Even the most durable baseball field cover is only as good as the weights or anchors you use it to keep it down. Without the right weight system, you’ll end up damaging the cover instead of securing it. Large tarps of any kind function similarly to a ship’s sails and can generate huge amounts of force when the wind catches the material. Anyone holding onto a cover, or in its way, is at risk for serious injury unless there’s a secure way to avoid the wind and keep it attached to the ground. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of each anchoring method to make the right choice for your field.
Stakes
When a cover has enough grommets of appropriate size, inserting metal stakes with curved or flared tops is generally the most secure way to fight the wind. However, hammering in stakes can leave large divots in the soil or turf and takes more time and effort than other methods. It’s the best choice for long-term cover use, but it’s rarely used for short-term rain delay protection unless there are unusually high winds. Field teams often start out with weights during the initial layout of the cover and then follow up with hammered stakes to increase security.
Staples
For less demanding wind lifting applications, press-in turf staples are a good choice for securing a cover. These small pieces of bent wire only often part of the strength of stakes, but they’re also much quicker to apply to a large tarp. Staples make much smaller holes in turf and soil, making them a better choice than stakes for most athletic fields. Most staples slip through grommets and over the edge of the tarp without penetrating the material. Don’t use turf staples designed for landscaping fabric since that material can handle being penetrated. Look specifically for larger field cover staples that hold more weight per piece. Since you’re only adding them at the grommets, you’ll want each staple to contribute more holding power.
Sandbags
Temporary covers are most commonly covered with small weights to keep them in place without having to make any divots or disturbances in the soil or turf. Sandbags are the best choice since they’re easy to get, soft and rounded enough not to damage the cover, and easy to move by hand. Avoid using rocks or other repurposed materials from around the field. Boards or bricks may seem like they’re working fine, but they’re likely to eventually tear the material instead and let water leak through. In most cases, you’ll get the best prices by ordering small, empty sandbags and filling them locally.
Weighted Covers
Sewing a weight right into the hem or pocket along the edge of the baseball field cover is the best way to keep it down when there’s little to no wind. In many areas where wind gusts remain low all year round, a weighted edge is often all a cover needs for regular use. Most weighted baseball field covers feature a heavy stainless-steel chain sewn into the edge to give it just enough weight without making it too heavy to carry. The chain evenly distributes the weight. Other options include washers and ball bearings tucked into the seams, but they often require more work to add during fabrication or bunch up over time. Avoid covers with sand-filled edges since a slight tear or crack will allow all the sand to run out.
Poles
There’s a common misconception that it’s possible to use the same pole used for rolling up a cover for storage to weigh down its edges. However, poles and other long objects are not ideal for weighting the edges of a tarp. First, they’re prone to rolling or sliding right off of the material when there’s a strong wind gust. They’re also dangerous projectiles if a tarp lifts up and sends them flying. Poles may seem safer than boards or bricks since there are no rough edges to tear the material. However, it’s still possible for the edges or ends to catch and poke holes in the material. A cover with reinforced pole pockets is the only design you should use, and it’s best suited for long-term rather than short-term use.
Other Options
Avoid creative reuse ideas like anchoring long-term field covers with tires or hay bales. Both of these materials are prone to damaging covers and compressing the turf or soil below them. While they work relatively well for the short-term use of silage covers over hay piles, athletic field covers are designed to last for many years. If you need larger and heavier weights, try a larger number of small sandbags or water-filled bladders to hold down the tarp without concentrating too much weight in any one spot.
Unweighted Cover Use
In general, it is not safe to use a field cover even temporarily without some kind of weight or anchor. Even smaller covers can create a lot of force and cause serious injuries if they lift up, especially when someone is holding a handle attached to the cover. If the material blows free of the field and doesn’t wrap anyone up in the process, it could still blow into a sensitive area or distract drivers on nearby roads and cause accidents. Make sure you always have some convenient weights on hand for temporary uses that don’t require stakes and staples.
Don’t let your baseball field covers fly away with the wind or become torn by the weights used to hold them down. Choose the right weights and make sure you’re using a durable cover material from BTL Liners. Our ArmorCover products can handle grommet installation, being held down with stakes, or being weighted with sandbags without developing holes and rips. Expand your options for securing your baseball field covers by starting with a tough and ready-to-use material like RPE.
