So I received so many requests for this design here and on facebook..I'm going to cut and paste my email instructions/notes on here for reference. Probably some typos, colloquialisms and lots of general blab. But, I loved this shade so much that if other people need the info, I am happy to share. This is a filter of everything in this thread that proceeded it, and all the great advice that I received from eplaya.
SILVERGIRL'S MODIFIED MONKEY HUT TO FIT 10x14' KODIAK (and other stuff.)
Specifications:
You are building a Quonset-style hut with footprint of 15'X24', additional 3-4' on each end if ratchet straps are used to tie it down.
Refer to the diagrams for a general idea of setup. This hut allows sideways placement of a 10x14 Kodiak tent within the structure, allowing easy egress. It also provides for sitting room and storage room all within the shade.
Materials List:
Frame:
-24 pieces of 10 foot Schedule 40 1"PVC
(+optional 2 additional pieces of 10' Schedule 40 1" PVC for end curtain rods and for replacement of potentially broken pieces)
This makes: six 25 foot long 1" PVC ribs, two 25 foot long 1" PVC spines, optional 2 PVC curtain rods. Total with optional: 27 pieces. Buy in bulk, cheaper.
-4 pieces of 10 foot Schedule 40 1.25" PVC
This makes all the connector sleeves (16 total)
Anchors:
-12 pieces of 1/2" rebar, 2' each
Optional 4 additional pieces of rebar (same size) for ratchet straps) and additional 4-6 pieces of rebar to tack down tarp on the base of the structure. Total with optional: 20 pieces of 1/2" rebar. Knock yourself out, this stuff is cheap as shit.
Cover:
Aluminet 80% 24'X25' tarp, taped at edge and grommeted at least every 2' (better every 1')
Order shadecloth from Greenhouse supply store. (Don't wait till August, do it at beginning of summer.) Can use other shadecloth, layers of shadecloth, whatever.
Ties:
-Ball Bungees 9" in length. Can never have enough. Have at least 30-40.
- Bicycle Inner tubes. These can be previously used on a bicycle. Check bike shops. Need 14. I ordered them on ebay when I saw someone selling a lot of used ones.
Optional:
-Ratchet straps ~10' X4 if desired to ratchet down end ribs. May need loop ratchet ties for the ends.
-Curtains X 3-4 for each end cap. 80-96" length each, total of 6-8. Keep it simple. Buy cheap, buy ones with fabric tabs or very large grommets at top so that no additional hardware needed to hang.
-I also bought some sterilite or plastic tubs to carry the rebar, ball bungees etc. The rebar or lag screws have a tendency to roll around and this was better than tying them up with rope.
-solar 1$ landscaping lights for corners or tie downs
Other materials:
-Duct tape. 2 rolls
-Paracord in 100 ft lengths, X2 rolls. There will be extra. You will cut out pieces as needed.
-Cheap cotton rope/cord at least 80 feet in length to measure out perimeter of structure and act as a template. (Huge time saver on the playa)
-Sharpie markers (2 colors).
-Sledgehammer (5lb+)
-Vice Grips for rebar removal
-Tape Measure
-PVC cutter (available at any hardware store) and/or saw to cut PVC (note that PVC should be cut and taped prior to coming to playa)
-Work gloves
-Stepstool 3'. I am 5'2". I needed this.
-Rebar caps/Tennis Balls/cut foam noodles. Even if you don't need these after setup, use them during setup to cover naked rebar. ESD doesn't want you to get cut on rebar. You don't want to be cut on rebar.
-Quart baggie with a few quarters in it, rubber banded on one end, to feed paracord through a few ribs.
Preparation (Pre-playa)(this takes the longest, but the structure takes very little time to set up when everything is done beforehand):
Definition: 'ribs' are the arch pieces which insert over rebar. 'Spines' extend down the length of the structure to space out the pieces.
Make the Ribs and Spines
Each rib will have three pieces of 1" PVC cut to a total length of 25', with two 2 foot 1.25" PVC connector sleeves.
For each rib, I cut two of the lengths to 8' (*A* piece), 1 length to 9' (*B* piece). For all the ribs, this would be twelve 8' pieces, and six X9' pieces.
Make a mark with the sharpie one foot from one end of each 8' piece, and on both ends of the 9' piece.
Cut the connector sleeves: Measure all the 1.25" PVC at every 2' and cut.
Cut the spine pieces. I made these a little different lengths from the ribs just to make identification for setup easier: 1" PVC, 4 X 9' lengths (*D*), two 7' lengths (*E*).
Make a mark with the sharpie 1 foot from the end, on end of each 9 foot piece, and 1 foot from each end of the 7 foot piece.
Duct tape the stops on the ribs and spines. (pre-playa)
The long pieces of 1" PVC on the ribs (and spines) each are connected end to end, with a 2 foot sleeve of 1.25" PVC covering a foot each of the 1" PVC where those ends meet. (See diagram...this sounds much more confusing than it is) This allows pieces to pull out under extreme stress, but the sleeve adds stability to the joint without drilling or screws or those crappy 4 way connectors that break.
