Canvas Tarp Tent On The Cheap by phreshayr

[Bernie]

Hi all

I just saw this great video and wanted to share it. But the video is a little long and I wanted to have a guide I could maybe print off and use. So please forgive me if I use the forum as a way to keep notes (and share them of course).

From the video "Canvas Tarp Tent On The Cheap" by phreshayr



Materials:

1. 9 x 12 foot canvas painters drop cloth (ca. £15.09)
2. 21 Marbles or smooth stones to tie in the canvas.
3. Braided nylon string (to tie the marbles into the canvas).

Marble locations:

1. One in each of the corners. (4)
2. One in the middle of each side. (4)
3. One in the middle between the middle and end of each side. (8)
4. One in the exact middle. (1)
5. One in the middle between the centre and the middle of each side. (4)

Using "code" to make the layout show correctly, the numbers refer to the above list of marbles.

1-----------3----------2----------3-----------1
¦                                             ¦
¦                                             ¦
3                      5                      3
¦                                             ¦
¦                                             ¦
2           5          4          5           2
¦                                             ¦
¦                                             ¦
3                      5                      3
¦                                             ¦
¦                                             ¦
1-----------3----------2----------3-----------1

Construction

Open front shelter (2 person)

1. Stake down the marbles at locations 3,2,3 at what will be the back of the tent.
2. Take marbles at 1 and 1 from the front, drawing them inwards until they form a 90 degree angle to the back from the number 3 marble at the back. They will be forward of the front. Stake them in place.
3. Raise marble at the front centre (no.2) with a single pole, or with two poles on the outside of the tent to provide easy access.
4. Tuck the rear corners (no.1) into the shelter to provide a clean place to put things.

Closed front tent (1 person)

1. Stake down the marbles at locations 3,2,3 at what will be the back of the tent. (Same as open front shelter.)
2. Take the front side no.3 marbles and stake them at 90 degrees to the rear number 3 marbles.
3. Use a tripod to raise no.2 at the front centre.
4. Close the front by tying/staking the front corners (no.1) to each other as well as the front mid points (no.3).
5. Tuck the rear corners (no.1) into the tent.

My instructions might not make sense until you've seen his videos, but once you have they're all you should need to remind yourself of how to make the shelter or tent.

Hope you like the plans as much as I do. I found a place that sells 9x12 foot heavy duty canvas for £15.

Please let us know if you find cheaper tarps. PS. 9 x 12 foot is just under 3 x 4 metres in case you find metric tarps.

[jus_young]

Nice one Bernie.

Those dust sheets look very similar to ones I have but I wouldn't have thought they were a tight enough weave to use as a tarp. Trying to think how much I paid for them, might not have been as much as that which may explain why they might be thinner.

[jus_young]

You got me pondering on this one Bernie!

Being unsure of the weight and weave on those decorators sheets, I started looking into available fabrics and costs.

10 oz fabric

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10mts-x-60...-/130646538705 £30 for 10m of 60" wide

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/cotton-canvas-medium 72" wide @ £5.30pm (when buying 3m)

or 12 oz fabric

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/c...as-heavy-cc24a 108" wide @ £8.10pm (when buying 3m)

I like the idea of the 12 oz fabric myself, and that width could be fantastic. Would be interesting to see just how substantial the 10 oz fabric is though.

[JonnyP]

You got me pondering on this one Bernie!

Being unsure of the weight and weave on those decorators sheets, I started looking into available fabrics and costs.

10 oz fabric

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10mts-x-60...-/130646538705 £30 for 10m of 60" wide

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/cotton-canvas-medium 72" wide @ £5.30pm (when buying 3m)

or 12 oz fabric

http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/c...as-heavy-cc24a 108" wide @ £8.10pm (when buying 3m)

I like the idea of the 12 oz fabric myself, and that width could be fantastic. Would be interesting to see just how substantial the 10 oz fabric is though.

10 oz will be fine. We got 12 oz on the yurt n its pretty thick..