The dayshade lives!

[melaniesuzanne]

Hubbyfink and I erected the dayshade behind the neighbor's house (the land is slightly flatter) this morning so we (meaning he) could spray the shade down with Canvak. I snapped photos before the spraying began.

	Dayshade front, 6/13/09. The design on the valance is composed of two stencils: the blue curliques and the gold medallions. The curlique stencil has lotus flowers as well, but I taped over them.
	Dayshade side, 6/13/09. The poles in front are 7' and the poles in back are 6.5'. With ropes, the shade's footprint is approx 16'x16'.
	Dayshade rear, 6/13/09.

We also worked on the clothing rack by cutting down the uprights and rod to the correct lengths and staining the rod. I need to look for the appropriately sized bit to make the holes for the rod, make those holes, give everything a good sanding and then stain the uprights. At this rate, the only Pennsic project left will be painting the pavilion. Oof.

Comments

Re: That's awesome!

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

We found 2"x2"x8' pressure-treated poles at the local home improvement store over in the deck and garden section of the lumber area. Scott cut the poles to length, but I've been able to get the employees to cut boards and poles to length for me. The next step was to drill holes in the ends for the pins. He cut bar stock -- sort of like rebar, but thinner and smooth -- into three inch or so sections and glued those into the holes. Voila, tent poles!

My original idea was to use wooden closet rods, but when we found the poles I had to use those.

Our next step will be to cut a ridge pole to length (it's a 10' wooden closet rod) so the back portion of the shade doesn't droop between the back poles. We'll also need to cut it in half and attach a metal sleeve in the middle. While we can fit eight foot poles in the Prius with minor discomfort, ten footers just won't fit. And unlike the Jeep, the Prius doesn't have a roof rack.

My friends used canvas painters tarps for their last shade fly and it worked really well until it was devoured by mildew.

[greta-k.livejournal.com]

"My friends used canvas painters tarps for their last shade fly and it worked really well until it was devoured by mildew."

1) The mildew was a direct result of not being able to set it up to dry in a timely manner and

2) It now has a number of very pretty (and completely period) colors!

[kittyblue.livejournal.com]

Note to self: actually lay canvas out to dry after use on wet days. :)

(One person I camped with just invested in disposable painters' plastic for the flooring, since it was a once-yearly sort of camping trip and there was nowhere to lay things out to dry back home.)

Re: That's awesome!

[kittyblue.livejournal.com]

So, if I don't really have the drill-fu and something to cut rebar, would finding thick nails to pound in partway work? Or do you think that might split the wood? (Or just not hold up at all if a breeze kicked up?)

(I'm trying to come up with an option that doesn't involve me renting tools that I would most likely kill or maim myself with, yanno?)

Mostly, I'm looking to create a shade that fits in the back of my car and can be set up easily for a one-day sort of sunny event in which shade is needed. (Being able to load the car in two trips or less is a big plus, too.)