PROJECT SUMMARY
Everything’s big in Texas. U.S. Food Services decided to go big on a series of PTFE Tensioned Fabric Entrance Canopies in Buda, Texas. It was comprise of 19 panels that averaged a 6’ width and a 25’ span with a mild slope. Eide Industries worked very closely with ESI Constructors to line up the canopy columns right down the middle of their 36” tall walls. Based on the desired size of the wall, this would not have been possible without our value engineered design. The original concept was a tensioned canopy without the 4” x 4” horizontal compression members. The columns would have been twice the diameter and the footings would not fit inside the walls. Eide’s solution not only helped the architect meet their design criteria, but more importantly saved the client over one hundred thousand dollars in concrete and steel.
The fabric panels were tensioned with stainless steel catenary cables. The cables were coated with PVC to prevent any abrasion between the cables and the PTFE coated glass fabric. The exposed end fittings of each cable are custom milled stainless steel clevis jaw fittings that provide an extra touch of class. Based on the historical lifespan of PTFE fabric we expect this project to keep looking good for the next 40 years.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Project Name: U.S. Food Services
Project Location: Buda, TX
Year Completed: 2012
Membrane Type: Flame retardant, PTFE Sheerfill V fabric
Wind Loads: Engineered 90MPH Wind Loads, Exposure “C”
Total Project Size: Coverage area is 1,850 square feet