At each 1 foot sharpie mark, made as outlined above, wrap 10 or so layers of duct tape around the rib piece, not going past the 1' mark (i.e. leave 1 foot of PVC past this untaped to be covered by the sleeve). Depending on the quality and thickness of your duct tape, the amount needed may vary. Check it periodically to see if it slides within or stops when the connector is placed a foot over it. When it wedges and isn't easy to pull apart, stop wrapping, except for one more layer of tape to cover the transition and allow the sleeve to slide over without peeling the tape back. (Note: I also tried duct taping over neoprene fabric pieces in prefab to save time, but have not playa tested this).
Repeat this on the ribs: on one side on each of the 8 foot pieces of the ribs, both sides of the 9 foot pieces.
Repeat this on the spines: One side each on the 9' pieces of ribs, and both sides of the 7' pieces.
I would recommend labeling the pieces after you tape them (you may be tired on the playa, intoxicated-not recommended with rebar and sledgehammers..more ESD fodder) so that they can be easily positioned for setup. I labelled the 8' pieces *A* and had arrows pointing toward the center/apex of the structure,
labelled the 9' rib pieces *B*,
and the 9' spine pieces *D*,
the 7' spine pieces *E*.
*C* I left for the connectors. Do whatever tired idiot-proof labeling works for you.
Assembly (initially pre-playa to test):
1) Measure out on the ground your footprint, 15'X 24'. You can make sure the edges are square by using a piece of rope/string to ensure that the diagonals are roughly equal in length(~28 feet,4 inches.) I banged rebar in the 4 corners and used the 80' cotton rope tied around this snugly. I marked the rope corners at the rebar with one color of sharpie marker, and then marked out the locations on the rope for the rest of the rebar stakes where the ribs will go with another sharpie color. This was an unbelievable time saver later. Save the marked rope for the playa to make setup easy. (Double check the diagonals to make sure that you are square.)
12 pieces of rebar will be driven 1' into the ground. 4 at the corners, and one about every 4'9.5" or 4'10" on the long side of the structure. Mark on your marker rope the location of your rebar stakes so that you can just set this out on the playa and go when you are there (Be a square: triple check your diagonals for reasonable equality).
Drive the rebar in: 1 foot into the playa. Tip: Use a 1' sleeve of leftover PVC over the rebar as a guide over the rebar. When the 2 foot long rebar is flush with the top of the PVC sleeve, its in the ground a foot. Make sure the rebar isn't banged in at some bizarre fucked up angle; it should be relatively vertical. While you are doing all this, cover the exposed rebar with something (a cup, foam noodle, whatever...) so that people don't get injured. Also, use your gloves, man. (If you don't know what I do for a living yet...it's not a crossing guard.)
2) Line up all the pieces for ribs and spines (spines should be first on ground, lay ribs on top) and connect all, except for the end ribs.
3) You are going to tie the two end ribs to the rebar for stability. Use the bag of quarters (a weight) tied to a 30+ foot piece of paracord and feed it through both disassembled end ribs (piece A, then connector, then piece B, then connector, then another piece A). Pull the rope though the assembled rib so that there are equal amounts of the rope on each side. Connect the end rib totally together. (Note that if you are attaching ratchet straps or tie downs to end ribs, you may want to do this now as once the rib is tied to the rebar, you can't feed stuff over the end without untying.)
4) Lay out the Aluminet over the area and assembled ribs loosely so that it is roughly where it should be.
Remember, the 25' side is going to be attached to the end ribs. Ball bungee the aluminet to the first end rib in a few places just to hold it on. This will save you from trying to throw and drag it over the assembled roof later. As you put up each rib, you will just keep it draped over the ribs as you go. You will completely attach it later. Another time saver.
5) With the first end rib, Icicle hitch the paracord to the rebar on one of the corners. With the help of another person, bend the assembled-and- rope-fed end rib into an arch. For now, put it over the hitched rebar. You will tie the other icicle hitch at the end.
6) Moving down the line, feed each PVC rib over the rebar anchor, bend it into an arc, and anchor it on the opposing rebar anchor. This will go fast, magic fast. It's a barn raisin'. Yee haw.
7) When you get to the last end rib, make sure that you have paracord fed through the rib like you did with the first one, and the Aluminet loosely ball bungeed to it. Tie the icicle hitch on the first rebar insertion. Have your friend hold the bent rib next to the last rebar while you tie another icicle hitch (this is a pain in the ass) then put the PVC over the last rebar. Complete the final icicle hitch for your first rib.
Attach the spines to the ribs at roughly the 2 and 10 oclock positions on the arc using either ball bungees or well knotted inner tubes. Make sure the air inlet for the inner tube is not grating against the aluminet. Leave 6" of spine on either end to attach stuff to (lamps, curtain rods, etc).
9) Balance and center the aluminet over the structure, and ball bungee to the end ribs at least every 2 feet if not every foot. If you are not familiar with ball bungee use, check some tutorials on you tube before you get to the playa so that you know how to tighten the slack if needed. I love ball bungees. You may also attach it to the ground along the long axis of the structure with bent rebar or tent stakes.
