tent-floors-msg

tent-floors-msg – 8/14/05

What to use on the ground in your tent or your period pavilion.

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Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 22:41:17 -0700 (PDT)

From: Andrew Tye <atye at efn.org>

To: An Tir <Steps at antir.sca.org>

Subject: Re: period pavilions

On Thu, 8 May 1997, Lynnette E Storie wrote:

> I have made the greatest find ever!!!

> I have managed to acquire a period type pavilions for $3. It appears to

> be a double french bell. We have attempted to put it up and have mostly

> succeeded.

> My question for those who have pavilions is, what do you put on the

> floor? Do you just leave it as what ever material it is set upon? Do you

> recommend plastic underneath( considering our weather)

Ivar here,

First, congradulations on the find. Second, let me ask a couple of

questions. Does it have a floor sewn in? If not, does it have mud-flaps?

If the answers are 1. No, and 2. Yes, I'll tell you what I do. First, you

can be pretty secure with no floor by turning the mud-flaps out. This

helps channel run-off away from the inside. However, there are no

guarantees that the ground cover is nice so you may eventually want to get

a floor. (Also, for French Bells, a floor makes setting up much quicker

and easier. You know where the perimeter is to drive the stakes.)

What I do is have two separate floors. First on the ground in a piece of

Visqueen, (polyethelene sheeting used for vapor barrier in crawl-spaces),

cut to the footprint of the tent. Then over this goes a floor I had made

by the local tent & awning company out of heavy waxed cotton duck. I then

set the tent up on top of it. After the tent is staked down, the

mud-flaps MUST be tucked under the Visqueen and make sure that none of it

peeking out. If you don't, you can be assured that it WILL rain and a

goodly portion of it will invite itself inside and form a nice deep pool.

If, on the other hand, you rig it properly you will be dry inside while

most others are wallowing. Additionaly, you can start layering up old

ersatz oriental rugs inside for comfort and verisimilitude without

worrying about them getting soaked.

I hope this is of some use,

Ivar Hakonarson

Adiantum.

The Cathedral Steps - Kingdom of An Tir email list

From scoffman at on-ramp.ior.com Fri May 23 19:42:22 1997

Date: Thu, 8 May 97 01:10:29 -0700 (PDT)

From: Steve Coffman <scoffman at on-ramp.ior.com>

To: Lynnette E Storie <mohr_store at juno.com>

Cc: steps at antir.sca.org

Subject: Re: period pavilions

At 12:39 AM 5/8/97 EDT, you wrote:

>Greetings Gentles,

>I have made the greatest find ever!!!

>I have managed to acquire a period type pavilions for $3. It appears to

>be a double french bell. We have attempted to put it up and have mostly

>succeeded.

>My question for those who have pavilions is, what do you put on the

>floor? Do you just leave it as what ever material it is set upon? Do you

>recommend plastic underneath( considering our weather)

>All comments and suggestions taken in the manner given.

In our climate, I highly recommend plastic sheeting under whatever

type of pavalion/tent you use. If you have a seperate floor of some type of

heavy material (cotton duck, canvas etc.) or a built in floor, it will save

wear and tear on the floor, and will help keep moisture (and mud) from

seeping through the flooring. I recommend you use 6-8 mil pastic poly

sheeting (available at any hardware store, genenrally available in clear and

black), and cut it just slightly smaller than the footprint of your

pavilion. If you have any extra sticking out from underneath your pavilion,

when it rains (notice I didn't say if :) it will pool up, run underneath

your flooring, seep right up into your pavalion, and you'll find yourself

waking in a nice pool of water. You'd be suprised at how little of a

rainfall it takes to flood a tent when you have some nice plastic scoops

sticking out from under it. :) Also, if you can find one of suitable size,

those blue plastic tarps work as well, and are a bit heavier. I've seen

them in white and brown on occasion too (I use one for the floor in my

Viking A-frame myself.)

As a bonus, it helps protect the floor from sticks, shrubby plants,

pine cones, etc., and it's a lot cheaper to replace a piece of plastic than

a pavilion floor. And, if the weather is nice on pack-up day, the plastic

makes a nice dry place to fold up your pavilion rather than on soggy ground

(and keeps it clean too.) That is of course, if the pavilion isn't a soggy

mess itself. Nothing much more fun than packing up a nice, cold and wet

tent early on a chilly morning. :) Besides camping in the SCA I've been

backpacking and camping for 17 years, so I'm quite familiar with that. :)

Anyways, good luck and happy camping!

Etienne d'Avignon

From: Holly Cochran <ulfaidan at flash.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Tent Floors??? or not?

Date: Sun, 20 Jul 1997 16:36:59 -0600

Cece Thompson wrote:

> This year is my 4th Pennsic and I just got my first period tent. It's

> not huge (a 12' x 16' French Bell Wedge) but it'll do fine for my

> husband and I. My question is...... Should I plan on covering the

> ground inside the tent with some sort of floor. I've seen it done with

> and without. I lean twards without.. I'm not afraid of bugs, we'll be

> sleeping on a raised bed. Seems like a lot of trouble. Please give me

> the pros and cons.

