Guide to ensure the canopy you choose performs safely and withstands the UK weather

This timber and polycarbonate canopy provides attractive, solid and reliable shelter for staff and pupils in all weathers all year round

This timber and polycarbonate canopy provides attractive, solid and reliable shelter for staff and pupils in all weathers all year round

At Fordingbridge our experienced team is here to help you get the best advice on choosing a canopy appropriate to your school and ensuring that it is the most appropriate product to meet your requirements. Whether you go for one of our standard models or opt for a more bespoke solution, our many years of experience, designing and building canopies in the UK enables us to offer sound advice assuring you that your canopy will perform in its unique environment safely and efficiently for years to come.

First of all, decide what you want the canopy to achieve then ask yourself the following, for example:

Shade from the sun, but does this include protection from rain and snow?
Rain protection, but is the canopy designed for the rigours of a UK winter?
All year round operation, but does it need to be taken down in the winter?

GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS

Once we have discussed your needs and found a solution within your budget, we are then ready to take a close look at the site. We will prepare a detailed proposal for your canopy that will comply with the appropriate building regulations.

Providing drawings and calculations
Our first step in the structural design process is to look at the location of your school and the proposed site for where the canopy you want is to be installed. Our team will provide drawings showing the location of the canopy on the site and its relation to the existing buildings, the foundations and the connections to other buildings.

These drawings take into account all the assumptions that we need to make with regard to the existing ground conditions. The minimum ground bearing pressure will be assumed for example and advice given if the ground conditions are found to be not as assumed. Also, what to do if the foundations of the canopy clash with existing foundations, retaining walls, ground drainage or service runs, for example. The drawings also provide other details regarding the appropriate concrete mix for the foundations, holding down bolts, fixing bolts to existing buildings, member sizes and material grades to be used.

Making the calculations
Our structural engineer includes a description of the canopy covering, taking into account the dead weight value. Quite often other suppliers do not include this and instead assume the dead weight value or take it as zero. It is important to calculate the dead weight value as accurately as possible as it affects the deflection limits (side to side sway) appropriate for the design of the canopy members. Unlike some suppliers, Fordingbridge take special care to ensure that your canopy contains plan bracing, allowing the roof to help bear loads carried by the supporting columms.

External conditions
A basic canopy from a standard supplier may seem an attractive option as far as price is concerned, but so often this decision is a false economy if the canopy you choose is simply not up for the job. Shade from the sunshine might provide a solution to teaching outdoors and other fair-weather activities, however come the Autumn term, the same canopy will be unable to withstand gale force winds and is likely to collapse under the weight of heavy snow. We have to bear in mind the unpredictable and often extreme climate in the UK when calculating wind and snow loads to ensure the canopy performs well in all weathers.

Supporting buildings
Ideally our canopies are supplied as a freestanding structure, however when incorporated into a new build situation we make careful checks that these buildings and/or structures are able to do the job adequately. We consider all the details; for example checking that the anchors we specify for the canopy provide more than adequate support in its unique location.

Quality standards
We understand that the health and safety of your pupils and staff is a top priority; all our canopies exceed the appropriate and most up-to-date building regulations and you will receive a building regulations certificate of compliance when the work is complete. We comply with Eurocodes, which replaced their British Standard equivalents in 2010. However, some consulting engineers are still using British Standards even though they are no longer updated by the British Standard Institution.

Care and maintenance
It is important that the life of your canopy is protected and its condition maintained regularly and checked for damage, such as corrosion and general wear and tear. We provide clear instructions for maintenance, rather than generalised statements such as: “snow should not be allowed to build up on the canopy” for example, as we are aware that very often schools have to close during heavy snowfall.

Please contact us if you require further information regarding our structural design service or to discuss your structural design requirements for your new school canopy.