Testing a Monkey Hut - Fail

[MyDearFriend]

I have a 90' dia cargo chute.........just in case. camo.

Is there anything you don't have?

[ygmir]

an illudium q36 exploding space modulator.

[media]

[FIGJAM]

It's on the "To do" list!

[ygmir]

I have this dream, where a bunch of us from eplaya, buy this big chunk of land, build our own houses, and create a creative society.

it could happen.............

[FIGJAM]

Sounds like Mike Reynolds place outside of Taos NM.

Someone gets an idea, calls everybody, and they all show up the next day to try it out.

The state hates this because they don't bother to get "permits" just to test designs.

[ygmir]

Sounds like Mike Reynolds place outside of Taos NM.

Someone gets an idea, calls everybody, and they all show up the next day to try it out.

The state hates this because they don't bother to get "permits" just to test designs.

see! see!

[trilobyte]

I love the idea of that dream, Yggy, but geography will probably conspire against us.

[ygmir]

I love the idea of that dream, Yggy, but geography will probably conspire against us.

geography?

[graidawg]

land in Gerlach is quite cheap, some of it has water too. i believe simon has already made a start on the idea, get a few school buses or rv's for people to live while the houses get built. then again didn't moot the idea of buying Empire.

[Frizzboom]

I know the title of this thread says "fail", BUT it should probably read "evolution". There are redundant threads now so I won't dwell on the details, but I have handled 2" of rain in 24 hours, wind and some heat. My suggestion on Monkey Hut Construction is find design features that make it easy to adjust length, width, etc. and get those spring clips if you are trying to make a rain proof hut! Once again thanks you all for your input and fart jokes.

[knowmad]

*I want everyone to know that I'm restraining myself by not correcting an homonym error*
(Of course, the only reason "homonym" is spelled correctly is that I have spellcheck.)

here is why I love you Fishy!
you keep parts of a hopeless mess on track!
and you keep it funny.
loving you!!
Knowmad

[knowmad]

I know the title of this thread says "fail", BUT it should probably read "evolution". There are redundant threads now so I won't dwell on the details, but I have handled 2" of rain in 24 hours, wind and some heat. My suggestion on Monkey Hut Construction is find design features that make it easy to adjust length, width, etc. and get those spring clips if you are trying to make a rain proof hut! Once again thanks you all for your input and fart jokes.

really like the avatar Frizzboom!

[Earthwalker]

I'm really glad I read the part about the 5' rib sections in this thread. That definitely makes the whole thing much easier to transport.

For the rebar, do you pound it (hehe) perfectly vertical, or is it at a slight degree either facing towards or away from the center of the MH?

Also, if I'm going to get some aluminet, which percentage rating should I get? I've seen anywhere from 30% to 70% shade protection. Obviously 70 seems better. So is it just a matter of what you can afford?

Thanks!

[BeeWeeDee]

Vertical re-bar or a close as I could get it approximation to vertical worked for me. This year however, I am going to include some 6 foot sections to couple with the 5 footers rather than rely on two 5 footers. Last year my tarp went from the ground on side one to the ground on side two causing a loose fluttering noise that eventually turned into an annoying and worrisome flapping and loud flailing sound. I am also considering spacing the two end ribs farther apart to take advantage of the tension of the tarp holding the whole thing together. My goal is a taut tarp with 6" of air gap at the bottom.

[Frizzboom]

My experiments are leaning the same way as BeeWee a couple extension and putting tension on the end spars. Because I am using mine for storage in rainy situations the bottom is all sealed, it holds well until the wind kicks up then it just busts open. Folks that are considering a hut, practice setting it up, force yourself to make mistakes and learn how to correct them. Have fun.

[Earthwalker]

Aluminet and shade cloth seem to be referenced interchangeably at times, but they are not the same material.

Here are some interesting notes on the differences here: viewtopic.php?t=24806


I've still got plenty of time but am debating the aluminet v tarp v shade cloth question that others have mentioned. Aluminet does seem to have standard/set widths, so it won't fit by 10x12 monkey hut perfectly. Suppose I can just fold over as needed.

Thank you fine sirs and ladies. I will be assembling the skeleton tonight to see if I'm on track.

[Earthwalker]

Pretty good info on here:

http://www.sattlers.org/mickey/burningM ... index.html

And here they talk about Shade Cloth v Aluminet...

http://tribes.tribe.net/burning_man_tip ... 32affbc6f1

[MyDearFriend]

Aluminet will stretch and your bungee balls will stretch, so, buy at least a foot shorter than what you need to cover in each direction. Even then you might be too long, but you can trim the aluminet easily with a pair of sturdy scissors (I use cheap trauma shears since that's what I have handy). Don't pay to have aluminet finished, that's a waste of money; buy some shark-bites instead, they are WONDERFUL and very handy for all kinds of applications.

[Earthwalker]

I've been reading this site and the tribe site and googling left and right (nice that I'm getting paid for this). I wish someone would just say "sir, use aluminet, we have conducted much testing and research over the years, and, per our data, can say with 100% certainty that aluminet is better than shade cloth". Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) life isn't that simple. Everyone has a different opinion!! Dang them, dang them all.

I hear:

aluminet is great, it reflects heat

aluminet is good at first, but gets clogged with dirt then is useless

tarps are cheap and work fine

tarps are crap. they're noisy and hold in heat

shade cloth is best, like aluminet but doesn't get clogged and costs less! plus they ahve it at HD or Lowes.

