Norseman Structures Head Office Saskatoon Aerial Photo

Arch Fabric Building on Seacans at a Mining Site

Peaked Roof Rounded Eave Fabric Structure for Wood Pellet Storage

Arch Clearspan Building installed by a Norseman Structures dealer

Agriculture Fabric Shelter for a Hog Farm

WHO IS NORSEMAN

A Canadian manufacturer & builder of steel-framed, fabric-covered buildings.

OUR SHELTERSOLUTIONS

EXPLORE OUR OPTIONS

Not all structures are made equal. Discover our pre-engineered and fabric building options.

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It's Nice to Meet You

Whether this is your first time visiting us or we are old friends, we are happy you stopped by! Norseman Structures is here to provide you with a peace of mind fabric structure to protect your people, assets, and the success of your business. Regardless of your industry or location, we will help you find the best building option for your business or personal needs.

Explore our site to learn more about Canada's own Norseman Structures or send us a message to tell us about your project. We’d love to chat with you.

OUR ShelterSolution PROCESS

ShelterSolutions

At Norseman Structures, we know your business needs more than a building. We believe in crafting a ShelterSolution that will protect and enhance the success of your business. Your requirements are unique, and we want to design a solution that meets all of your individual needs. From fabric covered buildings and steel clad buildings to hot dipped galvanized and inline galvanized corrosion protection to concrete pile foundations and movable buildings on rails, Norseman ShelterSolutions are fully customizable for you, in any location around the world.

Featured Projects

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Fertilizer Storage

Federated Co-operatives

Bridge Pier Construction

Champlain Bridge

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Fabric Buildings from Norseman Structures

While there are many options for your ShelterSolution, fabric buildings are the most popular for industrial and commercial uses, and for good reason.

Affordability, durability, and convenience are some of the advantages of fabric covered structures (commonly referred to as coverall buildings) which make them an excellent alternative to constructing a traditional brick & mortar building.

Let’s explore everything you need to know about fabric building types and uses below.

What Are Fabric Buildings?

Fabric buildings are structures that are made using steel frames and fabric cladding. The steel frame serves as the skeleton of the building, and the fabric is then pulled over it and tensioned.

The steel frame can be designed for many different types of uses. The most common styles of fabric buildings are made with either a steel truss frame or a single tube steel frame. Truss frames are available in either a peaked roof or arch profile. Single tube steel frames are available in an arch profile and are commonly referred to as hoop buildings.

Each of these styles of fabric covered buildings can satisfy a variety of uses in a multitude of industries. Selecting the best style for your fabric covered building is based on the contents of your building, the size of your structure, the length of use for your building, and the location in which it is being installed.

In addition to being called Coverall buildings, fabric structures are often referred to as a tarp building or tent building which may imply they are temporary structures. While fabric covered buildings can be designed for temporary use, they are engineered buildings with structural steel built to last a lifetime.

Materials Used & Their Benefits

Fabric shelters are made up of a high quality polyethylene or PVC fabric that has the strength to lift an F-150 truck (engine included). This fabric is carefully welded in Norseman Structures’ manufacturing facility to the highest standards. In the event of a puncture to the fabric, the material is designed to be tear-proof. This means the fabric will not continue to tear at the site of the puncture. A fabric building puncture can easily be repaired with patch tape or by welding on an additional piece of fabric. These properties help ensure that the building can withstand some of the harshest weather conditions.

Norseman Structures Fabric Manufacturing Plant

The steel frame of a fabric covered building is made up of a variety of metal components designed for strength and durability. The steel trusses can be made up of wide flange steel, hollow structural steel, or a combination of the two. These components can then be coated for corrosion protection with a prime paint or galvanizing, and can further be coated with an epoxy paint for additional protection.

Whether it’s strong winds or a heavy load of snow, the durable structure of the steel frame and the strong fabric cladding ensures that it will remain stable and safe to use for many years.

