As snow and freezing temperatures take hold in northern climates, tent and event rental business opportunities may slow, but they don’t stop. However, for even the most experienced tent installers, winter weather can present unexpected hurdles. Careful planning and weighing the benefits of taking on a winter project can make all the difference between a successful setup and a frigid failure.
“You have to be prepared for the worst,” says Lee Sutter, president of Tent Event in Calgary, Alta., Canada. He learned that the hard way several years ago during one of his first winter projects installing a marquee tent for a Christmas function. “It was a worst-case-scenario situation: 40 below 0 F, large pieces of laminated fabric permanently damaged by cold crack, no flexibility in timing and no extra costs built into the contract with the client. After that, we didn’t do winter events for a couple of years.”
Today, Tent Event has consistent holiday event contracts it can more easily plan for each year, but Sutter doesn’t take every project that comes along. He prefers larger, longer-term events with structures for people to filter in and out of, such as holiday markets. Those events typically have larger budgets and require less heat, compared to a smaller sit-down dinner or one-time event.
Grandchamp Structure Design, based in Montreal, Que., Canada, frequently sees its winter structure tent used for holiday festivals and markets as well. But demand for temporary storage projects is increasing, particularly coverage for pool construction projects. “It’s a great trend for us,” says Nelson Grandchamp, production manager. “The longer term, the better, in the winter,”
Colder equals harder
Seeing these structures in use throughout the season can lead to a common misconception among customers, contractors and less experienced installers that setting them up is easy. Perry Armstrong, owner and president of Rain or Shine Tent and Events, Randolph, Vt., runs into this often. “It’s a bigger deal and way more work than most people realize,” Armstrong says. “I’ve had many calls with contractors who are looking for short-term coverage to finish a small construction project but decide to wait until spring after we discuss timing and costs.”
There are numerous ways for things to go wrong in winter, such as snow storms, ice storms, equipment failures and frostbitten employees. But even without these complications, the cold itself takes a toll that needs to be factored into any winter-installation estimate.
“Winter is really hard on your equipment, your trucks, your trailers—basically everything,” Sutter says. “And if something is damaged during the winter, we can’t use it in the summer, which is where we really want to focus.”
So, before taking on a winter installation, the following are the top items Sutter and his fellow northern industry peers recommend be considered.
Tent and fabric type
When it comes to fabric, clients sometimes request clear roof tops and walls because “it’s nice to envision a picture-perfect view of beautiful white snow and a bright blue sky,” says Eric Labelle, owner of Labelle Tents in Ottawa, Ont., Canada. “But that fabric doesn’t like the cold weather and is a lot more brittle. It is likely going to crack. Or it could cave in if there’s too much snow. Not to mention, the heat inside would fog up the rooftop and take away the clear view they wanted. We will not use a clear rooftop in the winter, no matter what. And if a client really wants clear walls we’ll do it but we tell them there is a good chance the fabric will crack and we’ll have to replace—and charge them for—the windows.”
All the interviewees recommended installing structures with coated vinyl during the winter season. They believe it yields the best results: a better snow load than a marquee tent would provide and lack of cold crack, which is all too common with laminated vinyl.
“Tents are usually designed to be lightweight so they’re easy to move around,” Grandchamp says. “But we do the opposite with our winter structure tent; everything is bigger and heavier so it can bear the weight of snow. We also make the tension of the roof extremely tight so the snow glides right off. We’ve seen people use the smaller marquee tents, but they’re usually not engineered for snow load. Some cities don’t know that, so they allow it. Or some people don’t ask for permits and do it anyway. That’s pretty dangerous.”
Even with coated vinyl, fabric shrinkage is inevitable. The remedy? Heat. “To reduce shrinkage, we do our best to store the fabric indoors, heated, until it’s ready to go out. And then even when it’s on-site, it’s heated,” Sutter says. “We have a Frost Fighter heater on-site that blows in the open air on the fabric during setup, and we bring it with us when we take down and fold fabric. Basically, we try to keep the fabric warm whenever we’re manipulating it in any way.”
Labelle also recommends glass doors to keep the heat in, upgrading to a double set of doors for high-end events to act as a heat wall and make it easier to heat the enclosure. For resistant clients who have only used marquee style or small-frame tents for recurring, long-term, multi-tent events, he will offer structures for the price of marquees or install a few structures without charging them so they can judge the difference at the end of the event. “Every single time, it works. They see the advantage and why it’s worth the extra time and expense,” he says.
