Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Brenda was talking with a manager from The Home Depot® and he asked her if we have looked into offering clear canvas building roofs. He said there are people who like them on horse arenas because the interior lights bother the horse’s eyes. This canvas lets light in. Well I hope they don’t have too many activities at night because they will still need interior lights.

Brenda said, “I’m looking at it as a no go. All the buildings I have looked at are steel framed and the gables are rounded. I wonder what the warranty would be on something like this.”

Well Brenda, ask and you shall receive.

Natural Light Fabric Structures (NLFS) happens to be located nearby in Minnesota and were more than prompt in providing useful warranty information.

Their SP series buildings include spans up to 32 feet in width and are non-engineered. I was impressed when in the first paragraph of the warranty, it says, “Building membranes are also warranted against damage caused by hail and deterioration caused by ultraviolet rays, when such damage or deterioration results in the loss of effectiveness of the membrane as a weather barrier.” Sounds fairly impressive, so far.

Then it gets to the coverage periods of the warranty. The canvas building steel framework is covered for 7 years, the covering 15. And these years are prorated – the purchaser loses a chunk of coverage every year. Main framework fails after five years, 20% of the cost of the replacement materials only is covered, plus freight from the manufacturing plant in Minnesota!

“This warranty does not apply to defects or damage resulting from a) installation that is improper and/or not in strict accordance with NLFS written installation instructions; b) improper or inadequate maintenance; c) modification or alteration of the product; d) neglect, misuse or abuse of product; e) accident; f) unauthorized repair or alteration; g) integration with other products or accessories not manufactured specifically for use with the NLFS building; h) exposure to corrosive elements; i) corrosion resulting from building application, environment, and/or insufficient maintenance or any cause other than a defect in an item’s described corrosion protection; j) use of abrasive cleaning methods, chemicals, or solvents; k) exposure to conditions in excess of, or not meeting, as the case may be, the wind and snow load specifications of the building model; l) foundation design and/or installation and/or deficiency in the foundation; m) product upgrades; n) product recall; o) normal wear and tear; p) wear caused by multiple installations; q) storage and/or handling of the canvas building components; r) an act of God; or s) vandalism. This warranty does not apply to cosmetic defects or deterioration, including discoloration. This warranty does not apply to any products not manufactured by NLFS. No one is authorized to change or add to this warranty. NLFS shall not be liable for any damages incurred during or as a result of installation of NLFS product, whether or not in accordance with the installation instructions or for damage to building contents. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may also have other rights which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In no event shall NLFS, any distributor, or the selling dealer be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages (including loss of profits, loss of time, inconvenience, or the use or inability to use this product for any purpose whatsoever), whether based on contract, tort, strict liability or any other legal basis; even if NLFS, its distributor, or selling dealer was advised of the possibility of the occurrence of such damages. By registering for and taking the benefit of this warranty, the canvas Building Owner expressly releases and discharges NLFS, all distributors, and all dealers from all claims, causes of action, demands, actions, suits, judgments and executions for any actual, incidental or consequential damages, bodily or otherwise, that the Building Owner ever had, now has, or may have by reason of the assembly, erection, use and/or operation of any NLFS building. All references to Building Owners, NLFS, all distributors and all dealers, include such parties’ spouse, heirs, successors, legal representatives and assigns.”

Now the last paragraph was a mouthful and after reading it a few times, I am not convinced there would ever be a warranty claim under it.

Their DP series of buildings are engineered and encompass clearspans from 32 to 100 feet (the riding arenas Brenda was discussing fit into this range). They are also covered by a prorated warranty – the main frames for 25 years, the non-fire retardant polyethylene cover for 20 years (as an example in year nine 47% of a replacement cover would be warranted).

Compare these coverages to the Limited Lifetime Warranty of a Hansen Pole Building – https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/images/warrantylarge.gif .

I’ll invest my hard earned dollars on a structural system warranted for a lifetime and not prorated, thank you.