Ceilings- Why?

[Jeff_L]

depends on how good the pork is! jking

i feel roofs/ceilings/something covering the wash provide nice esthetics (sp?).

 

[JustClean]

I know on my washes that the steel ceiling perlins are required for structural integrity of the building. Earth quake codes are the reason. I have seen many washes built with a open end bay that has no roof. Most people who have one say they would never do it again. Lisa Lyons has a wash in So. Cal that has 4 ceiling booms per bay.

I've got an open end bay with only one side wall. I was only allowed to do it if I used a sewer diversion valve. That is a valve that diverts the waste water to sewer when the bay is in use. When turned off and it rains it switches back to storm water after so many gallons of flush (rain) water.
Good thing about it: Cheaper than a building. You can have a "huge" bay for trucks and their trailors, since the only "building" restriction is the slope into your pit. And it is easy for big trucks to go in and out easily. Bad thing: nobody sees the bay or wants to use it since it is in the sun/rain and every 5 months the valve plays up. Thanks but I wouldn't do it again.

On the other hand some years ago I was in Italy and Greece. They have their IBAs out in the open. No building at all...and no walls to clean!

 

[mjwalsh]

Resiliency?

Being located in sunny Florida the ceiling does provide the customer with away to get out of the sun, and we have found that by having a ceiling it creates a tunnel like effect and allows us to have a constant breeze though the bays. Most hot and humid days the breeze can be a real relief, especially while they are spending money.

Tom,

That is interesting. This is what our dog wash is set up for & even was categorized as a "breeze way" for the air to flow properly ---- tunnel or whatever. The breeze effect does not help during the winter though; so down goes the storm window on each door during those conditions! For our self service bays in this North Dakota climate, the "tunnel effect" is usually a detriment. In fact, so much so that some of the car washes if I remember right in Grand Forks actually were built with only one entrance requiring everyone to always back out instead of any chance of going forward. Here in Bismarck, we allow people to close at least one door in each bay year round to make our place more pleasant during windy conditions.

MJ

 

[Tom Thumb]

I can understand where you are it can be a problem with the cold weather, but here in Florida we need any breeze we can get during the summer months.