> Adela DeBruges

> Aka: Cece Thompson

As someone who has done both, I recommend taking at least some sort of

floor for under and around the bed--waking up and stepping on soggy dewy

grass is kinda icky. Also, gives you a cleanish place to stand and get

dressed. Also, I recommend something under the food storage area, and

setting your luggage on something dew proof. Damp mildewy clothes are

not fun. Usually you can pick up a few carpet remnants for cheap that

will work, or used plastic backed drapes, that work pretty well. We are

currently putting down plastic tarps underneath, between earth and

cloth, to help with the moisture aspect. Added bonus is it cuts down on

the bugs.

Ms. Aidan

From: lesterw at mindspring.com (Lester Williams)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Tent floors?

Date: Fri, 02 Apr 1999 20:45:21 GMT

My tribe and I have been camping in period tents for almost seven

years now. All of these are homemade. We use builders plastic as a

ground cloth. You can find this at the hardware store on rolls. Make

sure you get a thick piece so sticks and such don't put a hole in it.

It is inexpensive and you can trade it out whenever it wears out. cut

a piece that is the diminsions of your tent plus 12 inches over on all

sides. When you lay out the plastic, allow the excess to stick up

around the inside edges of your walls. As long as the plastic goes up

the walls you don't need a trench or anything. Use your bed, rugs,

icechest and other stuff to anchor the edges of the plastic along the

walls so it can't fold over. We have withstood 4inches of standing

water in this manner with nothing getting wet and we live in the south

where it rains buckets!

Also if your canvas from Wal-mart is not waterproof it will leak in

heavy rains or really long rains no matter what you put on it. The

canvas that is made for Sailboats called sunforger is waterproofed at

the factory and stays that way ( at least for seven years anyway). It

is worth the expense to stay dry!

Good Luck. I wouldn't camp any other way, but in a period tent. They

breath so much better in hot weather and hold up better in the wind as

long as you reenforce your rope and grommet attatchments!

Blodwen, Tribe Zareefat

From: Martin Catt <lodovico at flash.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Tent floors?

Date: Sat, 03 Apr 1999 19:48:18 GMT

The simplest and most durable off-the-shelf solution is to get a

rubberized painters drop cloth. They (usually) have a cloth side, with

the drip-proof white rubber side on the opposite. I've found them at

large home improvement chains like Home Depot or Lowes. Their advantages

are that they are QUIET (they don't crinkle like plastic sheeting when

you walk on them), they fold up easy, and they don't look so ungodly

unperiod when you put the cloth side up. Their disadvantages are that

they cost more than simple pastic sheeting -- you just can't chuck them

when they get distressed beyond practical use without a twinge in the

pocketbook. They ARE more durable than plastic sheets, and can be washed

(by hand with a hose).

Lodovico

From: "Giovanini Gregory" <p.legates at worldnet.att.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Tent floors?

Date: 5 Apr 1999 01:52:07 GMT

Use a cheap plastic trarp, cover it with a yard sale poly fake persian rug

or the grass stuff or poly carpet for marine use, if it gets muddy hose it

off when you get home. Also use an inflateable air matress to get you up

off ground and it is water proof, floats too if it rains too much, or use

as a raft if good weather and near a lake.

From: Tanya Guptill <tguptill at mail.teleport.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Tent floors?

Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1999 13:42:46 -0700

CapnCarp wrote:

> What you need to do is get several sections of the canvas/cotton duck material, sew it in the internal dimensions of your tent (plus about an extra 8" on each dimension, and paint it with a good-quality matte-finish latex housepaint">

________________________________________

A canvas floor is also an easy way to chart how big your tent will be

when staked out. Mark the places on the floor where your tent stakes

will go for the perimeter of the tent, and stake your tent down

(PARTIALLY) before you insert your poles. This may help you use less

people to set up your tent, since you don't need anyone to hold the

centerpole/frame while you have someone else frantically stakes down the

tent.

Anything you can do to get your bedding off the ground is probably

wise. If you are not able to do a bed, how about couple pallets with a

futon or a straw mattress? Maybe you can barter a skill or item you

have for someone to put together a simple rope bed for you.

Mira

MEDIEVAL PAVILION RESOURCES

http://www.teleport.com/~tguptill/tent.html

Barony of Three Mountains, An Tir

From: bronwynmgn at aol.comnospam (Bronwynmgn)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Date: 05 Jul 2004 15:17:09 GMT

Subject: Re: 10x10 ground cloths?

>Anyone know of a source of pre-sized 10x10 groundcloths/dropcloths for

>inside tents?

Remember that pre-sized plastic tarps aren't really the size they are sold as

(for example, look at, say a tarp being sold as a 10x15. Somewhere on the

packaging it will say something like "finished size 9' 6" by 14' 6 ").

