“In Andice, the storm damaged at least a half dozen homes. Chad Bickle’s home was among the hardest hit. The storm damaged his pool, roof and shredded his carport, throwing pieces hundreds of yards. He stood in awe of the damage.

‘How’d the whole thing get torn down,’ he wondered about the carport. ‘And howd [sic] that hatchet get stuck in the wall?’”

Now that the storm has passed he is thankful that his family and animals are safe, but it was frightening at the time. When Bickle saw the storm coming he knew that he and his family had to evacuate their home, but some of their neighbors disagreed:

“‘We could see the funnel cloud forming,’ he said. ‘That’s when I got the wife and the kids and said y’all need to go.’

His neighbor heard a storm was coming too, but Jeff Weed decided to ride it out.

‘The whole trailer shifted, and then set down and I heard crashing inside the house,’ Weed said. ‘I’ve been through a lot of stuff and that was number one on the list.’”

If you live in an area where tornadoes are likely to occur you may want to ensure that your home and all other structures surrounding it are built with the durable materials and excellent craftsmanship. It is also important to remain safe when dangerous weather does occur and to heed all warnings from the proper officials.

Wolff Waters Place apartment complex in La Quinta, California,  has made the ‘green’ move and installed solar panels atop their carports. This new addition is the largest solar panel installation in the desert and is sure to benefit all of those living at Wolff Waters Place. Some may think that the complex would use the solar-generated electricity to provide power for the complex, but Wolff Waters Place will be putting the power back into the grid instead. The complex will receive credit from the Imperial Irrigation District, reported KPSP Local News.

The solar panels will assist in lowering rent and utility costs while also benefiting the environment. In 2010 the electric bills for the common area at the complex was $70 thousand – this year they expect to cut this number in half. The project, which cost nearly one million dollars, is hoped to be the wave of the future:

“‘We at Renova believe it is carport structures, as mounting structures, that really are the way to go forward in building larger systems so we don’t disturb undisturbed land,’ said Renova Solar President Vincent Battaglia.”

While only 2,000 homes in the desert have been outfitted with solar panels, the article says Battaglia hopes that this changes in the future. While the panels do come with a seemingly hefty $25 thousand dollar investment they help homeowners cut back on utility bills, include tax credits, and are beneficial for the environment.

Firewood Racks – In the winter months, many people like having fires in their home as a natural heat source to add to not only warmth, but also to give homes some ambience. However, where do you put all of the wood you need to keep the fire going? That’s where firewood racks come in.  Inside or out, a 4’ Covered Firewood Rack is an excellent place to store your logs. It can hold an 1/8 cord of wood up to 24” in length and also has an adjustable black polyester cover.

Animal Shelters – As you know, the winter can bring some seriously cold temperatures that are not only dangerous for people, but for our furry friends as well. Faced with the cold, animals can sometimes develop frostbite, leading to serious medical issues. Portable animal shelters such as kennels provide a great way for you to protect your pets and even livestock. For instant shelter from the elements, a 4x8x4 dog kennel with a green polyethylene cover will have your pet safe from the storm. Don’t forget a run-in shed for your horses too!

Barn Style Portable Garage – A portable garage is an excellent item for anyone needing to store a vehicle or space for hay storage. Ratchet tie down systems and durable covers keep any snow away from your expensive farm equipment.  A barn style portable garage is perfect for any farmers wanting to store things away during the winter.

As you know, solar photovoltaic panels can absorb the rays of the sun and convert them into energy for use anywhere. By affixing these panels to rooftops, they are able to collect as much sunlight as possible. For instance, carports have become an incredibly popular place for solar panels, especially with the growth of the electric car industry. This type of installation is occurring in Branchburg, N.J., where the township is working on such a project. According to NJ.com:

“The Township Committee agreed on Dec. 12 to install carports topped with a 50 kw solar array in the north parking lot of the municipal building rather than retrofit the roof of the Department of Public Works garage with a 22 kw system. According to Township Administrator Gregory Bonin, both projects had approximately the same price tag, about $400,000,…”

Initially, the panels would have been affixed to the roof of the garage, but extra support would have been needed, making that option less profitable. The article says that a major part of this decision was also the number of years it would have taken to generate money from the project. By installing the panels on carports, the amount of time has been lessened:

“… the time it would take for the township to recoup its investment would have been 17 years — compared with a six-year span for the carport project…”

I would expect that more of these solar carport projects will be springing up over the next few years, especially with the rising cost of gasoline and prominence of electric vehicles.

I’ve mentioned this before in a previous post and the premise behind setting up homeless in portable buildings has spread to India, where portable shelters are springing up. According to The Pioneer, the government is behind a large installation of new shelters:

“With biting cold conditions sweeping across the national Capital, the Delhi Government has swung into action with construction of 54 new temporary night shelters in the city. The government on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that the temporary night shelters will be in addition to its existing 64 permanent night shelters.”

In addition to new shelters being installed, the article says that government officials were asked to open a number of night shelters that had been closed due to costs and low attendance. Disagreement has arisen due to the reasons for the lack of usage:

“The counsel appearing for the Government said, ‘Mobilization of people is very low, people are not going there (night shelters).’ But the court hit back at the counsel’s argument saying the poor and the needy were not showing up at the night shelters because of lack of proper infrastructure. ‘There is no proper infrastructure, that’s why people are not going in the night shelters,’ the Court said.”

Currently there are over 110 night shelters available for the homeless to utilize in case of cold nights in Delhi. Hopefully the city government can figure out if there need to be more before it gets colder over the next few months.

-          Choose an appropriate amount of clothing to keep yourself warm and dry during your ice fishing excursion. The options you need to choose from include waterproof suits, insulated suits to keep heat in and a host of other temperature-based accoutrements.

