Ideas for a semi permanent shelter

[Siberianfury]

ive decided to go back and spend another prolonged period of time in the woods, mainly to study and gain more experience of outdoor living.

but as for the type of shelter to make im not sure, after spending an extended period of time living in an enclosed lean to i would like to try somthing a bit diffrent.
i have available some lorry canvas, groundsheets, withys, poles, a woodburning stove and bedding material. id rather made an enclosed shelter as it would be warmer and more protected from the elements. id like it to be large enough for two or three people plus kit and furnishings as i will most likley be sharing it alot with my girlfreind or freinds.

i had in mind either a bender or a tipi, but am curious as to what ideas people here have.

any help will be much appreciated


oh and just to clarify, this is a non eviction peice of woodland, which currently hosts afew inhabitants living in the wood in tents and tipis legaly with the landowners permission, which i also have.

[southey]

How about a but an pass cabin with canvas roof, just for walls, two apex, ridge pole and throw your canvas over the top, cat flap windows and simple door,

[southey]

Like this but not on fire or with the, digger in it but you see what i mean,
http://thumbnails.truveo.com/0018/C7/37/C737C23329DE2957E1047E_Large.j pg

[mountainm]

If you have enough time to plan and access to the right resources you could make up some willow/hazel hurdles and try full on wattle and daub? Maybe with a turf roof?

If you haven't I'd go on a bender... I mean "for" a bender. :D

[Siberianfury]

i think a bender would be a good idea, its warm and fairly spacious, somthing like this.

http://www.freewebs.com/campbling/100_0606.JPG

i want the option to attach another room or two possibly though, not sure how i would do it.

[lannyman8]

i would make walls with poles (upright as high as needed) and about a foot apart as long as you want the wall, do the same with more poles about a foot gap between the first row, fill the gap with brush branches twigs grass leaves or whatever you have, just like a cavity wall all the way around, leave a gap for a door.

for the roof use the tarp to cover a ridge line pole so you have a slanted roof, leave a gap at the apex for smoke to escape from the fire. the roof can be covered with bruch etc etc.

if you could get hold of them small bails of straw would make awesome walls....

just a thought...

[woodspirits]

hiya
take a look at wezo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTmMNtnKeTU), he's very good :)

steve

[beenn]

How about 2 a frame shelters side by side? Just a A frame and the canvas thrown over the top and both sides.

then if you have friends over you could attach the two in the middle if you get me? :)

[rik_uk3]

Bender shelter will give by far the most usable living space, or rig a parachute 'yurt' style as in my recent thread.

[Scottishwanderer]

After leaving college in January i spent nearly 3 months in a wikiup shaped dwelling in the woods, fashioned mainly of natural materials but i had a tarp round as well.

It can be easily adapted to create more space\ rooms.

Main thing is the ability to have a fire within, not so important now but in winter it's definetly needed.

A woodburner is a great addition to save on fuel usage / smoke, both became a problem for me as i had an open fire.

Most important is to do it with a friend.

[southey]

Seen this Josh?

Simple shelters Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Shelters-Tents-Tipis-Ancient/dp/1904263674)

[Siberianfury]

Seen this Josh?

Simple shelters Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Shelters-Tents-Tipis-Ancient/dp/1904263674)

gonna order that as soon as my cheque comes through :)

[Lumber Jack]

I used to like watching wezos videos. There were always some bits I questioned. But overall he was very good.

A bender would be good. Try to keep to spherical shapes or as close to as you can. They are the most energy efficient shape due to the lower surface area given the volume.
I'll watch this thread with interest. Good luck, Josh. Look forward to hearing more.

LJ

[Toddy]

Fiona and I (mostly Fiona I freely admit) rigged up bamboo canes into the expanding curved walls for a yurt.
The canes were held together using elastic bands....you know the ones the posties kindly deposit on every pathway in the land ? If there's a sound 'doorframe' created and the trellis/hurdle walls attached to that, it stabilises the whole thing. A few more stakes around the perimeter would create enough rigidity that something like Rik's chute set up would very easily cover the whole thing :approve:

Archaeologically we find double hurdle walls with the inner space stuffed with bracken, heather, grass and the like. It acts like a kind of cavity wall insulation.