That said, one of the Sports Authority stores near me used to sell tarps cut to

the footprints of their modern tents, so you could, for example, buy a fitted

tarp for a hexagonal dome tent. I don't remember if they had square ones or

not, but as some modern tents have square footprints, and 10 x 10 is not an

uncommon size for modern tents, you might get lucky. It was at least a year

ago that I saw this, so I don't know if they are still carrying them. You

might also check more camping-based stores like REI (easily findable at

REI.com) or Eastern Mountain Sports.

Brangwayna

From: folenzo at yahoo.com (Francis Herman)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: 10x10 ground cloths?

Date: 6 Jul 2004 01:06:05 -0700

Gwen Morse <morsej at none.net> wrote:

> Anyone know of a source of pre-sized 10x10 groundcloths/dropcloths for

> inside tents? The ones made out of the plastic-based weave for painting

> and the like? I have a Panther 10x10 wall tent and I'm too cheap to pay

> the $100 for a canvas top/plastic bottom cloth that fits :).

--snip--

> Gwen

Try this:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=12273&;memberId=12500226

Or, if you want something a bit nicer:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=12172&;memberId=12500226

Disclaimer: I have no connection to Campmor, except as an occasional

customer. They do have a nice size-selection of tarps, though.

-Otfrid Ammerthaler

From: "Michael Grossberg" <geejayem at earthlink.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: 10x10 ground cloths?

Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 15:09:57 GMT

"Gwen Morse" <morsej at none.net> wrote

> "1.9 oz. per square yard reinforced high count taffeta nylon. Very light

> and flexible. Waterproof urethane coating. Grommets at all corners and

> about 3.5 feet apart on the hems. Finish sizes are slightly smaller.

> Made in USA."

> Anyone know if 'nylon taffeta' is the crinkly/noisy nylon?

Yes, it is

From: herveus at radix.net (Michael Houghton)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: 10x10 ground cloths?

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 16:32:56 -0000

Mark S. Harris <stefanlirous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

>Greetings from Stefan li Rous,

> bronwynmgn at aol.comnospam (Bronwynmgn) wrote:

>> >Anyone know of a source of pre-sized 10x10 groundcloths/dropcloths for

>> >inside tents?

>It looks like my posting yesterday didn't happen, so let me try again.

>I have never found a tarp to exactly fit my 17 x 17 pavilion. I have

>used one a little larger, and folded over one section of it. I have also

>used two smaller tarps and overlapped them in the middle.

>Plastic tarps tend to crinkle as you walk on them. You can eliminate the

>noise and make the interior of the pavilion less modern [looking] by spreading

>some throw rugs on top of the plastic. I use several that I picked up at

>flea markets and garage sales.

In our shop, we lay down a plastic tarp, then cover that with rush mats,

then lay rugs over top of that. It looks nice, and is nice under foot.

We're not trying to do an impression of "selling out of a tent", but

rather "selling out of a permanent shop" where the walls and roof just

happen to be a pavilion.

yours,

Herveus

Michael and MJ Houghton | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly

herveus at radix.net | White Wolf and the Phoenix

Bowie, MD, USA | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff

| http://www.radix.net/~herveus/

From: bronwynmgn at aol.comnospam (Bronwynmgn)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Date: 06 Jul 2004 11:38:13 GMT

Subject: Re: 10x10 ground cloths?

>Plastic tarps tend to crinkle as you walk on them. You can eliminate the

>noise and make the interior of the pavilion less modern by spreading

>some throw rugs on top of the plastic.

Putting a lightweight canvas painters tarp, available at Home Depot and such

places, on top of the plastic also eliminates an amazing amount of the crinkly

noise. They are also washable, so you can throw them in the washer and get rid

of the muddy footprints and ground-in grass.

We use two plastic tarps for our 15x24 oval marquis (one for each end, not one

on top of the other), covered by two canvas tarps, with a few rugs spotted

around for color.

Brangwayna

From: Gwen Morse <goldmooneachna at yahoo.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Synthetic Canvas?

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 17:25:37 -0400

On 1 Jun 2004 21:00:22 -0700, puff at darksleep.com (Steven J. Owens)

wrote:

>Last Pennsic (2003) was a wet, muddy affair for us (down in the

>swamp) with some stretches of days of damp and dank. This Pennsic

>looks to be more of the same.

>While I'd like to obtain natural canvas tarps for a more period

>look, even if it were financially feasible, I don't think it would

>be a good idea. Mildew in these conditions is inevitable. In

>fact we did have some canvas last year, and it did get mildewed,

>in spite of being treated.

>Does anybody know of any sources for polyetheline tarps that aren't

>as blatantly, obnoxiously modern as the typical blue or green tarps?

>Something that could be easily ignored at a distance of 30 feet?

I don't, but, I've heard of "rubber-coated canvas" being available. It

was used liberally in the camp next to us at Pennsic 33.

The default use is apparently for tarps for trucks, but, it can be

gotten for other uses as well.

Along with being resistent to rotting/mildew, it can be marked with

arms or other images.

It was used in a kitchen shade, a yurt covering, and possibly one

tent.

Gwen