-          Along with your ice fishing suit, you may want to consider getting some pads for your elbows and your knees. Depending on how your fishing goes, you may be kneeling and using your arms as a brace on the ice to help pull catches out of the water. You don’t want your arms and legs to hurt too badly the next day.

-          You’ll need to get yourself a portable shelter to put on the frozen lake or pond. Although portable buildings are not essential to ice fishing, they can truly make your experience much more enjoyable in the long run. Make sure you get in touch with the local town hall to find out what types of shelters and buildings can be put on the ice.

-          Ice fishing is most successful when the participants are willing to be patient and drill a lot of holes. You cannot just drill a hole and hope that it works out for your whole day of fishing. You need to try out a number of spots – only then will you bring home a lot of big fish.

According to a story in St. Petersburg Times, Florida set up a program years ago to provide mobile home owners with anchors to destruction in the face of gale-force winds. Unfortunately, the well-meaning program didn’t quite work out:

“Of the more than 23,000 mobile homes retrofitted so far, few appear to have received enough anchors to bring them up to the state’s tough safety standards. Mobile homes requiring a dozen or more new tie-downs instead got just a handful. And state-mandated devices that keep a home from sliding end to end were not always installed.”

Even though Florida spent $33 million on the 23,000 outdated homes, it seems that many of these homes are beginning to fall apart. The article says the problem lies within the legal constructs of the program, which has lax installation standards:

“Despite some homeowners’ expectations, the program does not require [the anchor installation] company to make old mobile homes comply with today’s installation standards. Instead, it lets the company determine how many anchoring devices can be installed. State inspectors randomly check the retrofitted properties to see if equipment is installed correctly. But they do not determine whether the number of anchors meets state rules.”

This is problematic, especially if you have dealt with wicked weather and portable buildings. Anchors and other canopy accessories are extremely important when considering the safety of your carport, which isn’t even a home. Let’s hope Florida can work out its issues.

This is absolutely true in the case of Tauranga, a city in the North Island of New Zealand. According to SunLive, the waterfront in Tauranga will be home to a new playground and a number of portable buildings:

“The playground, along with a boardwalk through to Pilot Bay, and the upgrade of Greerton Library, are plans going out for public consultation in 2012. Tauranga City Council is also applying for resource consent to install 10 portable buildings of 18sqm to cluster around the Edgewater Fan.”

Part of a $4.9 million plan to help boost tourism at the Waterfront, the $300,000 playground is only the beginning of bringing people into the area. The article says that town authorities are hoping that additional spending on portable buildings will not only drive the local economy through the lease of land, but also by bringing tourists to the city walkway:

“Priority One city centre manager Duarne Lankshear says the portable buildings are an opportunity for the tourism, hospitality and recreation industries to provide commercial activities in various areas of the waterfront. ‘They can be used by food and hospitality sectors, for tourism type operations like jet boat tours and water taxis, and a place for events and activity.’”

Although the costs of the buildings will be a major undertaking for private businesses, the yearly rental is inexpensive, costing only about $2000 – 10,000 a year. The driving force behind using portable buildings is the ability for these structures to be used by any business that is interested.

When it comes to portable shelters, we usually jump to the conclusion that they are for inanimate objects, especially considering the need to protect lawnmowers, vehicles and other items that simply won’t fit in your house. Weather conditions can be damaging to these products and they need shelters to act as a shield. However, farmers use shelters for the protection of a totally different reason – their horses and livestock.

The most common way of sheltering horses and other livestock on farms from adverse weather is inside their barns or stables. This may seem obvious, but it raises an interesting point – how do these animals get the exercise and fresh air that they need to be healthy. Luckily for these animals, portable horse shelters allow animals to get outside without being totally exposed to any harmful weather like sleet or torrential downpours.

The features of these shelters are impressive, especially when you consider the lifelong benefits for your livestock. Not only do they provide enough head room for comfort, but the open areas of the enclosure allow for movement and ample ventilation.  Portable horse shelters are also wonderful for the farmer, particularly when the shelter needs to be moved to a different location. The easy-to-install shelter is also a breeze to relocate.

Run-in sheds are also a wonderful way to provide your animals with the ability to move around outside in nasty weather. If it is getting really hot outside, it can be detrimental to your animals. Setting up a run-in shed with a food and water source is one way to help your horses stay healthy without the heat bearing down on them. A primary element of run in sheds is your horse’s ability to move freely in and out of the shelter when it needs shade or needs sunlight.

If you are using a run-in shed or portable horse shelter as a semi-permanent residence for your horse or livestock, make sure there are gates that will keep your animals inside for extended periods of time.

Luckily, people in the Town of Oakland Township shouldn’t have any problems installing a carport on their property. According to a story in The Romeo Observer, the police force has one of their own:

 “A carport will soon be added to the Oakland Township substation of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. The Oakland Township Board of Trustees approved a proposal for the construction of a carport shelter at its meeting Oct. 11. The carport will allow deputies to respond to emergencies faster, especially in the summer.” 

The primary reasons for this carport – the article says – are due mostly to weather concerns. For one, the heat of the summer sun has the ability to render police equipment useless from overheating. The carport also has financial implications, namely gas savings from the removal of needless idling. On the other end of the weather spectrum, the sheriff’s carport will protect the cars from the wrath of winter as well, by cutting down any falling ice and snow removal in emergency situations.

“Oakland Township resident John Markel stated that the carport would make the deputies’ jobs much easier. ‘This is one of the best things the township could do,’ he said. The board approved the proposal with an amendment to look into proper drainage, gutters and lighting for the carport.”