Damn snow crushed my car
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We're living in what is statistically the least snowy area in all of Canada. We got a portable shelter type garage last year, it's a steel frame of U shaped uprights with a super tough plastic cover. It's about 15 feet high at the top and about 20' by 20' square. The manufacturer guaranteed it's suitable for even the snowiest and windiest areas. Last night we got about 2 feet of snow and the front end of the garage collapsed onto the car and broke the back window and the spoiler on the trunk lid. Trouble was it is buried under tons of snow and we couldn't get at it and it's too high to shovel and too precarious to stand on. Luckily a very nice hardware store (Home Hardware) delivered to us a snow rake, it's a device for pulling snow off your roof and we've just about got the snow off it. They did this despite the fact that they are officially closed for any deliveries because the roads are mostly unplowed, but a guy with a 4X4 volunteered to deliver it. From what I can see it looks like my brand new mountain bike and the car and a tool rack are the only things that held the roof from collapsing completely. I hope the bike is ok. Plus we have had to shovel a long driveway of about 3 feet of snow just to clear a path. We were going to wait out the snow as it's supposed to turn rainy and melt, but now we've got to get the car out and get it fixed. So a lot of snow shovelling is still in my future, my arms are bloody aching like you wouldn't believe standing in snow up to my waist (it's blown into big drifts) with my arms over my head dragging snow off the still standing back part 15 feet up in the air. I'm going to do the roof of the house once we get the car out, last thing we need now is the roof of the house collapsing. Arrgghh!!!! There I feel better now for having got a good rant out of it.
Sorry :(
John Cardinal wrote:
it's a steel frame of U shaped
Non-Closed sections are not good for buckling conditions and that is what you had. Insist on welded tubing (rectangular) next time. It is worth the few extra dollars. (It should only be a few more dollars by the way, not 50% more.)
John Cardinal wrote:
The manufacturer guaranteed it's suitable for even the snowiest and windiest areas.
They lied (obviously.) :mad:
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It is SO hot here in Australia, we've got clear blue skies, and the garden is growing like mad. I'm picking about 2 kg of strawberries a day, with the raspberries and boysenberries catching up fast. And I can't believe how many grapes we're going to have this year, and I can also see kiwifruit and passionfruit growing for the first time....
Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert
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It is SO hot here in Australia, we've got clear blue skies, and the garden is growing like mad. I'm picking about 2 kg of strawberries a day, with the raspberries and boysenberries catching up fast. And I can't believe how many grapes we're going to have this year, and I can also see kiwifruit and passionfruit growing for the first time....
Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert
It's a balmy -11 c here. Balmy because it's been -19 c the past few days. 35 cm of snow in the last 4 days and periodic howling wind. My Aunt is in for a shock when she arrives back from Sydney in a few days. I believe it was +16 c when she left a couple of weeks ago (she's moved here now so this will be my last TimTam shipment...ever :^)). Cheers, Drew.
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Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
What distance do you think is drivable?
7 hours or so one way (400-450 miles)
Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
I expect to see you on the next edition of Police Wildest Videos if you try that in one day.
I've driven 10 hours non-stop (except for 2-3 short 5-10 minute coffee/bathroom breaks). But that was too tiring - 7 hours is about the limit I can do without a big break.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
7 hours or so one way (400-450 miles)
Nish, I may not be understanding your statement. My point was you are in the south. To find a place that will have snow on a specific day will be much further north. Unless you are hoping for a place you can get to, to happen to have snow and then travel at the last minute if they do, that may work.
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Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
7 hours or so one way (400-450 miles)
Nish, I may not be understanding your statement. My point was you are in the south. To find a place that will have snow on a specific day will be much further north. Unless you are hoping for a place you can get to, to happen to have snow and then travel at the last minute if they do, that may work.
Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
Nish, I may not be understanding your statement. My point was you are in the south. To find a place that will have snow on a specific day will be much further north. Unless you are hoping for a place you can get to, to happen to have snow and then travel at the last minute if they do, that may work.
No - you got me right. Obviously, because I am so far south, I am going to have to take a calculated gamble. I'd have to choose some location, and go there, and hope it snows. If it doesn't snow, the location should still be good enough so that we still have fun. Any mountainous region should improve my chances of getting some snow. Another issue is that Christmas is too early - if it was in January, my chances of snow would have been much better.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*) -
Sorry to hear that. Despite my hopes for some heavy snow last winter, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. And this year, I've moved from there too. Incidentally, for Christmas, Smitha and I are trying to see if we can locate some nice snowy-village that's within drivable distance of Atlanta where we can enjoy a white Christmas at.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
nice snowy-village that's within drivable distance of Atlanta
He, he... That's your first time around, ain't it? :) If I were you, I'd drive to South Carolina. Spending Xmas on a beach is also very pleasant.
