Lavvu

[MickeS]

Yet another DIY-project...
I have been playing with Google Sketchup to make a one-piece lavvu from a standard plastic tarpaulin.

The tarpaulin is 8 by 5 meters and in 180gram/sqm weight.



By drawing the tarp and a circle with radius = tarp long side / 2 you get a pie segment that determines how big the lavvu will be.
My tarp (8x5m) gives a pie 'segment' with radius 4m, and pie outer rim 14,6m.
The radius will be the length of the outer wall of the lavvu and the outer rim of the pie segment will be the circumference of the lavvu when erected.

So by simple maths the radius of the lavvu will be 14,6/3,14/2=2,3m (r=O/pi/2)
The height will be (according to Pythagoras) the square root of 4*4 - 2,3*2,3=3,25m. And Sketchup gives the inner area 16,8 square meters...

Now it's just to draw the circle/pie segment on the tarp and cut it out.
I also cut out a small circle at the 'top'/the center, for the smoke hole.
Along the edges where the sides will meet on the lavvu, make 6 times 2 holes at each edge to allow the edges to be "sewn" together with sticks, like the indians made up their Tipis. I fitted aluminium eyelets to the holes.

Then get 12 pine poles, ca 4,3 m long.
Tie 3 of them together at just under 4 meter and erect them with radius 2,3m. After that erect the rest of the poles at equal distances and cover it all with the tarp. Then line up the holes on the edges and fasten them with short sticks.
Done!

The erected lavvu.


The door, 2 pieces of scrap tarp material glued and 'sewn' together with washing line.

The pine poles gives the door rigidity. They should be so long so they rest on the 2 standing poles at the door.

Details of the sticks holding the lavvu together. The door is just hanging from one of the sticks with a piece of washing line.


The 'Berjas', a piece of double burlap with pockets sewn in the corners for stones. The Berjas is used for rain/mosquito protection and fire draft regulation. It's manouvered with a pole from the outside.



Entrance.


Plenty of room, 7 people can sleep with spare room over.










So far, me and our youngest daughter have slept 5 nights in it

[Twodogs]

Nice one Micke thats looks like a fun but practical project .
nice one
Twodogs

[monkey spanner]

WOW !

That is one great project.

[MartinK9]

Great project, thanks for sharing.

[Tony]

Brilliant and inspiring, thanks for posting it up.

How have you secured it, as in the bottom edge?

[treadlightly]

Great stuff... How well does the lavvu handle the smoke from the fire?

[southey]

Really brilliant post matey! Big thanks. I bet it will handle the snow very well to.

[bilmo-p5]

Wonderful stuff, MickeS.

[Biker]

Now I'm really impressed by that. Great pix. Thanks for sharing it.

[MickeS]

Thanks all
No fire yet, tonight it'll have it's baptism... we have had quite warm nights so I haven't bothered with a fire yet. Almost no mosqiutos either, the first night we had to burn a birch tinder fungus to keep 'em eway.
It has withstood 3 nights of heavy rain, at the most some 50-60mm/day, and it let in just some drops of water in the fire area. The only drawback so far with the plastic is that it's very noisy in the rain.
I've staked it to the ground with eight DIY snow-/sand stakes made from angled alu profiles, 300mm long and 45x45mm I believe them where.
The plan is to keep it up all year round, we also have a Tentipi Safir 7, but that one's too expensive to keep up all the time.
The tarpaulin for this one cost like 25 pounds so it's bit cheaper than a Tentipi=D, and not so costly to replace when worn.

/Micke

edit: Eventually we'll use the lavvu for cold smoking meat and fish, the traditional way.

[Eric_Methven]

So by simple maths the radius of the lavvu will be 14,6/3,14/2=2,3m (r=O/pi/2)
The height will be (according to Pythagoras) the square root of 4*4 - 2,3*2,3=3,25m.

That's a cracking Laavu mate - but I'm so glad you did the "simple maths".

Eric

[adriatikfan]

Brilliant. I might have a go at this during the summer.

Best Wishes
David

[Spikey DaPikey]

Nice one

[benjy]

Was playing around with the sums to see sizes you can make from other tarps, and thought that other might benefit from the genralized formula.

All credit to the OP, as he did all the hard work and its a brilliant idea.





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[udamiano]

oooo sums, I luv sums, but i keep running out of fingers and your sums have letters in them

[MickeS]

Thanks Benjy for simplifying? my mildly confusing math explanation =D

So far - 22 nights in the lavvu...

[Andy2112]

Excellent post Micke, very interesting.

[TurboGirl]

Thats brilliant! Mmmm gonna have a play with that handy looking little program, and thanks for the equations, I'm just at planning stage ofa llavu and been struggling to get my head around it amidst christmas cooking... women? Multifunction? Nahhhhh