How to Relocate Your Fabric Storage Building: A Step-by-Step Guide

A cattle producer near Lacombe bought a 40' × 60' fabric building in 2019 to shelter calving pens on the south quarter of his operation. Three years later he purchased an adjacent half-section, and the calving area moved with it. A steel Quonset or a wood-frame pole barn would have stayed right where it was — an expensive monument to yesterday's layout. His fabric building, on the other hand, was disassembled in a weekend, trucked two kilometres down a grid road, and back in service within five days. That relocatability is one of the most underappreciated advantages of a well-built fabric structure, and it is worth understanding how the process works before you ever need to do it.

Why Relocatability Matters for Canadian Property Owners

Land use on farms, acreages, and commercial operations is rarely static. Livestock rotations shift, lease agreements expire, new parcels get added, and equipment fleets outgrow their original footprint. A conventional steel or wood building is a permanent fixture — once the concrete is poured and the walls are up, you are committed to that site for decades. Demolishing and rebuilding is so expensive that most owners simply leave the structure where it stands, even when the layout no longer makes sense.

Fabric buildings change that equation entirely. Because they are assembled from modular steel trusses, base rails, and a tensioned PVC cover, they can be taken apart, transported, and reassembled on a new site without destroying any of the core components. The building you buy is not married to a single location — it is a portable asset that follows your operation as it evolves.

When Does Relocating Make Sense?

Changing Land Use or Lease Expiry

If you are leasing land and your agreement ends, taking your building with you preserves a $7,000–$30,000 investment that would otherwise be left behind or sold at a loss. Ranchers who rotate between Crown grazing leases and private pasture find this flexibility especially valuable.

Expanding or Reorganising Your Operation

When you add new acreage, build a new shop, or change your livestock handling flow, the original building site may no longer be optimal. Rather than buying a second building, moving the existing one to a better location can save thousands of dollars. This is particularly common for producers who started with a single building for hay storage and later need it closer to a new feeding area.

Selling Your Property

A fabric building is personal property, not a permanent improvement. When selling land, you may choose to take the building with you to your next property rather than negotiating its value into the sale price. Some owners find that the building is worth more to them at a new site than the incremental value a buyer would pay for it in place.

Site Problems at the Original Location

Occasionally a building needs to move because the original site develops drainage issues, access becomes blocked by new construction, or frost heave has shifted the ground beneath it. Moving to a better-prepared pad is often more cost-effective than fighting ongoing site problems year after year.

Planning the Move: What to Do Before You Touch a Single Bolt

Assess the New Site

The new location needs the same site preparation as any new installation. That means a level gravel pad (compacted road crush, minimum 150 mm deep), proper drainage grading with at least a 2% slope away from the building footprint, and enough clear space around the perimeter for anchoring and access. Do not assume you can skip site prep because you are reusing an existing building — a poor pad will cause the same problems it would cause for a brand-new structure.

Check Permit Requirements

Moving a fabric building to a new site may trigger development permit requirements, even if the original installation did not need one. Different municipalities have different setback rules, and your new location may be in a different county or rural municipality altogether. A quick call to the local planning department before you start can prevent costly surprises.

Inventory Your Hardware

Before disassembly, take a full inventory of bolts, nuts, brackets, base rail clips, and any accessories (end wall panels, doors, ventilation fittings). Label each truss and base rail section with its position number — this makes reassembly dramatically faster. A roll of painter's tape and a permanent marker is all you need. Photograph the assembled building from multiple angles for reference.

The Disassembly Process

Step 1: Remove the Cover

Start by releasing the PVC cover from the base rails. On most designs, the cover is secured by a ratchet tensioning system or lacing rope through grommets along the base rail. Work from one end to the other, loosening tension gradually so the fabric does not snap or whip — this is especially important on windy days. Choose a calm day for cover removal. Once the cover is free, fold it loosely (never crease PVC sharply, as this can crack the coating in cold weather) and store it on a clean, dry surface. A 750 g/m² PVC cover is heavy — a 40' × 60' cover weighs roughly 350–400 kg — so you will need at least four people or a telehandler to manage it safely.

Step 2: Disassemble End Walls

If your building has framed end walls — whether steel-panel, fabric, or a combination with overhead doors or access doors — remove these next. Doors should be taken off their tracks or hinges and stored upright to prevent warping. Label each panel with its position.

Step 3: Unbolt the Trusses

With the cover and end walls removed, the freestanding trusses can be unbolted from the base rails. Start from one end and work sequentially. Each truss pair on a double-truss frame is connected by purlins or cross-bracing — unbolt the bracing between trusses before separating them. Stack trusses flat on blocking to prevent bending, and keep all hardware in labelled bags tied to the truss they came from.

Step 4: Remove Base Rails and Anchors

Base rails are the last structural component to come out. If the building was anchored with auger-style ground anchors, these can usually be unscrewed from the soil and reused. Concrete block anchors can be lifted out with equipment. If the building was bolted to a concrete slab or piers, you will leave those behind — but the base rails and all bolt-down hardware travel with the building.