Have fun with it whatever design you go for :)

cheers,
Toddy

[mrcharly]

Don't you find damp striking up from the ground a hassle? And mud when it rains.

I think I'd be inclined to try for something that had a raised sleeping/living space, and a stove rather than a fire for heating.

You could probably build an 'A' frame structure that would work - maybe a curved A.

All the people I know who lived in yurts and benders found they had problems with wood rotting where it touched the ground.

[sandbender]

A bender (http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/caemarvon_1914_1.jpg) is probably the way to go, it was (and sometimes is) the traditional semi-permanent shelter of traveling folks across Europe. For slightly more insulation in the winter months what about earth bag walls (http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/)?

You may want to have a look at some of the publicatons available from Shelter Publications (http://www.shelterpub.com/), lots of good ideas there.

As mrcharly mentions damp can be a real pain, the ability to open up your shelter for a proper airing when weather permits can be a big help.

[widu13]

The quickest semi permanent has to be straw bale walls as already stated. A yurt takes too long to build from scratch and a bender just doesn't quite seem up to long term living. Build square like lego or round and trim with your leku or CHAINSAW! then mud coat (daub if brave) or curtain the walls. If you are any good at shingling, then a shingle roof. Double glazed units from the tip or simple frames with perspex in single, double or triple glazing will provide good light too.

[treadlightly]

A large tipi could work well and be fairly straightforward to build. Poles from the wood, canvas over the upper walls and possibly lower walls filled in with smaller sticks and woodland debris. Woodburning stove for heat efficiency, cooking and to stop the place filling with smoke. if the apex is left open rain will get in and, worse, run down the poles so it won't just be the middle that gets wet. You could stretch a piece of tarp over the tops of the poles and lash it to the sides, thus leaving a gap between the apex and this level for the smoke to escape.

[rik_uk3]

The bender style is used a lot in 'communes' so have staying power. If I was going to use one for an extended period I'd waterproof it with cheap builders tarps. Easy enough to construct and has more usable floor space and head room than a tipi style shelter.

[mountainm]

A bender with a tipi at one end would allow you to have a fire indoors (tipi chimney)

[Davey569]

Id go for a tipi myself.

Or dig out a hobbit style apartment. :D

[rik_uk3]

A bender with a tipi at one end would allow you to have a fire indoors (tipi chimney)

You can have a fire in a bender, I intend to build a simple stone fire place in mine comes the September camp.

[mountainm]

You can have a fire in a bender, I intend to build a simple stone fire place in mine comes the September camp.

Doesn't the smoke gather in the roof - Where's the chimney?

[rik_uk3]

It will be at the end of the tent and vented.

[Bushwhacker]

Try watching Baywatch for some ideas on a semi permanent erection.

[Siberianfury]

right, ive just built a Bender style shelter, used lorry canvas as a waterproofing and added a window made from perspex and sealed with some form or crazy glue stuff.
now jobs that need doing are:

fitting the wood burner
making the doorway sealed
fitting a groundsheet and rugs
fitting more windows
fitting shelves
fitting all the basic equipment
cutting alot of firewood
making a sleeping area

[leahcim]

best shelter is a underground shelter. it takes a little work, but extremely worth it. I carve it out of strong ground, like clay or soft rock, etc. on a slope on south side of a hill for good drainage. carve bed and sits right out of the ground. add sand to the bottom floor, then lay flat rocks for the floor and sitting area. I make a bed out of cedar wood to stop bugs, you can use cypress or juniper wood to by making a box to stuff pine needles intoto make a nice soft bed. I cover the bed so nothing catches on fire. Make the stuffing like 3-4ft deep. the roof is very strong locust wood, or any nonrotting wood like cedar. cover it with the bark of Tulip polar or birch, then pine bark cover with dirt atleast 2ft deep. On top of that shelter I build a platforn off the ground hovering over the shelter, using tulip polar logs, which are veryu straight and light weight when dried, but very strong. add a roof to this, so I can sleep outside on breezy but hotter nights, and down below on colder nights. Just add layers of pine straw or leaves to the poles strung across the trees so you can sleep very comfortable even outside.