Planning a modified shelter for an art installation

[EddieB]

I am building an art installation inside a canopy shelter to take to BRC and local festivals, and it will need to have a ceiling that is 12-15' high because we will be projecting animations onto the ceiling from inside and the projector needs distance to cover a wider area.

I am planning to use this canopy tent (since I already have it) and modify it to suit this purpose.


This canopy tent has a current ceiling of around 6' so I would need to raise this another 6' or so.

My current idea is to buy 10' rebar, stake them into the ground 2' and use the top 2' to secure it to the existing tent poles with a lot of duct tape, which would give me 6' of rise.

What do you guys think? Is this a bad idea?

[Dr Helix]

Yes frankly. The wind will wreck havoc with it. And once it pulls loose it, it will become a projectile.

[VultureChow]

At that height, I think you need to build something yourself. What kind of transportation do you have? Can you fit 12' fence pipe?

[EddieB]

Thanks for the quick replies!

@Dr Helix: what if I stake it down 3'? Or have two rebar stakes in each corner? That seems like a lot for the wind to unearth.

@Vulturechow: Probably a 10' uhaul trailer.

[GreyCoyote]

I'm a big fan of domes. Massively survivable structures that can shrug-off most of what the playa can throw at them.

Could you project this stuff on the inside of a DIY dome?

[VultureChow]

The problem isn't just the anchoring, it's the canopy itself. The EZ Ups have many joints and thin ribs that create points of weakness. With the added height, you'll pick up more strain from the wind, and the guy lines necessary to anchor the top of the structure will be very, very long.

With a 1ft truck, you don't need this to be super portable. You can do 12" sections of fence pipe for the legs. Or 4x4s.

The dome is another good idea, but I don't think you're going to find a cost effective off-the-rack solution.

[GreyCoyote]

The dome is another good idea, but I don't think you're going to find a cost effective off-the-rack solution.

So true. An off-the-shelf dome is hellishly expensive. But you can roll your own for about 25 cents on the dollar.

[Canoe]

... I am planning to use this canopy tent (since I already have it) and modify it to suit this purpose. This canopy tent has a current ceiling of around 6' so I would need to raise this another 6' or so. My current idea is to buy 10' rebar, stake them into the ground 2' and use the top 2' to secure it to the existing tent poles with a lot of duct tape, which would give me 6' of rise.
What do you guys think? Is this a bad idea?

wow
You have a type of shelter with one of, if not the highest, on-playa failure rates, and risk of damaging other property and/or persons.
And you're thinking of leveraging it up higher, where the wind forces will have even more leverage.

Yes frankly. The wind will wreck havoc with it. And once it pulls loose it, it will become a projectile.

In 2006, I watched a ez-up-canopy tent fly 50 feet into the air and come crashing down into a girls chest. She got a free helicopter ride - to Reno ER. (~ed. update on med-evac – you will be billed)

it's the Black Rock Playa. There can be heat waves and wind storms, exceeding 100F (38C) and 75 mph (120 kph). Those are not a typo. Do not be fooled by those who tell you of their walk-in-the-park experiences in gentle years – you can not count on having a gentle year.

Due to the channeling of wind from other nearby structures, the resulting wind force on your shelter can be even higher than that of being in the open in 75 mph winds. Plus, there's micro-bursts of downdrafts, along with dust-devils.
sample wind loads: viewtopic.php?f=277&t=65276

Do have a look around eplaya for shelters with a proven Playa-Tested©)'( track record.
Often it's easier to use google for that search. Do search "images" too, just just "web". When you find what that looks like it will do what you need, then go check its track record on the playa. Does it hold up to the winds, is it hot/dusty (I assume night time projections, so heat wouldn't/shouldn't be as much of an issue?), weight, cost, ease of transport, setup effort (& number of people required), etc.. You want to spend your week doing your art and exploring BRC, not spending it trying to keep your shelter intact and in place.

[trilobyte]

+1 to a lot of what's been said, and as you might imagine it is especially important that if your installation is going to include a shade structure of some sort, that structure be both a low risk of failure and incredibly fortified. Unlike a camp that's located within the city, it'll be out in the wide open, susceptible to winds of greater force, and quite possibly completely unattended for great chunks of the day (unless you're planning round-the-clock shifts to watch over it).

IMO, if you don't have much experience working with domes, I don't know that I'd recommend going DIY on your first dome. Especially if it's something you're looking to leave completely unattended in the open desert for extended periods of time.

Spend some time reading the site, think of it as due diligence, and get familiar with as many different kinds of structure as you can. Look for something that's going to be the most resistant to failure and the best able to withstand 75+ mph winds and other weather craziness. If it does fail, it could take out the installation itself and possibly hurt someone.

