Benders

[Meadowcopse]

Mine was by Brockhouse too, fortunately yours looks like it has 5th wheel rather than the contortionists favourite - Ackerman steering.
Inside is lightly panelled with about 2 inches of insulation, a shuttered window at one end, stable door at the other and a couple of shrouded roof vents.

[oldclaypaws]

Bearwood said

If you want, you can have the current canvas main section

That is a very kind offer which I'd like to explore. Perhaps you could PM me to discuss sizes, shipping charges and logistics. If it sounds a good fit for what we need I'd be happy to cover 'shipping', but imagine it could be quite heavy / bulky and not easy to post. PM me. It would be useful on several levels and we believe in 'freecycling'. Remind me where you are.

A bender / tarp is intended as a short term solution to provide some occasional cover until either a caravan is scrounged or a building appears. There is a 30ft static caravan with wood burner in the field up the road, currently being used to house a lad who is a 'security' presence while the new farmhouse is built, its nearing completion. The very friendly farm owner has said the caravan will be 'surplus to requirements', but no costs (if any) have been mentioned. He's not short of a few bob and we are on excellent terms so I'd hope for a bargain.

Ideally, I want my Oak building, but it'll be a labour of love (or will kill me in the process- nice venue for the funeral though). I'd like to use our Oak, but there's the question of selecting, moving and milling the Oak, an attractive character design, assembly, and all the other bits and bobs like our own chestnut shingles, boarding, fittings. Hopefully it'll happen but I'm currently reclaiming the jungle, exploring contractors & mills and the logistics of using the wind fallen oaks. The weather hasn't helped, far from getting access to the wind falls to study them, more are freshly stacking up. Confident though, we're less than 2 years into ownership and my health situation is vastly improved. Without 5 days a week in a shop I also have ample free time to focus on the wood, its currently my 'main thing' rather than distractions like 'work'.

[oldclaypaws]

Because one of the main reasons I need a shelter is to protect customers and stock from getting saturated during my 'woodland craft exhibition', and the wood is very dark anyway, I'm thinking maybe a 'clear tarp' might be a good strategy. Not sure how durable 175grm is, but found this on Evilbay. It would enable a quite light and airy feel to the shelter, so we could have all the craft work underneath and the punters would still be able to inspect it carefully without fumbling around in pitch darkness. Its all a matter of what purpose you need it for, light it important to us, makes sense and pretty affordable.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120689407836?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

[Bearwood]

Reading this it seems that all three of us are on the same path towards a reasonably weatherproof abode within the woods. Maybe it would be a good idea to start another thread with folks' progress and photos of the build etc. I've been frequenting both the UK Hippy and Tribal Living forums a lot recently as the van - dwelling community tend to do this kinda thing out of necessity.

[Dexter's Shed]

Because one of the main reasons I need a shelter is to protect customers and stock from getting saturated during my 'woodland craft exhibition', and the wood is very dark anyway, I'm thinking maybe a 'clear tarp' might be a good strategy. Not sure how durable 175grm is, but found this on Evilbay. It would enable a quite light and airy feel to the shelter, so we could have all the craft work underneath and the punters would still be able to inspect it carefully without fumbling around in pitch darkness. Its all a matter of what purpose you need it for, light it important to us, makes sense and pretty affordable.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120689407836?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

we bought one of these around 3yrs ago, it has stood being covered in snow and only just given up the ghost in the recent gales

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Polytunnel-Ga ... 1e7760a9dc

the tarp in ours was as stated 150grm, so the one you have found will be even stronger

[oldclaypaws]

Thats good to know Dextrous. At £30 squid it'll be good value if it does us 3 or more years, but as it would not be out all weathers it might last longer. I quite fancy sitting under it with Mrs Paws having 'a picnic in the rain', watching the drips run down. Could be like a 'mobile conservatory'

Getting quite exciting about a 'den' in the wood, it should enable us to have more social occasions there. Our little picnics with friends and family the last couple of years are already taking their place in my favourite memories, and they all now ask us 'can we come to the wood?. Cutest is a little lad of 5, son of a friend, who calls it 'the forest'.

The only observation about the polytunnel which I'm not keen on, it's not very aesthetic or folky, more 'agricultural' (not surprising!), and you're paying for all the struts. We're very Hazel-rich, with 100's of stools, so some sort of woven Hazel nest / cage is very do-able and would look more sympathetic. It may even be possible to carefully weave together a couple of adjacent living Hazels to make a roof, leaving on the foliage to make a kind of 'living tent' ? Could be funky, and might even keep the squirrels off my nuts.

[splodger]

i don't think you'd be able to make a 10ft x 20ft bender from mostly hazel - the young flexible rods that you need for weaving go brittle very easily - woven panels can last a while when made well and positioned in a way to last - but i don't think they would be able to take much in the way of weight - from a tarp - unless really tightly woven - which would in effect, take out any chance of natural light - if used on the roof. liokewise a "living" structure would not provide any natural light - so your desire to use hazel and a see-through tarp sort of negate each other.
larger hazel if in or touching the ground will rot quicker than other woods - so won't last long as uprights/supports

if you need a shelter - i think you'd be better off with a simple rectangle shaped footprint with a simple sloping roof - you can use living trees as uprights, if you have well position & straight enough examples. simply tie strong poles at desired heights - each end of shelter to your uprights - then get long poles that can support the roof - and fix these to your cross pieces. - chuck over a tarp - sheler done. you can spruce it up by making low walls with fixed hurdles if you want - but you'll be amazed at how many weaving rods you'd need for a tidy, tight weave 3ft high wall - probably 300 or so for a 10ft length of wall. it will be easier to make it as a fixed hurdle wall instead of loose panels - but don't use hazel for the stakes

not the prettiest example - but this is a temp shelter we put up - so that we can store and saw wood for logs - when weather bad

condensation is a problem when using tarp - and water, fallen leaves etc can collect quickly and sag the roof - and this can be tricky to clear

we prefer to use tin sheets for roofing material - same principle, just more robust

but for a really good looking shelter - i don't think you can beat one of these - this one looks quite sad at mo - but it's wether proof, comfy and secure

[oldclaypaws]

Its interesting to hear and see everybody's various structures, keep them coming.

I've two different 'projects' under consideration. The 'bender' which started this thread will be very temporary and mainly aimed at providing a rainproof airy shelter in September during a Craft Exhibition, and occasional cover when the mood takes us for family & friend gatherings. I've time to play around with different arrangements and find the most workable design during the spring and summer beforehand. We can try bendy Hazel, ridged Hazel, ropes and whatever else, supporting a cheap clear tarp roof. Its takes me back to my kiddy den-building days, but with a bigger budget (£50 versus £0). I'm no Ray Mears, but generally pretty practical and inventive, so it'll happen. I have built a permanent medium sized building to house my kiln, the kiln itself, stone mantlepieces, dry stone walls, and kitted out a shop, so a bender is comparatively simple.

Project 2 may start sooner than I think, as I'm impatient and feeling up to a challenge, thats our Oak building. Pulling together quite a few thoughts, but thats another thread. Might buy a mobile mill as a cheaper option and good long term kit to have, rather than using 3rd parties.

[Jack_inthe_Green]

I realise this is a bit late, but might be interesting to anyone who likes benders.

before covers go on

covered up