Although fabric covered buildings can be built to last as long as conventional buildings, they can also be designed as a temporary or movable structure. A fabric building, otherwise known as a tarp building or a coverall building, is designed for versatility and can be erected or disassembled in a matter of weeks or even days. This is a huge benefit compared to traditional buildings where demolition is the only feasible option.

The fabric cladding of a tarp building, offers an ideal internal environment. The translucency of the fabric allows for natural light and an airy environment. Fabric covered buildings are typically about 10 degrees cooler inside during summer months and 10 degrees warmer inside than winter months without a heating or cooling system. Insulation options and mechanical systems are also available for these structures to meet your climate needs.

Fabric Building Recovers

The material on a Norseman Structures ShelterSolution has a warranty of up to 25 years. While the steel frame will last a lifetime, the fabric cladding will need to be replaced over time. Reskinning your fabric covered building is economical and is typically a quick and easy process. Whether you have a Cover All building or another brand of tarp building, Norseman Structures can design a fabric cover that fits your original building. Our team is also capable of patching fabric on a Norseman Structures building, a Cover All building or any other building using polyethylene or PVC material. Repairing or replacing your fabric is a cost effective solution to restoring your building. Whether you have owned your building for many years and require a full fabric recover or if you just need some maintenance, our team can help make your fabric building look like new.

Potential Uses of Fabric Covered Buildings

At Norseman Structures, we know your structure is more than a building. How a ShelterSolution can protect and enhance your business is what is important, which is why we focus as much on the interior of the building as the exterior. There are endless uses for fabric buildings and they are used in a wide range of industries.

But which solutions tend to be the most common? And why are they beneficial in those areas?

Warehouses

One area where these fabric covered buildings work extremely well is for warehousing, and there’s a good reason for why that’s the case.

The clear-span space within the building allows large equipment to freely move around. With loads of customization options, affordability, and durability, fabric warehouse buildings are an excellent budget-friendly option for storing anything like inventory, equipment, or various construction materials. Companies from a variety of industries such as mining, oil and gas, agriculture, retail, waste and recycling, and more, all use these structures for warehouses purposes.

Aggregate Storage

Whether you have a commercial agriculture operation in need of a fertilizer terminal or a municipality needing to protect salt and sand for road maintenance or a mining company stockpiling ore, a fabric building can satisfy your needs. The fabric cladding is inert to corrosion and the steel frame can be designed to accommodate massive stockpiles. In addition, these facilities can support conveyance systems or work as a load in and load out shelter. The clear-span space and versatility of design make these building great options for aggregate storage.

Equipment Maintenance

One more common use of fabric buildings is for equipment maintenance. Mine sites, oil and gas operations, construction sites, commercial agriculture businesses, all require a facility to maintain and repair vehicles and equipment. Norseman Structures has built truck shops for a variety of businesses, particularly in the mining sector. This keeps equipment close to site and back in the field as quickly as possible.

Benefits of Fabric Buildings

Now that we’ve explored what fabric buildings are, what they are made of, and their most common applications, we must look at the overall benefits that they can offer and why you should consider them as well.

At Norseman Structures, we believe that fabric buildings can be successfully applied in almost any situation, and here are a few of the main reasons why they are so advantageous.

First off, our fabric buildings in Canada and across the world are highly customizable and can be designed to fit the requirements of almost any situation, terrain, climate, or business.

Because of this versatility, we help create fabric buildings in a handful of industries, including mining, oil and gas, commercial agriculture, construction, manufacturing, warehousing, sports and recreation, and many others. So, whether you have a coverall building that needs a fabric recover, or you are looking for the installation of a new building, the versatility and durability of these types of buildings ensures that we can meet the needs of almost any project for any customer.

Norseman Structures

At Norseman Structures, we have been providing protection and ShelterSolutions for almost a century. We can walk the walk when we say that we are able to offer you not only the most Fiercely Reliable products, but also the expertise and service to give you peace of mind.

If you want to learn more, call 855.385.2782 or request a custom quote today. We look forward to crafting the perfect ShelterSolution for your business!