Transporting the Components

One of the practical advantages of fabric building components is that they fit on a standard flatbed trailer. Trusses for a 40-foot-wide building are typically 20-foot arch sections that bolt together at the peak, so each piece is within legal transport width. Base rails are straight sections that stack easily. The folded cover can ride on top of the truss stack. For buildings up to about 50 feet wide, a single flatbed load will carry the entire structure. Larger buildings — 60' or 70' wide — may require two loads.

Secure all components properly for transport. Steel trusses should be strapped at multiple points to prevent shifting, and the PVC cover should be protected from road debris and abrasion. If you are moving the building a short distance (within the same property or down a few grid roads), a tractor and hay trailer will often do the job.

What to Inspect Before Reassembly

Relocation is the perfect opportunity to inspect every component and catch problems that might otherwise go unnoticed for years.

Component	What to Check	Action If Damaged
PVC cover	Tears, abrasion wear, UV degradation (chalky surface, stiffness), cracked seams	Small tears (<15 cm) can be patched with PVC repair kits; larger damage may warrant a replacement cover
Steel trusses	Bent or bowed sections, cracked welds, galvanizing damage or rust spots	Minor surface rust can be treated with cold galvanizing spray; bent trusses should be replaced
Base rails	Corrosion at soil contact points, bent flanges, stripped bolt holes	Light corrosion: wire brush and treat; stripped holes: re-drill or replace section
Hardware (bolts, nuts, brackets)	Corrosion, stripped threads, missing pieces	Replace any questionable fasteners — hardware is inexpensive compared to structural failure
Anchors	Bent shafts, worn helix plates, excessive corrosion	Replace anchors that show deformation — they have already lost holding capacity

Reassembly at the New Site

Reassembly follows the same sequence as a new installation — base rails first, then trusses, then end walls, and finally the cover. If you labelled everything during disassembly, the process goes quickly. Most owners who have done it once report that reassembly takes about 60–70% of the time the original installation took, because the learning curve is already behind them.

A few reassembly tips that experienced owners recommend: torque all bolts to specification rather than just "tight enough," re-check base rail level at multiple points before standing trusses (a gravel pad may not be as level as it looks), and tension the cover evenly from the centre outward to avoid bunching at the ends.

Cost of Relocating vs. Buying New

The economics of relocation are straightforward. Moving a fabric building costs roughly $1,500–$4,000 depending on distance, building size, and whether you hire help or do it yourself — primarily for site preparation at the new location, transport, and a day or two of labour. Compare that to the $7,000–$30,000 cost of a new building, and relocation makes financial sense in almost every scenario where the existing building is in good condition.

Even if you need a new cover during the move (because the original has reached the end of its service life), the combined cost of relocation plus a replacement cover is still typically 40–60% less than purchasing an entirely new building. The galvanized steel frame — the most expensive component — has a service life measured in decades, so it almost always makes sense to reuse it.

What About Insurance and Warranty?

Before relocating, check your building's insurance policy and warranty terms. Most fabric building warranties cover the materials and frame regardless of location, but some may require notification if the building is moved. Your property insurance may also need to be updated to reflect the new site — especially if the building is moving to a different property or a location with different risk factors (closer to trees, different wind exposure, different flood plain status).

The Bigger Picture: Buildings That Adapt to Your Operation

The ability to relocate is not just a nice-to-have feature — it represents a fundamentally different approach to farm and commercial infrastructure. Permanent structures force your operation to conform to where the buildings are. Relocatable fabric buildings let the infrastructure follow your needs. For operations that evolve over time — and that includes virtually every farm, ranch, and commercial property in Canada — this flexibility has real, measurable value.

When you are comparing the total cost of ownership between a fabric building and a conventional structure, factor in the residual value that comes from portability. A steel Quonset that no longer sits in the right spot has limited value. A fabric building in the same situation can be moved to where it is needed most — and that is an advantage worth thousands of dollars over the building's lifetime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can fabric buildings store hay effectively?

Fabric buildings are one of the most cost-effective ways to store hay. The PVC cover keeps rain and snow off your bales while allowing enough air circulation to prevent mould growth. Studies show that covered hay retains 95%+ of its nutritional value compared to outdoor-stored hay that can lose 25–35% to weathering. The ROI on covered storage often pays for the building within 2–3 seasons.

What size building do I need for hay storage?

Sizing depends on bale size and stacking method. For large round bales (5'×5'), you can fit approximately 3 bales per 100 square feet when stacked in rows. A 40'×60' building (2,400 sq ft) stores roughly 70–80 large round bales. For small square bales stacked high, you can store significantly more per square foot. Contact MAX for a sizing consultation based on your specific needs.

How do I prevent moisture in a fabric hay storage building?

Proper moisture management starts with site preparation: ensure your gravel pad has adequate drainage slope (2% minimum) away from the building. Stack bales on pallets or a gravel base — never directly on bare ground. Configure end walls for cross-ventilation to allow moisture to escape. In humid climates, leaving one end partially open provides excellent airflow without compromising weather protection.