No-Fail Canopy

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:05 pm

Hi gang! This was emailed to me!

If weight and space are not a huge issue, here's a way to secure your canopy, without guylines.

Using a post pounder,

drive at least 4 T-posts by the corner legs of your canopy. Place the canopy legs flush with the posts, and duct tape or gorrilla tape each leg to the post.

Secure the walls of the canopy afterwards.

When its time to go bye bye, using a post puller and hi lift jack... think an old vw jack would work too.

All the posts and tools should cost you under $100. Pounding the posts is a pain, for one person, and the bulk of all that crap can be an issue, but not as much as the canopy itself.

I guarantee, your canopy will NOT budge!

P.s. U-posts are lighter, but not as strong and do bend in high winds.

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:17 am

We know first-hand this works flawlessly. If the canopy fails, it will not be due to anchorage. We also placed our shade structure poles over the T-posts to keep them from slipping and simply tied guy-lines to keep them upright. Beats the hell out of planting the poles themselves.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:05 am

I read about putting a layer of saran wrap around the post/leg before duct taping makes untaping easy. just slice and peel off.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:17 am

Elorrum wrote:I read about putting a layer of saran wrap around the post/leg before duct taping makes untaping easy. just slice and peel off.

Interesting idea.

JK

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:53 am

jkisha wrote:
Elorrum wrote:I read about putting a layer of saran wrap around the post/leg before duct taping makes untaping easy. just slice and peel off.
Interesting idea.

Genius. Wonder who came up with that, and whether it involved sex.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:06 am

Bob wrote:
jkisha wrote:
Elorrum wrote:I read about putting a layer of saran wrap around the post/leg before duct taping makes untaping easy. just slice and peel off.
Interesting idea.
Genius. Wonder who came up with that, and whether it involved sex.

Could be, but I read no mention of crisco.

Though Bay Bridge sue mentioned vaseline in another thread. Could be related

CapSmashy · Post by **CapSmashy** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:10 pm

Elorrum wrote:I read about putting a layer of saran wrap around the post/leg before duct taping makes untaping easy. just slice and peel off.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Did saran wrap on the poles last year and it was the awesome.

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:05 pm

Why not just use hose clamps to hold the pole to the t-bar?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 1:31 pm

If 35 yards of tape costs ten bucks, each wrap costs less than about 20 cents.

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:03 pm

35 yards x 3 feet = 105 feet. Is two feet per wrap appropriate? I'd think that it would take between that and 3 feet to get anything nearly as strong as a hose clamp. You're really not doing much better for price than hose clamps, and you cannot reuse the tape. Like the duct tape, you can play fun games with hose clamps when you get home.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:47 pm

Packoderm wrote:Why not just use hose clamps to hold the pole to the t-bar?

Another interesting idea. One or two per pole do you think?

JK

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:50 pm

I'd use two to hold the pole up. If the wind blows the rest of the structure completely away, you can use the upright pole held by hose clamps as a flag pole.

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:00 pm

So they don't work loose in the wind?

JK

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:01 pm

Post by **Elderberry** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:08 pm

Packoderm wrote:Yes.

LOL

Yes they do work loose in the wind? Or yes they do not work lose in the wind?

JK

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:16 pm

I'm sorry, I thought you meant, "So they don't get loose in the wind?" when you really meant, "So, they don't get loose in the wind?"

Let's eat, Sally.
Let's eat Sally

Again, sorry about that.

I only today thought of and proposed the idea of using hose clamps in this fashion with t-bar. I have been planning on using hose clamps this year to hold upright EMT sections in my yet to be built shade structure to rebar sticking out of the ground, so while I have used hose clamps to hold things other than radiator hoses together, I have not yet used them to secure a shade structure to the ground. I have actually used them to make a repair to a pop up shade structure (almost like a splint) and that worked well.

bud buddah · Post by **bud buddah** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 10:37 am

Is this idea (no guy wires, tposts and tape or hose clamps) something that would work with monkey huts? Are you thinking of using a hose clamp over PVC pipe? Isn't that likely to crack the pipe once the wind picks up and things start moving around?
Bud

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:21 am

Well, consider that hose clamps are designed for hoses, and duct tape is designed for anything up to 100 mph.