I'm kind of leaning towards shade cloth and handing some sheets. Anyway, putting together the frame today and will go from there.

Thank you all!!!

[MyDearFriend]

aluminet is good at first, but gets clogged with dirt then is useless

This is total bullshit!!! Even exposed to last year's heavy dust our aluminet huts were great. After 12 days they needed sweeping before we pulled them down, but, we would have done that anyway.

SPEND THE MONEY, it's equal to one night in a decent (rural) hotel.

[Earthwalker]

Ok, I'm sold. Thank you!!!

[BBadger]

Aluminet is too expensive for my tastes. A heavy duty silver tarp worked fine for me -- though it ended up being a little too long (better than short!). It's mostly just the shade I care about, as there is airflow out the sides.

[Savannah]

Aluminet is too expensive for my tastes. A heavy duty silver tarp worked fine for me -- though it ended up being a little too long (better than short!). It's mostly just the shade I care about, as there is airflow out the sides.

That's what we used in 2009, and our experience was likewise a positive one.

[theCryptofishist]

I've been reading this site and the tribe site and googling left and right (nice that I'm getting paid for this). I wish someone would just say "sir, use aluminet, we have conducted much testing and research over the years, and, per our data, can say with 100% certainty that aluminet is better than shade cloth". Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) life isn't that simple. Everyone has a different opinion!! Dang them, dang them all.

I hear:

aluminet is great, it reflects heat

aluminet is good at first, but gets clogged with dirt then is useless

tarps are cheap and work fine

tarps are crap. they're noisy and hold in heat

shade cloth is best, like aluminet but doesn't get clogged and costs less! plus they ahve it at HD or Lowes.

I'm kind of leaning towards shade cloth and handing some sheets. Anyway, putting together the frame today and will go from there.

Thank you all!!!

Don't expect us all to agree on anything. It won't happen.

[Savannah]

I've been reading this site and the tribe site and googling left and right (nice that I'm getting paid for this). I wish someone would just say "sir, use aluminet, we have conducted much testing and research over the years, and, per our data, can say with 100% certainty that aluminet is better than shade cloth". Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) life isn't that simple. Everyone has a different opinion!! Dang them, dang them all.

I hear:

aluminet is great, it reflects heat

aluminet is good at first, but gets clogged with dirt then is useless

tarps are cheap and work fine

tarps are crap. they're noisy and hold in heat

shade cloth is best, like aluminet but doesn't get clogged and costs less! plus they ahve it at HD or Lowes.

I'm kind of leaning towards shade cloth and handing some sheets. Anyway, putting together the frame today and will go from there.

Thank you all!!!

Don't expect us all to agree on anything. It won't happen.

Very true. Everyone burns a little differently.

You've gotta get as much information as you can, then factor in your budget, your strengths, and your limitations.

I wish I loved math enough to write that out as an algebraic equation.

[Earthwalker]

I have the skeleton built (that's what I call it without the tarp on...that makes sense, right?) and the couple things that stand out to me are:

1) need to measure better. did the old eyballing and it's not straight length or width wise.

2) I'm using the two 5' sections for each rib, as opposed to the original design of 10' one-section ribs. I don't anticipate any issues with this, BUT, my couplers between the two 5' sections are 2.5' (two and a half foot), with eye bolts in the middle (thanks MDF!). I can upload a pic later, but the ribs just don't look too happy on either side of the couplers. The length of the coupler is too short to allow the rib to bend the way it wants too. It looks strained on either side.

I've heard various recommendations on coupler lengths, from 3ft all the way down to 10 inches! 10 inches seems small to me, but I'm thinking of reducing at least down to 2 feet.

thoughts?

[Earthwalker]

This place has a 20ft x 15ft heavy duty "silver" tarp, which is the size of my 4-rib MH. And they're made in USA. $60. But as people have said, it will come 3-5% smaller than advertised. I don't mind it coming up short on the sides because the cap could create airflow, but seems like it could be an issue at the ends. I suppose I could trim the spines to fit the tarp.

What do others due to offset the fact that the tarps/shade cloths aren't exact to MH dimension?

http://www.mytarp.com/sliver-white-tarp ... QgodVgUA2w

[socks]

Earthwalker there is a guy in Paramount California Rafaels Tools
which will sell that tarp for 14 dollars. Its a import but a good heavy silver
tarp. We used them on two of our monkey huts last year. The trick is to anchor
the sides down with candy cane rebar to keep it rigid. The wind just flow over it
with almost no flapping sound. For my money you can not beat a monkey Hut on the playa

[BeeWeeDee]

I've heard various recommendations on coupler lengths, from 3ft all the way down to 10 inches! 10 inches seems small to me, but I'm thinking of reducing at least down to 2 feet.

thoughts?


I think having 10-12" on each side of the rib joint would be enough. I am also considering pre-bending the couplers to take some of the kink factor out of the remaining rib. Because my tarp was larger than necessary I am going to use 5' and 6' sections to make the skeleton.

Someone suggested using the tarp as your layout guide for the rib stakes. This sounds good for 5 of the 6 stakes - at least the tarp is a square rectangle.

[Frizzboom]

I use 2 footers, if you look at the picture at the beginning of this thread where I had the "fail", only one rib slipped out of the coupling. The coupling only failed because my original setup had ribs on 10 foot centers, and there was hundreds of pounds of water on it no problems since. my couplings are friction only no set pins. and your ground tarp template is a great idea!