For a long time, RCC parking structures and basic tin-roof parking structures dominated the options available to owners when it came to parking. Nowadays, a modern car parking shed has proven to be the smarter, faster, and cheaper solution. In this article, we are going to focus on the cost, durability, and value of car parking sheds vs traditional parking.
What is a Car Parking Shed?
Car parking sheds are structures specifically designed to cover and protect cars from the sun, rain, dust, etc. Traditional parking structures are built from concrete and bricks, whereas a car parking shed is usually constructed from a light-steel frame and a high-tensile fabric membrane (usually PVC or PTFE coated polyester). These types of structures are also referred to as tensile car parking structures. The design allows a car parking shed to cover extensive spaces with a small number of supporting pillars, making them a great fit for parking lots, shopping complexes, hospitals, schools, and residential societies. A car parking shed that has been designed and built properly will provide protection to both the paint and the interiors of a car from UV damage and will help mitigate the heat that builds up within closed cars.
Limitations of Traditional Parking
Open-air parking lots, RCC covered parking, and basic metal-sheet sheds, which are all referred to as traditional parking options, have been the norm for a very long time. Unfortunately, they all have some significant issues, including, but not limited to, high construction costs, long lead times, lack of flexibility of design after they have been built, and, over time, they are all susceptible to corrosion or cracking. This is exactly where a car parking shed that has been built using tensile technology surpasses what traditional construction offers.
Cost Comparison
It costs a lot less to construct a car parking shed compared to an RCC or brick parking structure. This is due to a tensile car parking structure requiring less raw materials and labour. Here’s how:
- A car parking shed uses a steel/aluminium frame with a fabric roof. Therefore, she doesn’t need the cement and reinforcement bar that are needed for RCC.
- Much of the labour for car parking shed projects is obviated because most of these projects finish in days or weeks compared to months.
- A car parking shed requires a much simpler foundation compared to a full concrete roof.
- A car parking shed made by a professional car parking shed manufacturer uses weather-proof, UV-stabilized fabric and is less expensive to maintain.
The overall cost of a car parking shed (material, fabrication, and installation) is usually a lot less than an RCC parking structure. This also highly depends on the site and how long the parking structure is.
Durability Comparison
When considering a car parking shed over a conventional parking structure, durability is usually of the greatest concern. If designed by a professional car parking shed manufacturer, a car parking shed is built to last and offers the following:
- Weather resistant fabric won’t sag or tear and withstands heavy rain, sun, and wind.
- Fabric will not degrade and will not discolour from years of sun exposure.
- Corrosion isn’t a concern for a frame of a parking shed made of steel that has been either hot-dip galvanized or coated with a powder that protects it from rust, which is a common failure point in conventional sheds.
- Unlike brittle RCC which will crack, a tensile car parking structure has a flexible frame that will flex with the wind.
Conventional RCC parking involves concealed dangers causing expensive repairs like concrete spalling, rebar corrosion, and water seepage. Traditional tin-roof sheds lead to sheet replacement every few years because of rust. On a cost-per-year basis, a properly fabricated car parking shed can easily surpass both.
Installation Speed and Design
A car parking shed is mainly prefabricated away from the construction site and assembled on site, so a parking facility can be operational much sooner than traditional construction. This is especially beneficial to commercial properties since construction downtime directly impacts revenue. A car parking shed is much more visually appealing than a plain RCC structure because of the design flexibility and because of the cantilever, conical, and hypar (hyperbolic paraboloid) forms.
Picking a Car Parking Shed Manufacturer
The car parking shed’s longevity depends on who makes it. A suitable car parking shed manufacturer should have:
- Knowledge of tensile fabric and loads and serviceability and stress calculations
- High quality PVC or PTFE coated fabric catering to the local climate
- Galvanized or powder coated steel frames
- No hidden costs car parking shed cost breakdown
The use of a reputable car parking shed manufacturer means the shed will comply with local wind and rain load standards as opposed to being a generic installation.
Final thoughts
Car parking sheds win, hands down, if you want more modern looks and less ongoing cost yet more durable and faster to install. RCC suits some heavy industrial areas, but for most residential, commercial, and institutional areas, car parking sheds win on costs, looks and longevity.
It’s a good idea to get a detailed cost estimate on car parking sheds from a good manufacturer to compare costs with traditional construction for your location.
Do you want a good manufacturer of car parking sheds? You can get a customized quote for tensile car parking structures from the Super Span India Team.
Related Reading:
• Hail Net Structures for Car Parking: Complete Buyer’s Guide
• Guide: Hail Netting Solutions for Car Protection
• Tensile Canopy Structures for Commercial & Industrial Projects in India