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The new tent-cabin is 18'x20' and was built using mostly used building materials -with the only exception being the floor joists, which are 2x6's run every four feet. I built the shelter around a pole tent that was once used as a window tinting business in the South Bay (a craigslist find). Its an experiment really, one step up from the old army tent, but still a temporary structure. The question is, how long will the cover last, the company that makes these things claim they last 15 years even in the harshest conditions -we'll see, the material is 12.5oz/24mil PE. New covers cost about $500. I've framed the two peak walls and half framed the length walls with the steel poles inserted through holes in the 2x4 frame. The front has zippers and is rolled up when the cabin is being used and then rolled down and zipped up when we leave.
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Most of the used lumber I found on Craigslist, either free or very cheap, I also bought used lumber from one of Larry Ackerman's art installations. The plywood came from Caldwell's, the doors from Building Resources and the windows were a gift from my good friend Eugene Dickey. Eugene also offered crucial design suggestions and showed me how to skin and dry a small fir tree for the center pole. The Back window has now been framed as seen in the picture below.
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I put a lot of effort into making this thing as mouse proof as possible, you'd think someone who works around mice everyday would be able to relax a little about the rodentia eh? well you'd be wrong, very wrong, in fact I spent so much time thinking about how to make this place mouse proof and then heming and hawing about how to do this, or how to do that, with a mind to prevent them from getting in, I would have to say that this structure was essentially built around the antimouse principal of architecture
-a new genre.
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The inside feels very open and bright, but it's a lot cooler than the old army tent was, although with the wood stove going It's easy to keep it comfortably warm when its below freezing outside, thought it cools down quickly if the fire burns down, making middle of the night fire stoking a must. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to use a large canvas tarp for an additional layer, it would probably be somewhat warmer, but would make it a little darker inside and might allow rodents to crawl up in between the layers -see there I go again with the rodents. Last year I did end up purchasing two heavy duty 6 mil. white poly tarps, which I spread underneath the outer cover, these do seem to help a bit and don't cut down on the light at all.
Below is the tent when I bought it from a window tinting business.
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Experimental shelter, cabin tent, pole tent cabin, experimental cabin, temporary shelter, temporary cabin
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