Just a little public service announcement for anyone who hasn't noticed the large number of 'my run is caving in' posts lately
Even large-mesh wire *can* catch a lot of snow, becoming a solid layer with sufficient snowfall; chickenwire is pretty bad for that, and obviously a tarp is about as bad as it gets.
Snow is very heavy. Especially wet snow, or dry snow that rain falls onto.
4x4 posts are best, or you can take pairs of 2x4s and screw them together along their long dimension so they form a T in cross-section (screw thru the wide side of one into the narrow side of the other, you know?). Or in a pinch, ANYthing is better than nothing.
If possible, have them bearing upwards into horizontal supports (assuming the run has a flat roof) made of 2x6 or 2x8 or something like that. It is usually best to put the supports ON EDGE, so the 2" narrow side is against the wire mesh roof. This may sound backwards -- indeed, it does give a smaller bearing area on the roof -- but if you put them wide side up, they will just bow and bend and break under heavy snow. So it is stronger to run them narrow side up, if you can screw them STRONGLY to your vertical props (preferably with a scrap of 2x4 underneath, screwed into the prop, for additional support).
If you can't run horizontal supports across the inside of your run roof, for instance if it is hoop style, see what you can find to increase the surface area of the top of the vertical supports. Old tires are a traditional thing to use, but in recent threads on this subject I've seen buckets used to good effect too. Or whatever else you can find.
Wedge the vertical prop in as well as you can -- ideally it will be slightly longer than the run is high, so you can kick it to wedge it into place -- but if you have any 2x4s lying around it can be smart to use them at waist height, crosswise in the run, to brace the supports in position. Screw into run posts at the ends of the 2x4 and the vertical support(s) in the middle, you know?
Whether or not you brace your run, and no matter how *much* you do, if you have anything other than a solid strongly-built ROOF on your run, it would be real, real smart to go out there periodically during any significant snowstorm and use a broom or rake or whatnot to knock the snow off the mesh roof *as it accumulates*. As many have found, waiting til the storm is over can be too late.
Good luck to all, hope this is useful to *someone*
,
Pat, in the process of building runs with ROOFS for just this reason
Even large-mesh wire *can* catch a lot of snow, becoming a solid layer with sufficient snowfall; chickenwire is pretty bad for that, and obviously a tarp is about as bad as it gets.
Snow is very heavy. Especially wet snow, or dry snow that rain falls onto.
4x4 posts are best, or you can take pairs of 2x4s and screw them together along their long dimension so they form a T in cross-section (screw thru the wide side of one into the narrow side of the other, you know?). Or in a pinch, ANYthing is better than nothing.
If possible, have them bearing upwards into horizontal supports (assuming the run has a flat roof) made of 2x6 or 2x8 or something like that. It is usually best to put the supports ON EDGE, so the 2" narrow side is against the wire mesh roof. This may sound backwards -- indeed, it does give a smaller bearing area on the roof -- but if you put them wide side up, they will just bow and bend and break under heavy snow. So it is stronger to run them narrow side up, if you can screw them STRONGLY to your vertical props (preferably with a scrap of 2x4 underneath, screwed into the prop, for additional support).
If you can't run horizontal supports across the inside of your run roof, for instance if it is hoop style, see what you can find to increase the surface area of the top of the vertical supports. Old tires are a traditional thing to use, but in recent threads on this subject I've seen buckets used to good effect too. Or whatever else you can find.
Wedge the vertical prop in as well as you can -- ideally it will be slightly longer than the run is high, so you can kick it to wedge it into place -- but if you have any 2x4s lying around it can be smart to use them at waist height, crosswise in the run, to brace the supports in position. Screw into run posts at the ends of the 2x4 and the vertical support(s) in the middle, you know?
Whether or not you brace your run, and no matter how *much* you do, if you have anything other than a solid strongly-built ROOF on your run, it would be real, real smart to go out there periodically during any significant snowstorm and use a broom or rake or whatnot to knock the snow off the mesh roof *as it accumulates*. As many have found, waiting til the storm is over can be too late.
Good luck to all, hope this is useful to *someone*
Pat, in the process of building runs with ROOFS for just this reason
