Monkey hut help

[Theraplst]

Attached are the dimensions for the monkey hut I want to make. Anyone care to help me with actual designs? I suck at math. I plan to use rebar to support it in the ground, pcv for the ribcage, a heavy duty tarp to cover, as well as all the little things to hold the tarps in place. I just always end up making little errors in my math when it comes to things like spacers, plus I don't know how to calculate the area of the top of an arch. I probably sound stupid.

HELP ME.
EDIT: I've been fiddling around with possible dimensions so I've deleted the dimensions file i had attached. Currently I'm thinking 8 ft wide still, 7.1 feet tall, and 20 ft arch length. using a 10x20 tarp.

Sorry if anyone following this thread, I've been editing sporadically. If you want to help me, please use those dimensions ^:)

[Jackass]

It's all right here, no need to reinvent the wheel


http://www.chromatest.net/Lovemonkey

[Theraplst]

HAHA I just realized what I ended up on is the original design. fuck it, that works fine. It just seemed too big. on that page.

[Ninja Nemo]

I built one last year using the linked instructions and it worked out great for me. Also, I previously made a post re: measuring out your rebar which may be of use to you. Check it out here:

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?f=277&t=51549

Have fun.

[Savannah]

Do a test run of your monkey hut at home or in the park before you hit the playa. You will not regret it. It'll show you any miscalculations in your plans, and give you the confidence you need to do it later on, when you're tired from your trip.

[Theraplst]

I plan to start buying materials today and do my test build tomorrow, thanks

[Theraplst]

In this thread I'll be posting pictures of each step in the prefabbing of my monkey hut. I'm making the basic design posted here: http://www.chromatest.net/Lovemonkey/.

Wish me luck! I'll be editing this post at the end of the day with all of the pictures, And I'll be checking it throughout the day.

[MedullaB]

Worked on my second generation monkey hut last week - strengthened it using some of that links ideas. Worked good the first year (2010) but didn't get much of a wind test so I want it to be ready for the howler that I think this year will be!

One thing I did differently that in that link which made a real big difference was to use construction shade fabric instead of a tarp. Providing 92% shade it allows airflow which moves the heat out of your shade. Generally we were 5-10 degree cooler than a costco carport. WHen temps start creeping over 110 degree that 10 degree difference is going to be really nice! I bought mine new but I am guess you could probably get this stuff pretty cheap used from a construction company.

Also added a few vertical poles to help stabilize the structure - the wind want to flatten it from the side.

[BBadger]

There is also this design, which is more portable because the PVCs aren't full 10' spans. I'm not sure if it'll affect the springing ability though.

[Jackass]

It'll tend to sag more than the 10' version. They tell you to set the stakes 12' apart but if the hut's been used before the center will be a little lower every time you use it due to the pipe sagging. I set my stakes at 10.5'-11' depending how high I want the center a little more tension on the ribs, works better.

Helpful hint: when not in use keep ALL monkey hut materials out of the rain and sun, they tend to last a lot longer this way. Also the straighter your stakes are (in line with one another) the better the hut will perform. Use a mason's line for a clean set up.

[trilobyte]

Giving your monkey hut threads a merge. We already have multiple monkey hut threads, we don't need multiple threads per structure. Good luck with your build!

[Theraplst]

Giving your monkey hut threads a merge. We already have multiple monkey hut threads, we don't need multiple threads per structure. Good luck with your build!

Thanks. I've got all my materials laid out now, just waiting for the sun to die down (and find a damned tape measure) now. fuggin hot out.

[Theraplst]

The option to edit posts seems to be missing now, but, anyways. quick update. messed up my measurements on my 2-1/2 ft sections, cause i'm a tardbaby like that. now i've got 3x2'8" pieces and 1 2' piece luckily it seems you only need 3 of those pieces so i'll just fix that. like pops always said, measure once cut once fuck up measure again and cut again.

-oh, and I should note i'm not doing the shade flap, hence why my messup doesnt effect me.

[trilobyte]

You only have the ability to edit for 30 minutes after posting.

[Theraplst]

So I've run into a small snag. Because of the pipe that is used in the spine in the mid section, there's a a few extra inches in the spine causing it to bow out at the top. There are a few ways I can fix this but I would like to hear what some of you have done when you ran into this (I can't be the only one). I could re-place the rebar a few extra inches out to fix the bowing, but then my tarp would still not be able to reach. I could cut each of my 5' pieces a half inch shorter each, which seems like the best solution to me, just a bit annoying. Thoughts folks?