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It is SO hot here in Australia, we've got clear blue skies, and the garden is growing like mad. I'm picking about 2 kg of strawberries a day, with the raspberries and boysenberries catching up fast. And I can't believe how many grapes we're going to have this year, and I can also see kiwifruit and passionfruit growing for the first time....
Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert
very foggy in the morning here, <50m sight - the graveyard across the street looked terribly graveyardy.
Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers, Velopers, Develprs, Developers!
We are a big screwed up dysfunctional psychotic happy family - some more screwed up, others more happy, but everybody's psychotic joint venture definition of CP
Linkify!|Fold With Us! -
Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
nice snowy-village that's within drivable distance of Atlanta
He, he... That's your first time around, ain't it? :) If I were you, I'd drive to South Carolina. Spending Xmas on a beach is also very pleasant.
Pierre Leclercq wrote:
If I were you, I'd drive to South Carolina. Spending Xmas on a beach is also very pleasant.
I grew up in a town where the beach was a 10 minutes drive! I am not too keen on beaches nowadays.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*) -
Pierre Leclercq wrote:
If I were you, I'd drive to South Carolina. Spending Xmas on a beach is also very pleasant.
I grew up in a town where the beach was a 10 minutes drive! I am not too keen on beaches nowadays.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)oh I see. You might have to use the plane then?
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oh I see. You might have to use the plane then?
Pierre Leclercq wrote:
oh I see. You might have to use the plane then?
Yeah, that's one of the options. If we get a good deal, that'd probably be the easiest option :-)
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*) -
We're living in what is statistically the least snowy area in all of Canada. We got a portable shelter type garage last year, it's a steel frame of U shaped uprights with a super tough plastic cover. It's about 15 feet high at the top and about 20' by 20' square. The manufacturer guaranteed it's suitable for even the snowiest and windiest areas. Last night we got about 2 feet of snow and the front end of the garage collapsed onto the car and broke the back window and the spoiler on the trunk lid. Trouble was it is buried under tons of snow and we couldn't get at it and it's too high to shovel and too precarious to stand on. Luckily a very nice hardware store (Home Hardware) delivered to us a snow rake, it's a device for pulling snow off your roof and we've just about got the snow off it. They did this despite the fact that they are officially closed for any deliveries because the roads are mostly unplowed, but a guy with a 4X4 volunteered to deliver it. From what I can see it looks like my brand new mountain bike and the car and a tool rack are the only things that held the roof from collapsing completely. I hope the bike is ok. Plus we have had to shovel a long driveway of about 3 feet of snow just to clear a path. We were going to wait out the snow as it's supposed to turn rainy and melt, but now we've got to get the car out and get it fixed. So a lot of snow shovelling is still in my future, my arms are bloody aching like you wouldn't believe standing in snow up to my waist (it's blown into big drifts) with my arms over my head dragging snow off the still standing back part 15 feet up in the air. I'm going to do the roof of the house once we get the car out, last thing we need now is the roof of the house collapsing. Arrgghh!!!! There I feel better now for having got a good rant out of it.
Funny how we Brits are probably the world's biggest whingers about the weather, when the temperature only goes between -4C and 38C most years. The averages for last month (October) show maximum temperature for southern England of 17C and minimum of 10.3C. There was a great deal of variation - I've had to scrape frost off my car a few times in the last couple of months. Gotta love that Gulf Stream[^]. It makes the British Isles, and indeed most of western Europe, warmer and wetter than it would otherwise be (we're a long way north of the contiguous 48 US states). Speaking of wetter, I noticed this morning while crossing Sonning Bridge[^] that the Thames looks like it's about to overflow its banks. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of the flooding that happened in 2002 - on that occasion we had to bail out the office's cellar.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
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Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
Nish, I may not be understanding your statement. My point was you are in the south. To find a place that will have snow on a specific day will be much further north. Unless you are hoping for a place you can get to, to happen to have snow and then travel at the last minute if they do, that may work.
No - you got me right. Obviously, because I am so far south, I am going to have to take a calculated gamble. I'd have to choose some location, and go there, and hope it snows. If it doesn't snow, the location should still be good enough so that we still have fun. Any mountainous region should improve my chances of getting some snow. Another issue is that Christmas is too early - if it was in January, my chances of snow would have been much better.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)Just get a copy of "White Christmas" and a big screen tv. :) My women folk like the movie at least. The tv will have to wait.