It's also worth mentioning that people build shade structures out in the open playa pre-event all the time, the temple's crew and other teams often build structures they use while putting their installations together. They also tend to lose them from time to time - even big rugged structures can fail.

[FossaFerox]

EddieB, the problem is rebar bends VERY easily, even the thick stuff. You have to remember what rebar is designed to do: resist shearing and tensile stress when placed in concrete (which is very, very resilient against compressive forces by itself). It's never exposed to real "bending" forces, and as such the steel they use is pretty malleable. This is why it's possible for us to bend rebar into tight candy canes to use as tent stakes, for example.

The thought of attaching something on top of a 6' rebar piece is, quite frankly, terrifying. The thought of using a failure prone ez-up on TOP of that base... I have no words. Please don't kill someone accidentally.

A structure that big you're going to want to use, at a minimum, 1" EMT conduit, and you'll want to over engineer the hell out of it. Wind loads get dramatically higher as you move off the ground, having something that tall is going to require a ton of anchors and a SOLID structure.

Is there any way you could get away with a shorter structure? Hang the projector from the ceiling and bounce the projection off a mirror to double the path-length/spread? Use multiple projectors? Project horizontally or at an angle? Pretty much any other solution will be easier than building a 15' shade structure that survives unattended in deep playa.

[EddieB]

Really great responses. Part of me already knew it was a bad idea I just didnt want to confront it. I'm going to look into some other options mentioned here.

[Savannah]

Thank you for taking it to heart, Eddie. I can't tell you how nervous it makes us when people don't listen to warnings about the wind.

We can be a cranky bunch at times, but we really are just trying to keep yours and others' skulls intact.

[EddieB]

Doing a bit of research, a dome will not work for my art project, however a monkey hut might. The main problem that I see with the monkey huts is that they're fairly short for my purpose. Does anyone know if it's possible to build a safe monkey hut with a 12' ceiling in the middle and 12' wide?

[VultureChow]

Hmmm...

To keep to the standard dimensions of a monkey hut, to get a 12' peak, you'd need a 24' width. It's essentially a half circle.

Standard monkey hut utilizes 10" PVC as each "rib" of the structure resulting in a structure roughly 6.5 feet high and 12 feet wide. I've seen them larger, but I don't know if I've ever seen them double the size. If you're going to continue to work with 10' PVC, you'd need to join them with a sleeve.

What about using something like a Costco carport and getting fence pipe or conduit cut to the 12" legs instead of whatever the carport includes.

Or Shelter Systems. They just sell the tarp and connectors and you get the legs and ribs. You could ask them if anyone has tried to go 12' high with them.

[Canoe]

12' high and 12' wide would be a real wind pig.

Here's a monkey-hut I found.
Its ribs are thought to be made of three 10' long pieces, for a 30' rib.
Note how it's much rounder and less peak flattened that most monkey-huts. And a lot higher.

monkey-hut, Steam Bath Project, maybe 30' ribs.jpg

http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/ph ... a0a3899fe3
Note the "Steam Bath Project". Try a search. You might be able to confirm sizes, particularly of the tarp(s).
(~ed. found this http://tribes.tribe.net/steambathprojec ... ea812298eb, no more info, but perhaps a starting place)

Some great details when you zoom in on the linked image. Like the rope strung through the grommets to keep the tarp secured close to the ground. TWO lines off of the end peak, so it's also limited in side to side movement.
I have NOT made a monkey hut, but I understand that using T connectors, for joining the rib sections and cross bars, is superior to using duct tape (like shown in the photo), even the good duct tape.

Instead of "post" style 'tent pegs', I'd go for Figjam's Lag Bolt anchor method, so there's less chance of someone being torn - and no chance of being impaled!!! - by 'tent pegs'.
And with the two links of chain through the lag bolt, I would expect these would be great for securing the tarp to the ground. Lag Bolt put in on an angle of course.

[Canoe]

Came across this gem.

Build it ..., put it on a trailer, drive trailer on the freeway. If it survives the drive for 30 minutes at 60mph you're good to go...

[tamarakay]

We put one up that our airstream and truck fit under. 35x21 and guessing was at least 12 foot. My husband is six foot and he was standing on an eight foot ladder hooking bungee balls to the shade cloth. It was using shade cloth, not tarps. Use the black 90% cloth

[FossaFerox]

I was going to recommend shadecloth but he said he's projecting images which might be a problem. If the shadecloth lets the wind through and the projection screen catches it...

[Token]

Why not get a projector designed for a short throw distance, or find a lense to do it?

Lots of projectors are designed for rear projection and have short throw capability.