+++++ BEST SHADE MATERIAL????? ++++++++

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:30 pm

[size=18][b]We have the metal tubing for a 20X10 foot "carport"

I tore the dinky old tarp off the top and want advice on what kind of material would be best for shade. (ie PARACHUTE; ARMY CANVAS; ARMY Netting, etc.)

I think from last year, the vote in was a Parachute.....can anyone and everyone and anything help remind me? Thank you thank you!

Binahkitty (:::[/b][/size]

clairedad · Post by **clairedad** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:55 pm

The domes I saw covered in parachute material looked the coolest. I think people liked them also because they didn't make a lot of rustling noise.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:01 pm

Thanks for time and help...greatly appreciated! (:::

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:25 pm

Parachutes suck... they only provide partial shade, they are not waterproof, they're a weird shape that leaves a lot of loose fabric to catch the wind with most shade configurations, etc. My cat loves to play on them, though, I guess that's good for something.

Heavy duty silver tarps, fastened with ball bungees, are a safe bet. They do degrade over the years and eventually have to be replaced, but when new they do the job and can be patched with duck tape if a grommet tears out.

Billboard vinyl is quite good as well, though heavy and you have to track it down and cut/grommet it.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 5:37 pm

Dork,

How often does it rain? Is that something I should be concerned about?

Also, if tied down properly, would there be concern for "flight" of the parachute?

So just a heavy duty tarp huh? What about canvas army tarps?

Wakawaka · Post by **Wakawaka** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:21 pm

Parachute bad, aluminet good...

Last few years I've been using that shade cloth you can get at the warehouse home/garden supply store in the garden section. Comes in 30'x6' rolls and you can just get a grommet tool and grommets and add your own, easy enough to do. Good old fahioned tarps will do just fine as well.

I'm not a big fan of parachutes, ditto what Dork says, except don't bring your cat.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:34 pm

Thank you Wakawaka.....btw, nice name (:

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:33 am

Another option for a roof: used billboard vinyls. Cut to size, install grommets (really easy to do) and use ball bungees to keep it in place. They're heavy, opaque and hold up to the weather quite well, after all, they were on billboards!

If you're lucky you'll get something colorful and interesting.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:03 am

AntiM,

Yes yes, I've heard this is wonderful, but where on this planet do I find such a thing; and in 3 weeks? (Your help is much appreciated) (;

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:09 am

Look up your local outdoor advertiser, their names are on the bottom of the billboards, and ask them if they give away or sell their old vinyls.

Burp! · Post by **Burp!** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:30 am

In regards to rain, it does rain from time to time. In 2000 it seemed like it rained just about every day (I'm still bitter). Most often it rains in spurts and before you know it, it's over and everything looks like normal. You may end up a few inches taller with the dried mud on shoes however. I never really plan for rain personally.

Wind is your biggest foe weather wise, so having a good cover that lets air through is the way to go. We've used hot air balloon tops with crescent moon flaps to let air through, and that has worked really well. Parachutes are fine, but by design they do exactly what you don't want them to do out on the playa and that's to catch wind. If you have a parachute cover or really any type cover that will catch wind well have a good exit strategy to release the cover from your shade structure. We used parachutes one year for are dome, when the wind speed got up to 70mph the dome was ready to fly away, if not for the rebar it would have lifted and flown away, killing everyone in it's path. Eventually the dome caved in. We had to slash the parachutes to pieces to save the dome. Think air flow!!!

T.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:03 am

....I had an RV last year, so all your info. will be very useful.

Thank you all for your help....kind humans you be (:::

eris · Post by **eris** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:32 am

We've used the big silver tarps to cover our carport the last few years, but they have their downsides-noisy, catch the wind,fall apart in the wind.... I want to change our shade this year, I came to the playa today to see what people have to say about the woven/knitted shade cloth, but am not finding much discussion. Anybody here with thoughts about it?
(and Binahkitty, don't mind the cranky folks around, there are loads of helpful people on the planet.)

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:38 am

Ya...you would think shade would be the biggest event on these boards...aww well.....ty Eris.....cranky pants no bother... (;

The advice on BILLBOARD vinyl & Shade Cloth have proven (by my research thus far) to be the "better" shade material.

I'll share my info. on where-abouts to find such things if you would like (:::

PS....my cat who ventured off was named Eris.....have we met?

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:51 am

Ah, but on a good day the cranky pants make me smile, and most of them are deceptively delightful in the flesh...

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:34 pm

yes yes AntiM.....indeed.

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:43 pm

Burp! wrote: Wind is your biggest foe weather wise, so having a good cover that lets air through is the way to go. We've used hot air balloon tops with crescent moon flaps to let air through, and that has worked really well. Parachutes are fine, but by design they do exactly what you don't want them to do out on the playa and that's to catch wind. If you have a parachute cover or really any type cover that will catch wind well have a good exit strategy to release the cover from your shade structure. We used parachutes one year for are dome, when the wind speed got up to 70mph the dome was ready to fly away, if not for the rebar it would have lifted and flown away, killing everyone in it's path. Eventually the dome caved in. We had to slash the parachutes to pieces to save the dome. Think air flow!!!

T.

What really bites is when your structure is doing fine in the high wind, then somebody's parachute or Tyvek tears loose and catches on your tent. Then trying to save yours, cutting it loose, they bitch cuz you cut their parachute....

Post by **trilobyte** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:22 pm

There is no one best shade material. It depends upon a number of factors, including personal taste.

