snow, etc., slides down, so you don't have to knock it off unless you want to, because it's getting too heavy as what happens when you have several inches accumulating in a short period of time like was recently experienced in the last 'snowmageddon' that hit the east coast of the United States. Think of how an igloo is curved, and the insulation the snow blocks make. The same thing happens with a hoop house when snow is on it... it keeps it warm inside, creating its own insulation.

Most DIY uses the cattle panels that you can get at the local feed stores, and there are lots of YT videos showing how to construct them. It all depends on how long you want to make it. Personally, I think these are much more stable and resistant to rough conditions than the commercially made versions of hoop houses. The DIY versions are more resistant to winds than the commercial ones are unless you're going with a 20'x60' high tunnel greenhouse that comes from a company that builds them, and those are costly, along with the space requirements for them. Not everyone has the acreage to get one of those. For a low-cost alternative, even though it will take YOUR sweat equity, go with the DIY hoop house out of cattle panels.

 

[Ted Brown]

A couple of Januarys ago we had an official National Weather Service report of a 90 mph gust during a wind event where sustained winds were 60mph.

We’ve found that our run flexes with the weather instead of being stiff and fighting it. Since the fence posts are on the outside of the structure, pressure is exerted outwards against them.

Much of the strength depends on what livestock panel you use.
Cattle panels are much weaker than hog panels.
Any measure of snow supported is meaningless unless the panels are shown(or defined by gauge and spacing of rods.

A hoop house is ideal for those conditions, because the snow, etc., slides down, so you don't have to knock it off unless you want to...

Personally, I think these are much more stable and resistant to rough conditions than the commercially made versions of hoop houses. The DIY versions are more resistant to winds than the commercial ones are unless you're going with a 20'x60' high tunnel greenhouse that comes from a company that builds them...

From Tractor Supply:

Hog Feedlot Panel Fencing, 16 ft. L x 34 in. H, 90215 ​

$33.99US ​

• The 11 line wires (horizontal) are 5 gauge
• The stay wires (vertical) are 4 gauge and are spaced 8 in. apart

OK Brand 10 Line Cattle Panel 16 ft. L x 50 in. H GALVANIZED, 0060-0 ​

$29.99US

• Constructed of 4 gauge wire Galvanized before welded
• Graduated 8 in. vertical x 4 in. horizontal to 8 in. vertical x 6 in. horizontal mesh

i have been advised that cattle panels (livestock panels?) will collapse under snow load; no specifics of wire gauge nor snow load were given.

I will use the "OK Brand 10 Cattle Panel" as it is best price and strongest (all 4 gauge). I will drive about 500km round trip to pickup in Ogdensberg NY as local equivalents are ~$90CDN

Very interested in personal experiences with snow load on cattle panels.

Thanks

NB: Wire gauge is stronger the lower number is.

 

[aart]

i have been advised that cattle panels (livestock panels?) will collapse under snow load; no specifics of wire gauge nor snow load were given.

They will not give snow loads as that is not the intended use for livestock panels.

These are 2 cattle panels starting to bow under a foot of snow.
Was pretty easy to bang it off.
ETA, I have a DIY plastic roof rake that I made for clearing a fragile metal shed roof.
worked good for this too.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

They will not give snow loads as that is not the intended use for livestock panels.

These are 2 cattle panels starting to bow under a foot of snow.
Was pretty easy to bang it off.
ETA, I have a DIY plastic roof rake that I made for clearing a fragile metal shed roof.
worked good for this too.
View attachment 2991555

I want to both WOW! and INFORMATIVE! this. Since Ted marked it Info, I chose WOW!

That picture says a mouthful.

 

[Ted Brown]

@aart Appreciated!

What gauge and wire spacing? Did you bang off from underneath?

 

[aart]

@aart Appreciated!

What gauge and wire spacing? Did you bang off from underneath?

I believe it was this:

• Constructed of 4 gauge wire Galvanized before welded
• Graduated 8 in. vertical x 4 in. horizontal to 8 in. vertical x 6 in. horizontal mesh

I can't confirm as they are long gone.

I used the roof rake for most from the outside, but also banged from underneath.

How much the snow builds up, and how easy it is to remove, depends on what kind of snow and the temps...as anyone who lives in snowland understands this can vary greatly.
Also the condition of the tarp, a nice shiny new tarp is much slipperier than an older one where the surface can be rougher and thus more likely to 'catch and hold' the snow.

 

[Percheron chick]

I will use the "OK Brand 10 Cattle Panel" as it is best price and strongest (all 4 gauge). I will drive about 500km round trip to pickup in Ogdensberg NY as local equivalents are ~$90CDN

Just in case you haven't figured out the easiest way to transport the panels I will try to explain. You need a pickup truck. Don't need a trailer. Need a second person.
Stand the panel on edge. Push the ends together. Place in bed of truck standing on edge with the bow against the cab. Keep adding panels the same way. The panels will push against the bed rails making them solid. I've transported 25 at a time in a full size pu and could of easily added more.

 

[Ted Brown]

@Percheron chick

I don't have a pickup but do have a 12' trailer bed with another 6' of tongue length.

However great advice!!

 

[kodster]

Just in case you haven't figured out the easiest way to transport the panels I will try to explain. You need a pickup truck. Don't need a trailer. Need a second person.
Stand the panel on edge. Push the ends together. Place in bed of truck standing on edge with the bow against the cab. Keep adding panels the same way. The panels will push against the bed rails making them solid. I've transported 25 at a time in a full size pu and could of easily added more.

We did the same thing, but did it turned 90 degrees, so that the ends were up against the sides of the bed. I would have preferred to have done it your way, but my husband insisted on doing it HIS way. No matter, we got home safely by using our pickup to transport 3 of the panels (all we wanted was 3).

 

[dreamofwinter]

Adding my experience, which seems to echo that of most other posters.

I have an 8x16 cattle panel hoop run which sits inside a ground frame made of 2x4s. The hoop is covered with tarps to keep snow/rain/wind out, and has a roof brace running the length of the peak with support poles to the ground at the very center point. The brace is, for lack of a better way to describe it, only lightly attached and I don't think I've ever seen it actually supporting the weight of the hoop.

I live in Eastern Maine, and this winter have had several >12" snowfalls as well as winds over 50mph. The hoop has performed beautifully. I do go out with a long-handled broom and push the snow off the top if it starts to get deep, but have not fussed with snow on the sides (figuring the extra insulation is a benefit, in the subzero weather).

I suspect that if you don't plan on clearing the snow from the top, you'll either want good bracing internally or a design that helps shed the snow more easily.