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Sorry :(
John Cardinal wrote:
it's a steel frame of U shaped
Non-Closed sections are not good for buckling conditions and that is what you had. Insist on welded tubing (rectangular) next time. It is worth the few extra dollars. (It should only be a few more dollars by the way, not 50% more.)
John Cardinal wrote:
The manufacturer guaranteed it's suitable for even the snowiest and windiest areas.
They lied (obviously.) :mad:
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Hey, a guy has to have a hobby...
Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert
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Sorry to hear that. Despite my hopes for some heavy snow last winter, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. And this year, I've moved from there too. Incidentally, for Christmas, Smitha and I are trying to see if we can locate some nice snowy-village that's within drivable distance of Atlanta where we can enjoy a white Christmas at.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. (*Sample chapter available online*)Anywhere in the appalacians is possible for snow, but even ~12hrs north of you, we only have a white christmas every few years. Your best bet would be to fly to somewhere in the rockies, northern plains, or the shore of the great lakes.
-- Rules of thumb should not be taken for the whole hand.
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We're living in what is statistically the least snowy area in all of Canada. We got a portable shelter type garage last year, it's a steel frame of U shaped uprights with a super tough plastic cover. It's about 15 feet high at the top and about 20' by 20' square. The manufacturer guaranteed it's suitable for even the snowiest and windiest areas. Last night we got about 2 feet of snow and the front end of the garage collapsed onto the car and broke the back window and the spoiler on the trunk lid. Trouble was it is buried under tons of snow and we couldn't get at it and it's too high to shovel and too precarious to stand on. Luckily a very nice hardware store (Home Hardware) delivered to us a snow rake, it's a device for pulling snow off your roof and we've just about got the snow off it. They did this despite the fact that they are officially closed for any deliveries because the roads are mostly unplowed, but a guy with a 4X4 volunteered to deliver it. From what I can see it looks like my brand new mountain bike and the car and a tool rack are the only things that held the roof from collapsing completely. I hope the bike is ok. Plus we have had to shovel a long driveway of about 3 feet of snow just to clear a path. We were going to wait out the snow as it's supposed to turn rainy and melt, but now we've got to get the car out and get it fixed. So a lot of snow shovelling is still in my future, my arms are bloody aching like you wouldn't believe standing in snow up to my waist (it's blown into big drifts) with my arms over my head dragging snow off the still standing back part 15 feet up in the air. I'm going to do the roof of the house once we get the car out, last thing we need now is the roof of the house collapsing. Arrgghh!!!! There I feel better now for having got a good rant out of it.
John Cardinal wrote:
Last night we got about 2 feet of snow
I'm going to get pummeled for saying this by anyone else that lives in the region but SEND IT MY WAY, PLEASE! I love it when it snows that heavy.
I'd love to help, but unfortunatley I have prior commitments monitoring the length of my grass. :Andrew Bleakley:
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John Cardinal wrote:
Last night we got about 2 feet of snow
I'm going to get pummeled for saying this by anyone else that lives in the region but SEND IT MY WAY, PLEASE! I love it when it snows that heavy.
I'd love to help, but unfortunatley I have prior commitments monitoring the length of my grass. :Andrew Bleakley:
I do too; when car crushing is not involved and collapse of a brand new 5,000 dollar garage, and power going out every day for hours or overnight etc etc. This is all on the heels of torrential rain that caused massive flooding. It hasn't been too pleasant around here for the last couple of weeks.
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Michael A. Barnhart wrote:
Insist on welded tubing (rectangular) next time
That's exactly what it is unfortunately.
John Cardinal wrote:
That's exactly what it is unfortunately.
I am missing something. Your first post said "U Shaped". Which is typical for the construction down here, but we seldom get any snow. [edit] just reread your post again, now I understand what you have. I read it as a car port type stucture. [/edit] -- modified at 17:01 Thursday 30th November, 2006
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Go wombat hunting. Not to kill them. I love wombats...
____________________________________________________ If at first you don't succeed, skydiving might not be for you.
Yeah, as a kid I love the muddle headed wombat books. I love them. Never seen one in the wild tho. Seen plenty of echidnas, they also rock.
Christian Graus - C++ MVP 'Why don't we jump on a fad that hasn't already been widely discredited ?' - Dilbert
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I do too; when car crushing is not involved and collapse of a brand new 5,000 dollar garage, and power going out every day for hours or overnight etc etc. This is all on the heels of torrential rain that caused massive flooding. It hasn't been too pleasant around here for the last couple of weeks.