Shower materials (cheap or free???)

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:46 pm

hi!

just needed some help and tips as to where you can get the materials to build an outdoor shower for cheap or free.

i figure a wood palette to stand on can be found for free. how about the black plastic tarp? good deals anywhere? are there places that give away wood? i've seen plenty at construction areas but feel lifting that stuff will be bad karma.

in the spirit of BM i dont want to spend a lot of money for something that can be created with available materials. creative minds please help!

thanks so much!

Bravetiger73 · Post by **Bravetiger73** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:12 pm

In my days of hanging out in back alleys, I've occasionally seen pallets behind supermarkets.

Bounce530 · Post by **Bounce530** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:49 pm

If possible, snoop around your local newspaper print shop. They'll often have wood/plastic pallets that they don't use. I'd bet you'd even be able to find a refridgeration pallet. Those are plastic pallets that are almost like a milk crate, lots of holes. Also when the rigs deliver the paper rolls, they almost always have black plastic sheeting that is used to keep moisture from coming in through the back doors. This sheeting usually ends up in a trash bin.

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:57 pm

How many people are you building for?

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:35 pm

there's 10 people in our camp and we're hoping to use as much wood as possible so we can burn it before leaving and not have to haul it out.

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:29 pm

The best way for 10 people to shower and not generate a fuckton of water is to use garden misters. Using those as the water supply you might be able to use my setup. I put down four 2x3s. Put some heavy plastic inside, and then drop a large painter's tarp on that. Fold up the tarp so that it fits into the shower area. The tarp will soak up the water. Unfold the tarp and it will dry (put something on it so it doesn't blow away). Repeat. At the end of the event you throw everything except the plastic in the burn station.

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:32 pm

interesting. got any pictures of this?

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:34 pm

Nope. It's pretty easy to visualize.

A square formed out of 2x3s laying on the ground

Heavy plastic hanging over the 2x3s (stapled if you want, but probably not needed)

Tarp laying on top of it all.

Hell, you could probably not use the wood, but it's probably a good idea.

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:50 am

what's the stink factor on that tarp when it's hung up to dry? sounds good but i dont know who in my camp will want to be in charge of grey water evaporation.

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:01 am

Sounds to me like you are already in charge.

If you teach your camp how to shower with a garden sprayer there is almost no gray water.

swampdog · Post by **swampdog** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:18 am

re: Stink factor - my first (failed) attempt at a graywater system tried to handle kitchen as well as shower gray water. The kitchen was the stink part. If you use a garden mister, there won't even be much shower graywater to deal with.

My idea for this year is either to filter the kitchen water pretty heavily (which makes for a stinky filter, but at least it's mobile) and to minimize the stinky stuff that hits the graywater - scrape as hard as possible into a sealable stankbucket.

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:22 am

Homiesinheaven wrote:what's the stink factor on that tarp when it's hung up to dry? sounds good but i dont know who in my camp will want to be in charge of grey water evaporation.

Like Token said...use as little water as possible.

Second, don't hang it, the tarp needs to be at least twice as big as your shower are, if not more. Open it up so that the ends hang over the edges and put something on the corners to keep it from blowing around.

The square only needs to be 3 or 4 feet across.

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:25 am

stankbucket! great idea.

and what is a garden mister/sprayer?

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:31 am

http://rlflomaster.com/sprayers/gardens.htm

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:57 am

Token wrote:http://rlflomaster.com/sprayers/gardens.htm

We use those, have at least two. One runs the mister system on the bike canopy, one is exclusively for bathing. Add a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a toilet seat and you have a bidet.

SilverOrange · Post by **SilverOrange** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:15 pm

Hey HIH, most construction sites have whole dumpsters that they fill with scrap. You can get a lot of cuts (2x4's) that are less than eight feet long. Bigger union jobs are best for this, especially if you are in an area that won't let them burn their scrap. Just talk to a foreman.

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:48 pm

great tip SilverOrange! 8 foot 2X4s are $5 each at Home Depot and that starts to add up especially for the circumference of the evaporation tarp. i found black 10X25 sheeting for $15 which doesnt sound bad. i think i can build the whole thing for under $50.

thanks for the help guys. my friends always want to buy shit even when it's cheap. i love that radical self-reliance begins during the prep work!

trenton · Post by **trenton** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:54 am

A kiddie pool is cheap and can hold a small pallet, grey water can be evaporated by a used swamp cooler or pay to have the toilet company dispose of your grey water, a easy up with black plastic makes a large bathroom but can fly away easy if not secured properly

King Salmon · Post by **King Salmon** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:30 am

The mister sounds like a good idea. Do you know how much water you typically use in a shower? 1 or 2 gallons?

We're thinking of doing the kiddie pool as well. How do you secure it? I'm thinking six stakes around it, with rope running over the pool from one stake to the opposite side, to hold it down. Thoughts?

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:54 am

King Salmon wrote:The mister sounds like a good idea. Do you know how much water you typically use in a shower? 1 or 2 gallons?

We're thinking of doing the kiddie pool as well. How do you secure it? I'm thinking six stakes around it, with rope running over the pool from one stake to the opposite side, to hold it down. Thoughts?

Remember you don't want to be standing in your bath water, so maybe try putting that pallet mentioned above or a couple cinder blocks in the kiddy pool to stand on and keep you out of the water, the weight from the blocks will keep the pool in place. You want to dump the pool after every use into your evap pond otherwise it gets too heavy to move. Just some different ideas for ya.

How much water you are going to use depends on what you are washing, long hair etc, takes more water. Probably a gallon or two as you have indicated.