Revenge of the tarp

[supermanotorious]

Remember THIS old thread?

Well I've complied with the city for over a year. I have so much to do before Christmas and it was raining last night with rain in the forecast today. I said heck with it, tarp is going up even if just for the weekend.

While at HF getting the tarp, a new thought hit me. What if I came up with some sort of rail system for the top edge which has always been the biggest PITA with this system?!

I went to Southwest Steel Sales and got some 1"x 1" angle 1/8" wall, I welded some 2" x 1/8" flat stock coupons to the back and drilled mounting holes in them

I then took 1" x 1" x 1" aluminum C channel and made clamps by drilling and tapping holes

Now I can position the clamps in the tarp grommets infinitely along the rail!

Another win- the HF tarp now comes with almost as much as 3X many more grommets! Talk about saving me a little $ and a LOT of time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSb4lGqWGzg


oh yeah, the video was shot before the rail was installed, just had to get the tarp up ASAP

 

[supermanotorious]

huh?

 

[chancer]

Anyway! LOL
You know they sell Grommets to add and replace those on tarps. https://www.amazon.com/General-Tool...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=S48MB51FPG6DDVRQMMWJ
Pretty cheap too, they come with a punch thing and install with a hammer.

Is it your Birthday?

 

[Hellion]

Anyway! LOL
You know they sell Grommets to add and replace those on tarps.

You should read his other thread as he was way ahead of you on that note, genius.

 

[supermanotorious]

well I thought this rail setup was brilliant anyway

I do wish I had 1/4" thumb screws instead of bolts but Ace doesn't carry very many in their inventory, I'd have to have them order a couple boxes for me, now of course, I could convert these bolts in to thumb screws but my time and talent are needed elsewhere for now!

 

[itsid]

while thumbscrews are great for some occasions..
outdoor applications are not really one in my experience... even stainless bolts seize up at times...
so instead of using thumbscrews outdoors.. personally I have a socket with some griptape applied.
(doubling as a *thumbscrewhead* and receptacle for the ratchet )
if I'm in luck the socket alone will do, but if it doesn't I don't have to get the pliers out but can simply use the ratchet as usual

just sayin'

'sid

 

[chancer]

In most cases of outdoor use you would be correct Sid,
but he needs to put this up and down to keep the City happy.
Possibly even take it down in a hurry! ("what tarp I did not see a tarp")
So thumbscrews would be real handy here.

 

[itsid]

Oh yeah.. forgot about the quick remove..

may I ask what about tenax...
or even quicker a throughhole U-channel and simple untapped holes
(with just pins to pull out straight)

a number of ways are even quicker than thumbscrews
Anyways, thumbscrews are great.. I love them, but really a grip taped socket isn't slower to use really (well as long as it's not lost in an unknown drawer of course.. looking at the setup, it could sit on the first bolt and wait there for example)

Don't get me wrong, I love thumbscrews as much as the next guy maybe even more *gg*
but a hard rain and a few weeks and it'll take -what feels like- half an hour to remove one slightly seized zinc plated thumbscrew from an oxidized aluminium channel with bare hands.

So especially if it needs to be taken down quick, it's important that the setup as is is perfectly reliable....
and that's where outdoor-used-thumbscrews fail at times in my experience

'sid

 

[Kartorbust]

I would have thought about using fence wire or hooks.

 

[supermanotorious]

I would have thought about using fence wire or hooks.

that is exactly what is going on along the block wall at the other end of this tarp, but along the house, I need to to be all the way to the wall, it took me several years to come up with this system

as far as stainless, I have learned to ALWAYS use anti-seize with it

---------- Post added at 10:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 PM ----------

Oh yeah.. forgot about the quick remove..

may I ask what about tenax...
or even quicker a throughhole U-channel and simple untapped holes
(with just pins to pull out straight)
'sid

this was carefully thought through, these Chinese tarps are NEVER consistent in cuts, pattern, or spacing and number of grommets

so a pin system would require thousands of holes, I absolutely considered drilling them, what a PITA that would be, I also looked for pre-perforated steel but didn't look very hard as I found none

 

[Kartorbust]

Too bad a shed-in-a-box would possibly cause the city to get bent out of shape and they are not cheap, but do last pretty well, at least for putting cars and boats under them.

 

[itsid]

this was carefully thought through, these Chinese tarps are NEVER consistent in cuts, pattern, or spacing and number of grommets

so a pin system would require thousands of holes, I absolutely considered drilling them, what a PITA that would be, I also looked for pre-perforated steel but didn't look very hard as I found none

makes sense.. sad (the inconsistency) but makes sense..

the drilling not so much though.. same number of holes to drill if it weren't for the inconsistency and as a bonus no need to tap any of them (so enough time for twice as many holes really )

I hope the channel sections (or the bolts for that matter) will not deform over time due to the stress..
single pivoted bolt under side load...
that's not what you local mechanic would suggest in the long run

Anyways.. onyl time will tell how good this setup is,
it looks nice and clean for sure..
and if it'd be my first choice or not is not really relevant at all

'sid

 

[supermanotorious]

thanks, I hope it holds up, if not, I can always upgrade to steel C channel and grade 8 bolts

I am concerned that I may need to weld more flat stock to the angle to reduce stress on the angle, I'll have to watch it closely, the flat stock is spaced every 4 feet approximately, the span of 4 feet may not be strong enough for the tension of the tarp

all this and I may need to rapidly take it down after Christmas

but there is 100% chance of heavy rain TODAY, you see the video above from the other day- rain, and it's been raining almost every night, so maybe this is just for this week, but it's totally worth it

 

[supermanotorious]

wowsers, with all the wind and rain we're getting today, one mount needed reinforcements, the lag goes all the way through the 2x6 so the wood is getting soft and weak, no surprise given the age and it will accelerate now that all the nails were pulled on top, allowing moisture to get in to the stud

here you can also see how I'll need to make additional mounts out of flat stock

the good news is, with the tarp down, my rail gets to stay up, so when the forecast clears, I'll pull it down, weld additional mounts, maybe replace the 2x6... maybe, then paint the rail to rust proof it

 

[chancer]

So you can tell the City...
Its Just an Umbrella!

 

[supermanotorious]

and now I'm just showing off LOL

 

[chancer]

Yes you are! LOL
Here is a funny, My neighbor was wanting to build sheet metal poll barn for his motorhome and the county wanted Thousands of Dollars for permits. But they told him a Tarp Covered structure was considered temporary and he could build that for free without permits.

 

[supermanotorious]

If I were him, I'd build it out of sheet metal, then throw a tarp over it ha ha ha

obviously the lights are temporary, they'll go away when the tarp comes down, but I'm leaving the center pole up, and the hooks for the lights

 

[supermanotorious]

that @S$hole from the city drove by today, lucky I was out front sweeping at the time so either he wasnt after me, or didnt want a confrontation, as he left I quickly took the tarp down then followed him, he was parking in front of houses, taking photos and notes, I think he was out to write citations for sure, I guess I'll know over the next few days if he cares about the tarp, but at least he wont have photo evidence

 

[chancer]

I'd Move!