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185 | September 23, 2008 |
My Tiltable Aluminet Shade Structure
Ok, so I haven't mentioned this before but I built a tiltable Aluminet shade structure. The Aluminet is 10' wide and 20' long, and when it's tilted straight overhead it's about 8' high. On the long sides I have polypropylene ropes (the yellow rope) for tension (which may need to be replaced with something more appropriate / wear-resistant). I bought the Aluminet with 1' grommet holes on a seam all the way around. On the long sides, I used links from a decorative chain to connect to the rope (it was the cheapest way to get a bunch of links that could hold about 35 pounds each: over 100 links for $8 or so.)
The structure is held up by two poles on each narrow end of Aluminet which attach to the tensioning ropes on each corner. On each end of the structure, there's a pivot, and the other ends of the poles meet there: one pivot at each end where two poles meet. Tension is achieved with ratcheting straps that go to an anchor in-line with the axis-of-pivot. To position the pivot, two cinching tie-downs are used on each end and also can be used to add tension across the narrow 10' width of the Aluminet to remove sag in the middle.
I set up anchoring bars that attach to the pivot (which are where the cinching straps attach to) and are anchored by rebar at opposing 45-degree angles -- it stays quite tight. The pivot tends to drive into the ground over time, so it's got some leveling bars to keep it above the surface. The anchor for the main tensioning ropes is also attached to the pivot axis about 4' away from the pivot location -- at first I didn't do that but I found that the anchor tended to spin around the rebar and free itself easily.
To disassemble it all, I remove the cinching straps and fold over the Aluminet onto the ground, then remove the ratcheting straps. Once everything is loose, the pivot comes right apart and everything slides neatly off the rebar.
I also put loops of rope at 2 points in the middle of the 20' lengths: 3' from one end and 5' from the other end. Thus, I can set up the ends 20' apart, or I could go to the 3' loop and get 17', or to the 5' for 15', just the middle for 12', or fold it in half for 10'.
I plan to bring it to Burning Man this year and set up its pivot axis roughly north-south. Then I can pivot it around as the sun moves so the shade stays on me.
The structure is held up by two poles on each narrow end of Aluminet which attach to the tensioning ropes on each corner. On each end of the structure, there's a pivot, and the other ends of the poles meet there: one pivot at each end where two poles meet. Tension is achieved with ratcheting straps that go to an anchor in-line with the axis-of-pivot. To position the pivot, two cinching tie-downs are used on each end and also can be used to add tension across the narrow 10' width of the Aluminet to remove sag in the middle.
I set up anchoring bars that attach to the pivot (which are where the cinching straps attach to) and are anchored by rebar at opposing 45-degree angles -- it stays quite tight. The pivot tends to drive into the ground over time, so it's got some leveling bars to keep it above the surface. The anchor for the main tensioning ropes is also attached to the pivot axis about 4' away from the pivot location -- at first I didn't do that but I found that the anchor tended to spin around the rebar and free itself easily.
To disassemble it all, I remove the cinching straps and fold over the Aluminet onto the ground, then remove the ratcheting straps. Once everything is loose, the pivot comes right apart and everything slides neatly off the rebar.
I also put loops of rope at 2 points in the middle of the 20' lengths: 3' from one end and 5' from the other end. Thus, I can set up the ends 20' apart, or I could go to the 3' loop and get 17', or to the 5' for 15', just the middle for 12', or fold it in half for 10'.
I plan to bring it to Burning Man this year and set up its pivot axis roughly north-south. Then I can pivot it around as the sun moves so the shade stays on me.