The Voice of Experience

In the past, I have advocated constructing a greenhouse-type structure if an indoor play space for school children must be built.  Today, in an expeditious email exchange with Paul and Dorcas Smucker from Oregon, I heard first hand how a similar structure works for them.  Paul is a Christian school principal.

Here's a record of the exchange:

First, my note to Dorcas, whose email address I already had:

Dorcas,

I once saw a "flood" picture taken inside a structure at your school.  It looked like a greenhouse, which I assume was being used as a gym.  I'd like some information about that structure and its use.  I'll try to make it as easy for you to respond as possible. I'm fine if someone else responds, as a result of your forwarding the email, for example.

Questions:

Can the structure be used for basketball?

Volleyball?

Size of the floor area (concrete, I assume)?

Type of overhead structure?  If this were a wood structure, we'd specify whether it was trusses or rafters, and if trusses, what shape?  That's what I'm interested in here.  If you know the name of the type, that's what I'd like.

Height at the tallest point?

Sidewalls?

Glazing material?

Provisions for heating and ventilation?

Cost of structure (perhaps minus the concrete)?

How satisfactory is this structure for school purposes?

Limitations?

Other comments?

I need some hard data, and didn't know of anyone else who has actually used a greenhouse as a gym.  We have many people who can tell us all about greenhouses (There are about 50 of them across the fence and across the road from the school building we just purchased.), but your input would provide a unique angle.

Thanks.

Miriam Iwashige

Dorcas' Response:

Miriam--
Gotta say, I don't wake up to these questions every morning!  But I don't mind at all.
I don't know that our "Play shelter" was ever seen as a greenhouse before but I see the similarities.
I'll tell you a bit of what I know and then I'll forward this on.
Back in the day, we went back and forth about a gym because with over 40 students and lots of rainy days we needed a place for them to play.  But a gym quickly involves restrooms, a sprinkler system, and much more.  And it quickly becomes a possible reception hall which necessitates a kitchen.
I don't remember where we got the idea for the current structure, but it's worked well.  It has a curved metal framework with a special canvas over it, so it looks like a huge covered wagon.
Yes, they can play basketball in it, or two volleyball games at once.
There are no restrooms, heating, A/C, drinking fountains, etc.  It's just a shelter.
But what it does, it does well.
And with that I will sign off and let Paul take over.
Dorcas

Next, Paul's response:

Miriam,

I will try to answer your questions.
The basic structure is metal curved trusses that are covered by heavy tarp material which is winched tightly over the trusses.  The entire roof and walls which is actually all part of a curved roof is the tarp material.  There are several different companies that sell a variety of sizes of these structures to farmers.  (Google "tarp buildings" to find out what is available) It is far cheaper to build than a standard building.  The size of ours is 66x100.  It has a full sized basketball court.  It is set up for a volleyball court going the same way as the basketball court and then you can change the nets and have two different volleyball courts side by side going the other way.

The floor is concrete and and the long sides have 3 ft high concrete walls which the metal trusses are attached to.  As I recall the building was in the $35,000 range and the excavation/preparation/concrete/doors/electrical were an additional $30,000.

The height at the tallest point is around 25 feet and the one we have is easily high enough for basketball and volleyball.

We put lighting in the structure, but do not use it during the day because enough light comes through the tarp.  It is not heated. There is no way to insulate it because the only barrier to the outside temperature is the tarp.  I don't know if you can get an insulated tarp.  In our climate we may decide to heat it some time, but we don't get nearly as cold as the midwest.

It has worked very well for us.  It works like an unheated gym, but was not nearly as expensive and gives a large area to play out of the rain.

******************

Dorcas also attached two pictures, which I will post as soon as I figure out how to do so.

My comment:

With a more translucent cover than the Oregon school has,  I'm confident that in Kansas solar heating would make this a comfortable place to play during the colder months of the school year, unless, of course, the day happened not to be one of the 65 out of every hundred sunny days that make up our average weather.  A heater like the one presently used in our shop building at school could warm up the space on the few cloudy days when it might be needed.