Exceed Expectations by Using the Highest-Quality Architectural Fabrics
As a fabricator, you need to find solutions that exceed both budgetary and quality expectations. We understand, which is why there’s a wide array of exceptional Shelter-Rite® products that will help you exceed every project’s expectations.
Fabric Properties
Tensile Strength
Knowledge of tensile strength is required to meet the design and engineering criteria of any building. Whether an air-supported, tension membrane, or custom structure, Shelter-Rite architectural fabrics withstand the forces that are applied. These stresses are related to the internal air pressure or pre-tension on a structure, or are related to forces such as wind load, snow load, or other dead and live loads. We use high-tenacity, continuous filament polyester yarns, which means there are advantages of tensile fabric structures that use Shelter-Rite architectural fabrics.
Coating Adhesion
The coating adhesion of architectural fabrics is the ability of the exterior coating compound to adhere to the polyester base fabric. Good coating adhesion is required to allow the material to be handled and welded. It’s also important in preventing the exterior coating compound from delaminating when the material is exposed to the environment. We provide an adhesive coat on all Shelter-Rite architectural fabrics to ensure there’s always a high-quality bond.
Weldability and Seam Strength of Fabric
One of the most advantageous performance properties of PVC-coated polyester fabrics is their ability to be efficiently welded into large panels that can be incorporated into membrane structures. Unlike conventional building materials such as wood, steel, or bricks, which require assembly at the job site, Shelter-Rite can be prefabricated into large panels and then brought to the job site for final assembly. Shelter-Rite uses a polymeric exterior coating compound on both the top and bottom of the material to ensure it passes the seam strength test. This compound is a thermoplastic material, meaning that it can be heat bonded to itself.
Flame Resistance
There’s probably no more important Shelter-Rite® fabric performance property than their ability to resist flames. Synthetic resin-coated polyester fabrics react differently than conventional building materials in the presence of a fire. The best way to describe the flame resistance of PVC-coated fabric is that it is “limited combustible.” The material will burn when in the presence of a flame source but it will self-extinguish once the flame is removed—ultimately creating a flame-resistant fabric structure.
Find Your Solution by Structure Type
Shelter-Rite provides the high-performing fabrics building owners need for their air-supported dome, pre-engineered frame, tent and tensile fabric structures.
Shelter-Rite Products
We’ve developed proprietary formulations, knits, weaves and coated fabrics to ensure your project is covered from every angle.