Yes, it rains out there. It doesn't usually rain during Burning Man, but when it does the people caught in it remember for a long time. In 2004 it rained hard the week before the event, when a couple campmates arrived early to begin setup the road onto the playa was actually closed. You could argue whether we're due for rain because we haven't had any during the event in a few years, but it's really impossible to say.

You've heard the negatives on parachutes. Yes, flight can be a concern if you don't have it secured well. I've had to help people with parachute shade and boat sail shade drop structures during heavy windstorms in my two years out there. Not sure if it was a design flaw in what they built, or what they designed wasn't built right, but by the middle of the week each of those camps had no shade structure (by the time we'd gotten the structure down, a lot of their poles were a twisted broken mess.

Aluminet (a type of shade cloth) is all kinds of cool, it diffuses the majority of the sunlight coming through. But it's expensive.

The structures I've designed and built (EMT conduit frames built to withstand 100mph+ winds) have all used silver tarps on the roof. Silver reflects back the vast majority of the sun's energy/heat. Keep your roof a couple feet above the top of your highest tent to maximize effectiveness (the tarp will get extremely hot - room to ventilate that heat keeps you coolest). The tarps we use are grommeted every 18 inches, and we attach them with ball bungees. There's no slack, and nothing blowing around. For side/rear tarps I use white. It's not as efficient as silver ones for reflecting the sun, but it's good and it keeps the structure from looking like a cave.

Hope that helps, good luck finding the best for your camp's needs.

~Trilo~

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:44 pm

trilobyte....(and everyone)...you make me fuzzy......I love you all! (::: ty ty

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:55 pm

Lead makes good shade. Protects against all sorts of radiation.

I would use something WHITE. But that's just me. Other tarps heat up and radiate the heat inside the shaded area. White reflects better than the silver tarps.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:15 pm

Man it would be so FUCKING cool if we had a full Solar Eclipse.. Now talk about the best shade...

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:22 pm

It is bound to happen some day.

binahkitty · Post by **binahkitty** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:31 am

a full solar eclipse would be insane....happily insane.....would it be something like the 3 days of darkness? Do you think people would go crazy and do really fucked up shit? ya.....let's turn off the universal lights & see (;

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:39 am

eris wrote:...I came to the playa today to see what people have to say about the woven/knitted shade cloth, but am not finding much discussion. Anybody here with thoughts about it?
....

It rocks. We use it for the skin of Shady Tower (a pyramid 24' tall and 60' on a side floored with live grass) and find the 90% weave to be fantastic. Not only does it cut the sun down to a very reasonable level but it actually filters enough playa out of the air during dust storms that Shady Tower was a very effective shelter during the bad blows last year. During the heaviest dust storm folk could sit in Shady Tower without masks and talk normally, until the door opened that is. Then they'd put their masks on for a moment, until the person coming in had shut the door and the air cleared, before taking them back off for conversation while sheltered.

This shade material is very light and easy to carry, resists the playa well and washes easily, and just basically rocks and rolls. It is a bit expensive and I don't know how much shelter it would provide during a rain storm, but for shade and wind protection in BRC I love it. Come visit us to see it in action....

Ron

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:42 am

trilobyte wrote:T... In 2004 it rained hard the week before the event,...

Yeah, and it was beautiful when it did. I got on top of the RV and watched an incredible rain and thunder storm march across the playa in a a line and I've never forgotten that site......

Ron

eris · Post by **eris** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:22 pm

Thanks Ron- I ordered three pieces yesterday, decided what the hell, lets give it a try. Getting so excited to head out! And if it rains, I hope there's thunder and lightening too, that would be awesome.

I'll come see the pyramid!

Post by **trilobyte** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:56 pm

Yeah, my initial thought would be that white would be better than the silver tarp, but that turned out not to be the case. The guy who taught the guy who me about shade structure design actually did some tests on the playa several years back, and found it 9-10 degrees warmer under white tarps than silver. Hats off to him for actually measuring it, I've only done silver roof tarps for my camp's space and we've been quite comfy.

~Trilo~

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 4:06 pm

I used a white tarp that blocked 100% of the light last year.
It worked great.
Light=heat.
It's important to block the light.

Aluminet is available up to 90% in the us.
They make a solid aluminet- hard to get now.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 9:55 pm

We're using aluminet for our communal structure this year. Very interested to see how well it works and, if advance word of major dustage be true, how well it filters dust.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:04 pm

trilobyte wrote:Yeah, my initial thought would be that white would be better than the silver tarp, but that turned out not to be the case. The guy who taught the guy who me about shade structure design actually did some tests on the playa several years back, and found it 9-10 degrees warmer under white tarps than silver. Hats off to him for actually measuring it, I've only done silver roof tarps for my camp's space and we've been quite comfy.

~Trilo~

There is more than just the tarp color involved. There is also the material the tarp is made of. Most white tarp is very poor quality material.

I do know that in roofing when comparing identical materials, a silver roof is much hotter than a white roof. In other words, coating a metal roof with a white topcoat is much cooler than a silver topcoat.

It it were possible to do so (but it isn't practical to do so), giving that silver tarp a coat of white paint would result in a cooler area than silver tarp alone. Also, it isn't really "silver", technically it is a light grey.

+++++ BEST SHADE MATERIAL????? ++++++++

+++++ BEST SHADE MATERIAL????? ++++++++

Parachute material

Thank you so very much!

Dork,

woven shade cloth

Re: woven shade cloth