Tarp material advice needed...

[Apox]

I am building a Galaxy Hut as per GalaxyBeing (Thank you for your clear how to!! http://galaxybeing.com/galaxyhut/) and while I'm gathering my materials, I have found that Home Depot does not carry the correct size as stating in the instructions. Wanting to buy everything in store, they do have the blue mesh type of tarp. So the question is, Would the blue mesh compare to the sun blocker style tarps? when it comes to dollars and cents, is the extra 50 bucks worth it? I'm mostly looking for my camp site to just be shaded, and the sun off my tent. the infamous crackle noise these give off doesn’t bother me...

[trilobyte]

If you're primarily interested in the crackling sound, then by all means get the blue one from Home Despot. But if you're building a structure designed to provide shade from the sun and high winds, you'll probably want/need something stronger. Aside from the color not being very efficient at reflecting the sun's energy, lightweight tarps can tear more easily (especially at the grommet holes during dust storms). Personally I'd go with the better tarp, but I admit to being a shade geek. If you'll be sandwiched between vehicles and/or other stuff that breaks the wind, or we end up not having a very windy year, the grommets could end up being okay, and chances are nobody in your camp will die from it being 5-10 degrees warmer during the day, so go with what you feel comfortable with.

[Apox]

Thanks for the reply. I will have a large vehicle on the windward side, so I think I am leaning more towards this one:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Foremost-Tarp ... p/14971771

Seems more durable, its thicker, and more budget friendly... What do you think?

[capjbadger]

Any light that comes through will hit a surface and convert into heat. If you want to cut down the heat, block the light.

Standard tarps are crap for blocking light. You get what you pay for.

-Badger

[robotland]

I won't buy anything but the heavy silver tarps. Still have some that I brought to playa in '03 and they've held up perfectly, except for @#!! mice eating 'em back home over the winter. Of the regularly available tarps, I recommend these (the tarps, not the mice) over all. And use several small ones overlapping instead of one big one, as smaller tarps are easier to wrangle and allow the wind to blow through the gaps in a gusty dustup instead of making your house into a kite.

[FIGJAM]

A freind wanted a temp shade for her horse and insisted on using blue tarp.

Lasted about 20 minutes before the grommets ripped out and the noise scarred the hell out of the horse.

[theCryptofishist]

Plus you get to pick all those little blue shreads off the ground.

[robotland]

A freind wanted a temp shade for her horse and insisted on using blue tarp.

Lasted about 20 minutes before the grommets ripped out and the noise scarred the hell out of the horse.

Good! If it had lasted much longer, she'd have needed to start digging a BIG hole. Blue tarp can kill grass in 20 minutes, or less.

I use an old solar pool blanket as a cover for my JunqueDome in the back yard...GREAT for Michigan Winter, pretty much uninhabitable without major ventilation from May to October! Basically, it's the love child of a blue tarp and some bubble wrap.

I almost never trust the grommets on ANY tarp. Those one-dollar plastic spring clips work BEAUTIFULLY, particularly with tarps-over-conduit applications, and are easy to adjust. Just test them at the store, since some are weak. (Squeeze them open a few times, clip them onto something and look for light-colored stress marks on the black plastic.)

[Apox]

Im actually rethinking my structure. I think I am going to go with the 4 pole shade stucture. I saw someone talking about it on another thread and it seems like that may be the way to go. It's apparently its UV treated and would provide good shade for my tent. Plus, it will frees up finances for a small gas grill for makin' BACON!!!!! Id rather have bacon on the playa then a house made of pvc pipes...

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-200000165 ... 329&sr=1-1

[Apox]

besides, i will be making the 5 gallon swamp cooler...

[RACESV]

In my camp we go to an outdoor advertising company that do billboards and buy the used ones. They are about 18' by 48' and have white on the backside. They are super thick, no sun breaks through, you can cut holes in them for tie down places and they do not rip, and they are $25. We use them on our dome and we just point the ads inward, and sometimes they are cool. Last year was a billboard for a Justin Beiber concert. Creepy.

[gyre]

Shade on the sides matters too.
Surprize!

Some billbord vinyl doesn't block all the light.
I had to double layer it.

Better tarps have a black or metallic layer.

[akmojo]

Aluminet... look it up online...
I used a swamp cooler inside my Costco Carports and it is great if you sit on the ground..once you stand you hit the temp inversion and it is HOT...
unless you can vent the hot air from inside the top it will reach a point where it will only cool so much because of the surface area of the roof and it's heat absorption... you also need water and power... if your structure is open on 1 end you won't have as much trapped hot air but then it won't contain the cool, moist air as well either.. most home size swamp coolers can only cool so many cubic feet and in a house where the roof will insulate from the sun more..
Aluminet.. worth it's weight in gold... I just use zip ties to secure it to the framework...

[BBadger]

I've got a heavy-duty tarp from Gemplers. That thing is damn think and well built. Light blocking material, so it would be pitch black under it if it surrounded you. Might be a little more expensive than you want though; they do come in many sizes.

I used a swamp cooler inside my Costco Carports and it is great if you sit on the ground..once you stand you hit the temp inversion and it is HOT...
unless you can vent the hot air from inside the top it will reach a point where it will only cool so much because of the surface area of the roof and it's heat absorption... you also need water and power... if your structure is open on 1 end you won't have as much trapped hot air but then it won't contain the cool, moist air as well either.. most home size swamp coolers can only cool so many cubic feet and in a house where the roof will insulate from the sun more..

Ugh, induced humidity! Why ruin the dryness that the playa give you? I found it nice and cool in the shade so long as I was out of the sun and the air was able to vent.

[akmojo]

swamp coolers aren't raising the humidity to sticky levels.. just enough so that the hot, dry air is changed into cooler, moist air and the additional humidity seems to help keep the Dust down a bit too not to mention ones nostrils, lips and skin sure seem to soak up the moisture and feel better, less drying, cracking and bleeding ...
have you actually used one, been in a structure that had one or have any first hand experience with one ?
some people walk barefoot on the Playa the entire time with no problems and some get Playa foot within a day if they do...
everyone has their preferences, I am just sharing my experiences in using one on the Playa for several years......
back to the subject... Aluminet comes in 6' and 12' widths.. I use the 70% shade, also nice to be able to see outside easily while being difficult to look in...

[ZenoBoy]

You've gone from bad to worse with that 4 pole shade structure. That thing is a disaster just waiting to happen.