Cardboard tents - Page 2 - DIY Chatroom

Wildie · 11-04-2009, 09:37 PM

How about making the walls and roof from a woven cotton cloth, and then spray it with a wax to keep it from absorbing water.
This could then be folded or rolled for compact storage. Perhaps zippers could be sown in to prevent wind from blowing in!

Leah Frances · 11-04-2009, 10:15 PM

Raining on OP's disaster-preparedness-parade. But why go with cardboard. Tents work REALLY well. That's why they've been around for AGES. What goal are you trying to accomplish that a tent cannot? Because, it might help us help you.

- making something out of cardboard?
- making something warmer?

jogr · 11-06-2009, 06:23 PM

I agree with tents too - easier to ship, well established technology.

I really enjoyed wildies post - he described the traditional canvas tent used for years by early explorers, outfitters and Boy Scout Camps. Rugged and can last for years. The zippers would be an upgrade.

Plastic Brick · 11-06-2009, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Raining on OP's disaster-preparedness-parade. But why go with cardboard. Tents work REALLY well. That's why they've been around for AGES. What goal are you trying to accomplish that a tent cannot? Because, it might help us help you.

One word: sustainability

**Scuba_Dave** · 11-06-2009, 07:32 PM

Waxed cardboard...one word..............fire.....hmmmmmm

jogr · 11-06-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Brick

One word: sustainability

Three words: Cardboard ain't sustainable.

Wind, rain, fire (they're going to want heat and it will most likely be burning wood) and everyday wear and tear will be pretty hard on cardboard. And no insulation value. Have you thought about MgO SIPs?

Scuba - you beat me, I need to type faster.

Plastic Brick · 11-06-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

How about making the walls and roof from a woven cotton cloth, and then spray it with a wax to keep it from absorbing water.
This could then be folded or rolled for compact storage. Perhaps zippers could be sown in to prevent wind from blowing in!

Thats good, althougfh a bit expensive and involved. My project needs to be quick, easy, cheap, and envoronmentally friendly. After, say, 10,000 people get their power back on and and they abandon 10,000 tents, its better if the tents can decay naturally. If the inhabitants have diseases, the tents could be burned or buried afterwards with little pollution to the environment.

One problem that most likely occured with Katrina is the clean-up. The waste from houses and debris was not all environmentally friendly, whereas cardboard is. If the cardboard was treated with, say a natural wax, it would be water resistant and still be sustainable.

Plastic Brick · 11-06-2009, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Three words: Cardboard ain't sustainable.

Wind, rain, fire (they're going to want heat and it will most likely be burning wood) and everyday wear and tear will be pretty hard on cardboard. And no insulation value. Have you thought about MgO SIPs?

Scuba - you beat me, I need to type faster.

By sustainable I mean friendly to the environment after use; not how much abuse it can sustain.

Plastic Brick · 11-06-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Waxed cardboard...one word..............fire.....hmmmmmm

Now that's something to think about....maybe if the water sealant could be separate- like a waxed paper?

**Scuba_Dave** · 11-06-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plastic Brick

If the inhabitants have diseases, the tents could be burned or buried afterwards with little pollution to the environment.

One problem that most likely occured with Katrina is the clean-up. The waste from houses and debris was not all environmentally friendly, whereas cardboard is. If the cardboard was treated with, say a natural wax, it would be water resistant and still be sustainable.

The waste from Katrina was from peoples HOMES being destroyed
Are we talking about Temp housing or a new way to build houses??

Burning is not environmentally friendly in the least
Cotton used to make material is sustainable
Tents could be washed/sterilized/stored for re-use
One issue/challenge would be how often the "tent" (in any form) is needed
Cardboard or material would need to be treated/protected against bugs & mice
And cardboard would not really stand up that well to children

Plastic Brick · 11-06-2009, 09:55 PM

By the way, thanks everyone for criticising the idea. Its only bey criticism that ideas get better.

As for the wax cardboard being flammable; most houses are flammable too.

As for the "temp housing," these may last a week. Making them last longer may mean just using more cardboard for thicker walls.

You know what I really need to do? -post pics of the origami prototype.......

**Scuba_Dave** · 11-06-2009, 10:13 PM

Waxed cardboard is EXTREMELY flammable, I use it to start wood fires
You could light it up with a match
Houses not so much

Some people from Katrina were still in trailers 3 years later
....until they were found to be causing illness from cheap plywood used in the construction

Plastic Brick · 11-07-2009, 05:41 PM

Attached should be 5 images of the design. 4 more will be attached in the next post. Yeah, it is paper, but its a sheeet thats 13X17, so its about the thickness of a full-sized one made of real cardboard.

Plastic Brick · 11-07-2009, 05:44 PM

Every surface channels water down to the ground. The 4 bottom corners are anchored down. They could be covered with like a plastic material, because otherwise they would dissolve.

Plastic Brick · 11-09-2009, 12:22 PM

I checked with few people on the wilderness survival forums and they like the idea but said it needs to be bigger, wind is more of a problem than rain, and since entire families are displaced in hurricanes, they may need to be in bigger sizes.

By the way, I do know there is a big difference between a model and the real thing, and have seen "Flight of the Phoenix" many times.