Flooring
Whether the structure is installed on packed-down snow or uncovered asphalt, because it’s heated, the ground is going to get messy. “Flooring not only keeps the mess away, it also keeps people further away from the frozen ground and acts as an insulator,” says Armstrong, who has had success using Bil-Jax® and Liri elevating flooring systems. “We tell everybody if they’re doing anything for any length of time, they need to put a floor underneath it.”
Labelle primarily uses wood, as plastic flooring can be colder, brittle and slippery in comparison. As an additional enhancement, he recommends ¾-inch, anti-slip rubber black mats to all customers as well. “We do events on ice, where people are skating, and skates scratch up the wood. We’re also providing more warmth and comfort for vendors who might be sitting or standing on a floor directly above ice all day at a festival. The mats look great and they’re functional,” Labelle says.
Timing
Not only does cold make everything harder, it also makes everything (and everyone) slower. Planning for at least double the time of a warm-weather install is a good rule of thumb. “Every movement you make in the winter is slower,” Grandchamp says. “You’ve got big gloves, big boots, a big jacket. You learn that a generator will not start if it’s too cold. Electrical tape will not stick. Fabric and equipment are going to get wet, and you need to make sure they dry before you can put them away. You learn and adapt, but it’s a process.”
“We make sure client contracts include our right to delay or postpone setup, based on weather conditions. And we build in flexibility,” Sutter says. “For something that might normally take a half-day to set up, we’ll quote three days so we can plan around the unexpected. And if a customer requires a really tight timeline, we’ll charge them more in advance to take into account all of the things that may or may not happen. It’s important to get creative and protect yourself while still giving value to the customer.”
Sutter also notes shorter days as an obstacle to plan around. “In the dead of winter, the sun isn’t up until 8 or 9 a.m., and we usually need to have the site wrapped up, with everything off the ground and covered by 4, when it goes down. That gives us only a five- or six-hour window to work in.”
Anchoring
For ease and effectiveness, concrete ballasts are the go-to anchoring solution. Stakes are possible, even when the ground is frozen, but “sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t,” Grandchamp says, noting that when his team successfully gets stakes into the ground, getting them back out is a task best kept for spring when the ground has thawed.
For those committed to stakes, Armstrong recommends using a Tent OX™ with a stake-driving attachment, which his team has used to pound through 6-8 inches of frost when a hammer drill wouldn’t cut it.
And for anchoring tents directly on ice, Labelle offers a tried-and-true strategy using a method similar to that of installing steel dovetail anchors: “Drill a hole into the ice and send a piece of the steel through vertically. It then comes horizontally under the ice, and now you’re holding the weight of the ice around it and it’s nearly indestructible. The only issue is picking it up later. For structures installed for the full season, we tie the straps to a dock or tree with a rope and pick it up once the ice has melted. If that’s not an option, we cut it out with a saw.”
Snow removal
Another reason to install a structure instead of a marquee is that it makes snow removal much easier, albeit still necessary. Having an upfront conversation with the client about who will be responsible for snow removal is critical.
“The structure won’t eliminate the snow; it deflects the snow,” Grandchamp clarifies. “As the snow slides onto the ground, keep up with maintenance because if you don’t clear the snow, it will push on and eventually collapse the side wall.”
If the snow is so watery or heavy that it doesn’t glide down, he recommends turning up the heat inside the structure so it melts faster. “If you can, put two smaller heaters inside instead of one big heater so if one fails, you still have a second,” he says.
Anticipate and adapt
Winter work requires resilience. “There’s nothing glamorous about it,” Grandchamp says, “but it’s a good market.” While not all projects are suitable for every installer, those that are present valuable opportunities for steady, year-round work and building new skills and connections. Even then, unforeseen challenges are guaranteed to arise, so setting clear, written expectations with clients is key to a smoother experience overall.
Holly Eamon is a business writer and editor based in Minneapolis, Minn.
When battling the elements, frequent warming breaks for crew members are essential. “Bigger events often provide heated trailers for the crew, with tables, chairs, restrooms—all the necessities. For smaller events where that’s not available, we bring our own heater and we put it in a tent or one of our trailers. Having a central heated space for breaks is a must, even if it’s a truck running with the heater on,” says Eric Labelle, owner of Labelle Tents in Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
From hats to socks, warm winter gear is also vital, including a lot of moisture-wicking layers. “We always have extra hats and gloves on hand, but everyone on our team has different brand and gear preferences, so they wear their own jackets, boots and other gear,” Labelle says.
“Gloves are always getting wet, so the more you can provide the better,” echoes Perry Armstrong, owner and president of Rain or Shine Tent and Events, Randolph, Vt. “And don’t forget the HotHands® warmers—they help a lot.”
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