Intro
Welcome to The Shelter Expert’s guide to the care and maintenance of your school canopy. Whilst the information in this article will be applicable to the vast majority of The Shelter Expert’s range, this guide will focus specifically on our Canopy & Walkway range.
Maintaining your canopy over the long term is a simple and low-effort process, with the vast majority of maintenance simply being a visual inspection for any chips, scratches, or markings that the unit may have acquired over the years.
Steelwork
With the steelwork being such a prominent piece of the shelter you’ll often find that this part of the inspection will require the most attention to detail. Starting with the base of support posts, carefully inspect the entire height of the support post, dedicating a keen eye to the identification of any chips, markings, or scratches.
After inspecting the canopy legs we now need to take a look at the underside of the roof. Starting from the top of the support posts work your way around the roof bars which frame the outside of the canopy roof. You should once again dedicate a keen eye so that you may identify any sections that require cleaning or a spot of touch up paint.
Having fully inspected the entire canopy for any problem areas we are now ready to begin cleaning the canopy. The Shelter Expert’s exterior canopies have been designed with durability and ease of use in mind so we won’t require any special chemicals, a simple soapy water mix and a sponge will be more than enough to clean the canopy framework down.
Roof Sheeting
Going hand in hand with the framework, the roof sheeting is easily the 2nd most important surface of your canopy to keep in top condition.
Our standard range of canopies are supplied at a minimum 2.1m height from ground level, so you’ll need to find a way to elevate yourself up onto the canopy roof, we recommend you use a stepladder as these tend to be easier to store and much safer to use for the onsite care taker.
Set your ladder up at the short side of the canopy roof such that any the roof falls towards you. This will allow you to inspect the entire sheet from one position and hopefully save you a bit of time too.
Give the topside and underside of the canopy roof sheets a detailed visual inspection, starting from the lower end of the canopy roof, work your way up the length of each roof sheet checking for any of the common culprits; Bird waste, Rain induced algae, & the general dust and muck that builds up over the years.
Mix up another pot of the warm soapy water that we used on the framework and clean your sponge off before moving onto the sheets. It’s important to clean your sponge of any debris as the roof sheets are highly susceptible to scratching and quite expensive to replace!
Connections
Realistically you will have likely already given the connections a look over during the inspection of the support posts, however due to their unconventional shape it is fairly common for dirt and grime to build up in these hard to reach areas even after routine cleaning.
Consider giving yourself an extra couple of minutes to ensure the connection plates & bolts really are clean. With the addition of several nuts and bolts per connection it is worth checking that all of your fixings remain tightened. The fixings completely butting-up to the plate they feed into is a good start but you’ll want make sure any bolts and fixings are correctly tightened.
Timeframe
Weekly maintenance schedule
Carry out visual inspection of all components and check for damage, make good any defects found.
Check ground anchorage.
Quarterly Maintenance Schedule
As Weekly maintenance schedule plus:-
Clean down shelter with soapy water only. Do not use any abrasive products or materials. Rinse off with clean water and allow to dry.
Check for any chips or scratches to the metal finish, and touch up where required (Aerosol touch up paints can usually be obtained locally using the RAL colour as a reference. In case of difficulty obtaining touch up, please contact us.)
Lubricate any hinges, catches, runners or locks on gated shelters or compounds.
Annual Maintenance Schedule
As Quarterly Maintenance Schedule plus:-
Check all fixings for security and tension.
Conclusion
Within this guide we have covered the inspection, cleaning, and maintenance of steel framed school canopies. Having now read this guide we hope that you’ll find yourself in a much better position to take good care of your school canopy for many years to come.
If you have purchased one of our shelters and require assistance, please call us on 01623 421111 or send us an email on [email protected]