I can see why Lovemonkey didn't post many pictures, it's a really simple process to build once you get down to it. Especially if you have all the tools ready.

[Jackass]

You underestimate the hut...

[Ano]

So, last year I made a 3-spine monkey hut. It was awesome. This year, I want to make it a six spine monkey hut... kinda. I don't have much money. But, I was thinking... if I bought enough PVC to make it six spines, would two tarps be o-kay to use across it? I was thinking that the stress of two tarps pulling on one rib of the monkey hut would break the rib eventually, especially if the weather is sour. Anyone have experience with this? I also don't know anywhere that has tarps that are that big in my area.

[Jackass]

I only have one with one spine, works like a dream.

[FIGJAM]

So, last year I made a 3-spine monkey hut. It was awesome. This year, I want to make it a six spine monkey hut... kinda. I don't have much money. But, I was thinking... if I bought enough PVC to make it six spines, would two tarps be o-kay to use across it? I was thinking that the stress of two tarps pulling on one rib of the monkey hut would break the rib eventually, especially if the weather is sour. Anyone have experience with this? I also don't know anywhere that has tarps that are that big in my area.

My first year I needed to extend a tarp so I use caribiners to hook the 2 tarps together.

Worked fine.

[Theraplst]

Almost done! Ran into a few snags along the way, but now I'm just putting the finishing touches on. Had a few days I couldn't work on it, but I'm back for now. Anyways, I misread my tarp's packaging, it tells you it's 10x20 but the "finished size" is 19'6"x 9'7" so I've had to shorten the spine down a few inches and now I've got to shorten the ribs down 3 inches each to prevent my monkey hut becoming a sailboat. All in all, taping up the ends was the most difficult part. shit was annoying as hell. That and the fact that my backyard is slightly slanted making it more difficult to get my rebar at the right spots. Also need to buy a few more bungie balls.

[Bexx]

Yay monkey hut! I am actually building one this year too. So I can actually stuff my tent in there. I'm actually gonna do a prep run later today. I'm hoping that my 6ft high tent will fit under there

[Jackass]

Yay monkey hut! I am actually building one this year too. So I can actually stuff my tent in there. I'm actually gonna do a prep run later today. I'm hoping that my 6ft high tent will fit under there

It should but if it doesn't just bring the sides closer together, you can check by setting up one arch and taking a measurement.

[Bexx]

Yay monkey hut! I am actually building one this year too. So I can actually stuff my tent in there. I'm actually gonna do a prep run later today. I'm hoping that my 6ft high tent will fit under there

It should but if it doesn't just bring the sides closer together, you can check by setting up one arch and taking a measurement.

Cool! I'm excited!!!

[Theraplst]

Update on my monkey hut!

So I totally failed on my monkey hut. after spending weeks getting it just right, packing my car all up and getting to the burn, I notice I'm missing something. My spine. So instead of rage quitting just there, we took a bit of rope and tied it taught with 5 feet between each rib, and tied the sides into rebar on the ground and tightened that down. Help up perfectly, and we even added an extra tarp that covered up half of one side, that i put my bed under. we tied the tarp to out pvc and our rebar in the ground, and also tied the tarp's grommets to eachother to make it into a quarter dome shape. then we put our water on top of that. that held the tarp down and kept our water out of the sun. Next year I'm going to simplify my design a bit, and drill some holes in the pvc rib connectors to lace some good string to. I saw many monkey huts with rachet straps holding the tarp taught, and I'm considering adding that to my design.

For the record, the rope spine worked BETTER than the pvc spine.

[Bob]

The cheap braided multi-colored poly rope at the big-box stores is much more versatile than the cheap flimsy jam-prone ratchet straps at the big-box stores.

[Ano]

Built my hut, roped it down on both sides, and it survived the week. These things rule. My tarp sucked, though, and was too thin. Lots of heat. Oh well!

[Jackass]

Try using billboard vinyl, it's heavier but works very well and holds up to alot of abuse. You can find companies selling it used on the interwebs or do like I did and hit up someone in the billboard hanging industry and get one free.

[BBadger]

I liked my Harpster heavy duty silver tarp. It was a little large for the MH though, but well made and worked well.

[Theraplst]

I liked my Harpster heavy duty silver tarp. It was a little large for the MH though, but well made and worked well.

I used a similar tarp. Only 15 bucks at a local flee market. I bought all of my ball bungies there too, only like 5 bucks for 40

All in all I spent about 75 bucks making mine, and it held up really well.