[OhLaLa]

Busy busy busy here, so I'm a bit late getting out into the veg garden to properly assess my beloved Poly Tunnel but I have finally accepted that it has to come down.
 
Despite my reservations it fared better than expected in the high winds we can get around here. What actually did it in was the weight of all that snow we've had this year.
 
The skin is in tatters, some of the hoops have been pushed into the ground and some are at angles - even though they are concreted in at the base. I can rescue the soft fruit (but not sure where to replant the grapevine).
 
It's quite large, but unsure now whether to erect it elsewhere and start again. Not sure I can face all that digging putting a new skin on.......

[Fleecewife]

That's why we use base rails - no digging 
 
If your tubes themselves twisted and bent then you might do better with hoops made of thicker metal, and with a greater diameter.  Our tunnel has withstood very deep snow all over it and piled up against it, then sprung back to normal when the snow melts.  It is too tall to sweep the snow off, so there's no choice.  We also use the best quality cover we can afford, which is surprisingly difficult to tear, even when you want to.
 
What an awful time of year to be without your tunnel - hope you can get it fixed quickly 

[Simon O]

We were a bit worried the snow would tear our plastic though I think our tubes are the same size as yours Juliet so quite strong. I cleared the snow off by bashing from inside with a longhandled brush. ohlala it sounds as if you should be able to straighten up the poles then putting on a new skin is not too bad though a bit expensive to get one - as Juliet says base rails good - though ours are about a metre above ground as we have a venilation curtain below that

[sabrina]

Mine will have been up 5 years this July. It has been covered in snow, withstood gale force winds. I did have to patch a bit when I tore it ith a piece of plastic pipe but even that patch has done well. Would be lost without it.

[OhLaLa]

Could you please explain the base rails and how to fix them, or point me to a photo so I can understand better how to do it?
 
The skin I have on it is the opaque reinforced stuff with the white nylon thread running through it, not sure if I'll be buying that again.
 
 

[suziequeue]

First Tunnels have a very comprehensive construction sheets and little videos of various aspects of poly tunnel building. I'm sure there wold be one there about base rails


http://www.polytunnels.co.uk

[OhLaLa]

Thanks suziequeue, had a quick peek, even if it hasn't got the base rail info I need, theres lots of other useful info I could do with looking at.