I'll assume you've already looked at the original MH design. If I don't cover it here, the default instructions should apply (or maybe even common sense if you happen to have some extra sitting around).
First, terminology: The monkey hut pvc skeleton is made up of ribs and a spine. In my huts, I never use a pipe longer than 5ft (due to my transportation limitations), so my ribs always come in two pieces: a top segment and a bottom segment. There is the part that is at the top of the arch that connects the arch to the spine and where the left and right rib connect at the top. I call that the apex segment (or just apex). That just leaves the major players of the tarp and the rebar anchors.
For the bottom segments, I use a 5ft long 1.25" diameter pipe. This gives a more upright stance to the lower portion of the ribs.
To anchor it, I use 0.5" rebar and at least 3ft lengths on the corners of the hut and at least 2ft for the rest. All rebar should be driven at least 1ft into the playa AND should have at least 1ft sticking up from the ground. This is the minimum. If you think you want to drive the rebar further or have more rebar sticking up (both good things to do if you're as paranoid as you should be), you'll need longer rebar than what I just suggested.
The top rib segment is still a 5ft length of 1" diameter pvc.
The apex is a 3ft length of 1.25" diameter pvc.
So here's the trick to easily, economically and robustly rejoin the individual pipes into a single rib: In the 1" diameter top segment, on each end, drill a hole about 1"-2" from the end. The hole should be just large enough to put a piece of paracord through. Cut a length of paracord 6"-8" long and pass it through the hole. Put an overhand knot into each end of the paracord so the paracord cannot be pulled out of the hole from either direction. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE KNOTS SHOULD BE APPROXIMATELY 3 INCHES. It can be plus or minus a quarter inch, but not off by any more than that. Be sure that there is some leftover length of paracord between the knot and the end of the paracord so that the knot isn't able to just pull itself out (the paranoid should use real stopper knots). Do this to both ends of the top segment. You should now have a 5ft long 1" diameter pipe with one piece of paracord captured on each end by the overhand knots. So in crappy ascii art each end should look something like this:
Code: Select all
paracord -- \
+ -- knot (inside)
| \ |
| \|
pipe -- | \ -- hole
| |\
| | \
| | + -- knot (outside)
| | \
For anchoring it all down, put the 3' rebar on each corner and use the 2' for the rest. NEVER EVER use rebar thinner than 0.5, its just never going to be up to the challenge.
If you're paranoid, and you probably should be, use longer rebar that is driven more than 1' into the ground. I didn't describe how to run lines through the ribs here, but if I truly wanted it to be as secure as possible, I would run lines through all of it and essentially cinch the whole structure to the ground (in my "Threaded Monkey Hut" described style).
For the spine, do whatever you were going to originally do or go with the used tube lashing approach. If you don't have enough used bicycle tire tubes, I would even go so far as to just use duct tape to attach the spine to the rib apex and be done. I would however, run a line through the spine from end to end just to make sure it doesn't pull apart. No need for lots of tension in it, you just want to limit the movement such that it doesn't come fully apart or if it does pull out of something, the line will keep it in place until you can repair it. (Paracord is inadequate for this, unless you double or quadruple it up. Paracord will stretch an easy 30%, but it is not an elastic stretch that pulls back, it just gets longer and then stays that way. Stretch != Elastic)
For the tarp, you have a longer rib to cover so you'll either enjoy the extra space at the bottom to let more air through, or you might need a larger tarp. (I think my 22x24 tarp fits this design quite well when set up for a 20ft long MH)
SIDENOTES:
Of course this design can be beefed up, but it should be at least as secure as the original design.
The reason that the distance between the knots in the paracord is so important is that once you go past 3 inches of paracord, you risk having the two segments be joined so tightly that you may never be able to pull them apart. Seriously. I had two pieces joined with a\ length of paracord greater than three inches and using all the mechanical advantage tricks I knew to pull those two segments apart didn't have the two pieces budge one millimeter for all of the effort applied.
Over time and use the paracord will flatten and provide less binding force. With the paracord and pipes I use, this is not something that happens in the course of a week, so it will last longer than your burn but I would replace it before each extended use or if it looks too lifeless.
Likewise, with enough use, the 1.25" diameter pipes will also start to expand due to the force of the paracord and sideload of the inserted pipe. They should also be evaluated between uses.
When inserting a 1" diameter tube into a 1.25" diameter tube, the insertion depth MUST be at least 3 inches. Any less than this and the outer pipe will immediately start to bend, deform and distort as the inner pipe tries to lever itself out of place. In the above, you'll get about 4 inches of insertion depth. This is about where you start to see a diminished return on the investment. Regardless of how much overlap you feel good about here, just remember to put no more than 3 inches of paracord into the mix if you want a reasonable chance of getting the pipes apart again later.
That's it. Enjoy your burn. Wear sunscreen. Be nice to your neighbors, even if they're assholes.