10) Attach extra optional curtain rods (feed curtains on PVC rod before mounting) to spines with extra inner tubes or ball bungees. If wind, tie the curtain in a knot so it doesn't knock all your shit down, or take the rod down.
Attach ratchet straps to end ribs (optional). If you are going to use ratchet straps or tie downs on both ends, you may have needed to feed this over the end rib before assembling it up. Remember if you bang more rebar in to attach ratchet straps, cover the ends with something to prevent injury. Also helps to throw in a little solar 1$ landscaping light near areas of rope or strap meeting the ground.
Notes:
-By far the biggest expense in this design is the Aluminet, but wow, was it awesome. Other tarps could be used, but if not perforated (e.g. solid material tarp), I would definitely use ratchet straps to stabilize the structure, as the aluminet did not act like a sail, and allowed breeze air to flow through. I ordered from Gothic Arch Greenhouses in AL,
http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com 1-800-531-4769, and talked with Kim. My order for 80% aluminet 25'X24' with 98 feet of perimeter tape and 99 brass grommets placed 1' on center and all corners: $312. They cut it off a 26' wide roll, and sent me the extra scraps, which my camp mate gave out to keep camp liquor cool. So important. Ha. I found that the aluminet stretched a little bit over the week. It may be worth talking with Aluminet distributor about the aluminet properties: order slightly less vs just put the stakes 6" further apart? You might need to redo the math on the structure, but it didn't bother me much. Only other caveat with aluminet is that it does collect dust, and if you walk into it or are tall (not my problem), or bang it with a broom to clean it, you may get dust showered down on you. Oh well. What else is new. Post event, I laid it out flat and sprayed it down with a hose at a car wash in Reno. (probably much to the chagrin of the car wash guy. I also did this at like 1 AM so as to not attract attention and blend in with the other meth heads...haha)
I also did not tack down the Aluminet on the long sides of the structure; this may make the whole shebang stronger, but I didn't need to do it last year. In the thread there was a cool pic that Ratty posted with one side of the tarp raised up on an extra set of struts, opening up the structure on one side.. I may explore this design at the next Regional burn.
-Alternate tarps: cheap blue tarp, or tan tarp. (Doesn't breathe, noisy, more sail-like.) Attic foil, taped together with foil tape. This is labor intensive, but I've read rave reviews of it on eplaya. Check it out. Camo netting, multiple layers. Other greenhouse shadecloth, cheaper than aluminet. The shadecloth world is your oyster.
-The structure will shift with high winds, as all structures at burning man do. It is designed to have articulating parts which may come apart in the name of safety, should winds become strong enough; this thing will hopefully not be a projectile and kill people. After high winds, or just on a daily basis (perfect time: while your camp-mates are being FAFFERs) it is a good idea to check all your articulating points to make sure that everything is well connected and aligned. This is precisely why I didn't use short 4 way connectors that will likely fail, and why I tied the structure directly to the rebar anchors. Ratchet straps on ends will help, and will help to keep the structure from leaning towards one side or another, and tacking or thing the tarp down to the ground will add stability as well.
-Depending on your angle to the sun, you may desire some shade on either end of the end caps. I used curtains, because they can be easily tied in a knot in high winds, but add privacy and design opportunities (I am a gay man trapped in woman's body, but I digress...) My structure was set up (due to camp space restrictions) where I had full sun coming in one end in AMs and late afternoons and really needed the curtains. Make sure that if you have stove nearby, it is not near curtains.
-I put the tent with the 14' side parallel to the 24' side of the structure. Could probably get away with the long side tacked down about 1.5 feet from the side of the hut on the ground. You may have to play with this.
-I designed the spines for the structure (25') a little longer than the length of the structure (24'). This was to allow the spines to hold up PVC curtain rods, solar lamps, solar panels, etc. More decor opportunities.
-Rebar tips: 5lb sledgehammer worked
much better than 2.5lb. Rebar is a PITA. I finally figured out that a good 2 foot long plastic sterilite container (available at any big box stores) with a clip on lid was the best thing to put all the rebar in for storage and transport so that I didn't keep dropping this shit near/on my feet. I didn't try this design with lag bolts (I have no generator or impact drill)..if you use them, check that the head of the bolt fits inside your 1" PVC with the paracord ties before committing to this.
-One of the stability features I added in (after reading other posts on eplaya...thanks Zigzag!) was to run paracord through a few of the ribs (I did the end ribs only, but one could add in the center rib) and icicle hitched it to the rebar to prevent the structure from becoming a sail. This was hidden from sight. Check out
http://www.animatedknots.com and find and practice the icicle hitch. It is a little trickier to do the far end once everything has been strung though the rib, but worth it. If you want you could icicle hitch the middle rib as well. Shit, have a few beers and do all of them. I spent my time on gate Rd. reviewing my plans and practicing my knots so that I could hit the ground running. ( I've never been so exited and dejected and had to pee so many times at at inopportune moments as I have been on Gate rd.) Aside from a few snafus with camp placement, this took about an hour for two of us to set up, with two sledgehammers and stepstools.
Fuck yeah!
Happy building!!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Never play leapfrog with unicorn. 
