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Reliable Tent & Awning
Reliable Tent & Awning saves the day for a local restaurant by
providing an engineered
clear-span canopy to shelter the
eatery's patio. Looking to protect the tables, chairs and
expensive audio-video equipment on his 600-square-foot patio
against the ravages of nature, the owner of a popular Billings,
Mont. ,bar-and-grill turned to
Reliable Tent & Awning for a permanent canopy measuring 20
feet by 30 feet. The catch was the canopy had to be constructed as
a clear-span structure.
"We were not allowed to install
intermediate uprights to support it," says Reliable Tent & Awning's
Dave Nemer. "The restaurant owner needed all the space he could
get for tables and seats. He didn't want any obstructions in the
middle of the area. "Reliable
answered the challenge by creating a system of trusses to prevent
the fabric covering from sagging. "Those trusses were engineered
in-house, with help from a computerized system," says Nemer,
adding that the software was developed by WCPA member Eide Industries of
Cerritos, Calif.
The canopy, in completed form,
features fabric walls for interior heating during Montana's long
cold season. These curtains can be opened in the summer to reveal
mesh screening, thereby allowing a refreshing breeze to enter
without also letting in flying insects. The canopy was designed by
Nemer, his father Bob Nemer, and Reliable production manager Jeff
Lindenberg. "The customer was a first-timer who came to us because
he felt we were the best equipped of anyone in this market to
solve his problem," says Nemer, vice president of the company.
DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
The customer no doubt also liked that Reliable Tent & Awning
had been a Billings fixture since 1945 when Nemer's grandfather
acquired it (Bob Nemer took the reins in 1985).As the name of the
company proclaims, tents are a big facet of the business. But so
are awnings, and Reliable
produces both commercial and residential types. Its work is
handled entirely in-house, with the exception of the fabrication
of retractable awning frames and the application of vinyl
graphics. Reliable is equipped to weld acrylic fabrics, which
means the seams in its products are far more durable and
leak-tight than in the days when fabric pieces could only be
stitched together using needle and thread. Recently added to its
10,000-square-foot facility: a room big enough to house an
automated cutting machine measuring 40 feet in width. A key
consideration in the design of the restaurant patio canopy was
provision of sufficient slope to handle snow load.
"Here in Billings we're required by
the city to meet a 90 mph exposure C-wind load and a 30 pound-
per-square-foot snow load," says Nemer. "Those requirements were
one reason we opted for the fabric we did it's slick enough to
allow snow to readily slide right off it. Also, it's ideal for
medium-sized fabric-covered structures. It nicely addresses the
dimensional stability issues that otherwise would end in shrinkage
or heat-induced elongation."
SLICK FABRIC
That fabric is 502 Precontraint, a
strong, easily cleaned PVC product by Ferrari and obtained through
long-time WCPA member The Astrup
Co. Originally, Reliable suggested the sides of the structure
be outfitted with a roll-curtain system. But because of the need
to shut out insects, it was instead decided to install stationary
curtains with mesh panels welded into them. "On the interior side,
we have UV-protected clear vinyl that folds down to reveal the
screen," says Nemer.
"In the winter, this can be zipped up.
"As to the frame, its lower portion employs 2-inch aluminum square
tubing. One-inch aluminum square tubing, on the other hand, went
into the fabrication of rafters and trussing. "The frame," says Nemer, "was built in two sections and bolted together on-site.
"For the sake of installation ease, Reliable designed the fabric
cover to be laced onto the
frame. No special anchoring or
foundation work proved necessary thanks to the existence of a
smooth concrete floor across the
entirety of the patio area to be covered. "We were able to easily
attach the uprights directly to it," says Nemer. "And the back
edge of the canopy attached with equal ease to the restaurant
building itself another flat, smooth surface.
"However, we did find it advantageous
to build special temporary uprights to support the
canopy while determining exact upright
length. "Installation took two days and required the talents of up
to five workers per shift. The restaurant's busiest time of day
was the lunch hour, so
Reliable's crew waited until after 1p.m. on the first day to
start installing. Most of the frame was in place by the end of
that day, with the remaining pieces put up the following morning.
Work halted again for the next lunch rush, and resumed immediately
afterward with installation of the cover.
The only snag affecting an otherwise
smooth-going project centered around the side curtains of the
canopy. Along the bottom, these were to be attached to existing
wooden framework surrounding the patio perimeter. Unfortunately,
those wood pieces were not evenly laid.
"The solution we came up with was to
weld on a curtain extension," says Nemer. "We sandwiched this extension between the
existing wood and a flat steel strip. This flap adjusted to the variances in height of the wood.
So, as far as the eye could tell, there was a straight and level bottom to the canopy. "All in all, it
was another big success for
Reliable and an even bigger one for the customer. |
