my woodland Mega shelter

[Siberianfury]

this is what ive been working on for the past few days, its a semi perminant shelter which i intend to use for prelonged periods of time.

the shelter is of a dome construction, is large enough to stand up and move around in, yet its also very warm, this is probably helped by the carpet, the woodburning stove and the fact that it is waterproofed with plasticised lorry canvas.

i still have alot of work to do with furnishing and adding more comforts ect.

before anyone says the magic words i would like to point out that several other people have been living in these woods in similar huts for a number of years and have won the rights for themselves and others to do the same.

 

[shaggystu]

great looking bit of willow work there josh, and a superb source of cordage just outside the door, all you need to do is pin him down and shave it off!

really looking forward to seeing how this experiment goes, as i said in another thread, if the progression in your knifemaking is anything to go by then your camp craft should've come on leaps and bounds from the last time.
good luck mate, i hope it stays fine for you

stuart

 

[sandbender]

I think you might have a bit of bother with the carpet getting damp or have you plans to prevent that somehow?

Condensation forms on the inside of your waterproof flooring and requires that the rugs/carpets/blakets be lifted and dried each morning, I have read of someone using pallets as a sub floor to help with this but have never seen that system used.

Good looking shelter!

 

[Retired Member southey]

Good work matey! Looks like good times ahead!

 

[OakTinder]

Nice shelter looks like lots of head room to.

 

[mrcharly]

Very neat.

I mentioned using pallets - friends who have lived long-term (years) in Yurts and benders used them.

I have two comments - one is that I think you'll have problems in heavy rain. Water will soak the ground. The old classic way of dealing with this was to dig a shallow trench (4-5") around your tent with a drain channel leading downhill.

The other is that your bender looks a bit lightweight - I'm not sure it will stand up to snow buildup. Maybe you'll be able to reinforce it.

 

[rik_uk3]

Love it What are you using as flue? I was thinking of trying some flexible tumble drier hosing for a new configuation I'm working on.

 

[Mafro]

Looks superb, I look forward to reading more of your journey

 

[Siberianfury]

Love it What are you using as flue? I was thinking of trying some flexible tumble drier hosing for a new configuation I'm working on.

its the same stuff they use to line chimmneys, like an alloy corrigated tube, you can get it in lots of diffrent sizes, i got mine from a guy who fabricates woodburners.

 

[Siberianfury]

Very neat.

I mentioned using pallets - friends who have lived long-term (years) in Yurts and benders used them.

I have two comments - one is that I think you'll have problems in heavy rain. Water will soak the ground. The old classic way of dealing with this was to dig a shallow trench (4-5") around your tent with a drain channel leading downhill.

The other is that your bender looks a bit lightweight - I'm not sure it will stand up to snow buildup. Maybe you'll be able to reinforce it.

i was thinking of using a raised floor, but its alot of planks/pallets to transport, for now im gonna make do with what i have. as for the waterproofing, i have aranged the tarp in such a way that this should not be a problem.

 

[tiger stacker]

Not sure what you are intending to use for ilumination, Ikea are selling a couple of solar lamps for under £20

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90154371 I have used it as a torch in the pitch black, ideal if you have good sunlight.

 

[Toddy]

There's a way to reduce condensation on structures like this. The first photo sort of looks like you've already done this, but later ones mean I'm not so sure. Basically it needs two tarps. One wraps right round from one side of the entrance to the other, covering the 'walls', while the second goes over the top and covers the top edge of the first one. Condensation runs down the first one and over the second and thus outside *usually*. It's certainly a lot better than containing it in your living quarters.
The other thing that really does help is the drip trench as mentioned by mrcharly. Even iron age round houses had those

My last point might simply be something that you haven't finished working on yet, and I apologise if that's so, but you need to do something with the ends of the rods you've used and the twiggy leaf joints. Every movement of the tarp will rub on those and the tarp will leak eventually.

Walking and living on an earth floor hard packs it. It kind of screws up the drainage, but if packed enough it becomes very stable. If it gets sodden though, it's a real mess. Even if lugging in pallets to floor the entire space isn't feasible, I think you could be proactive and make somekind of stoop at your doorway. Don't turn up your nose at the idea of a doormat either, it all helps keep your living area comfortable.
I think I'd give serious thought to making a rope strung bed to get off the deck for sleeping, but I sleep cold and if Winter's coming I don't want to lose heat to the ground.

I suspect this might all sound terribly negative Josh, and I don't mean it to be. I think it's all too easy to underestimate the amount of work making something like this actually needs; well done on getting the structure up and covered so far
It'll be interesting to see how you get on, and how it develops in use

cheers,
M

 

[wingstoo]

Was going to send you a PM link but your inbox is full.

If you empty I can send it later.

Wingstoo

 

[beenn]

Looks good mate, all about trial and error, if theres anything you want its not as if you cant go and get it

 

[Siberianfury]

cheers guys, theres been alot of rainfall today, so when i can get down there tomorrow i will have a look and see of there is any water damage and then do what i can to
correct it.

Was going to send you a PM link but your inbox is full.

If you empty I can send it later.

Wingstoo

ive cleared out my pm box, fire away mate.

 

[Andie]

its the same stuff they use to line chimneys, like an alloy corrugated tube, you can get it in lots of different sizes, i got mine from a guy who fabricates wood burners.

i love your use of this copex liner not bad to say its designed for back boilers good thinking there matey

 

[deMaccusweil]

Good stuff mate, come on leaps and bounds from your last log in 2010
I will agree on the carpet thing however, you need to raise it off the ground. I learned this myself when I first built a shelter, and woke up in the morning to find dozens of worms wriggling half through the matting...

 

[wingstoo]

ive cleared out my pm box, fire away mate.

PM sent.................

 

[AussieVic]

That's a great project, but my first thought were also about the floor - probably because its cold and wet here at the moment and I spent the weekend squelching through rain, sleet and snow !

What have your fellow residents used for flooring ?

 

[mrcharly]

What you will find is that you get damp from below - not from the soil, but moist air from your body condensing in the bedding (and carpet) below you. This is difficult to deal with (unless you sleep in a hammock). Look at getting something like pallets under your carpet layer, so that air can circulate.

I still think you need to look at preventing the soil inside and immediately outside from becoming sodden and trodden into mud - the UK climate is very good at producing mud. You are obviously good at weaving green wood - what about weaving something to go in the doorway so that people don't tread the soil into mud?