A Tour of My Home

Welcome to a tour of my home! I live in a 12' x 14' canvas wall tent, and here's how the whole thing is put together!

Foundation and platform

My tent rests on top of a wooden platform that is constructed very much like a traditional deck. The platform rests on dry-stacked masonry blocks and is covered with 3/4" plywood (not shown). The wooden platform is not attached to the blocks, but just sits on top.

Masonry blocks and platform joists, ready for plywood subflooring

 

Canvas tent

The tent itself has an internal metal frame fashioned from 1" metal conduit and welded angle brackets (not shown). The internal metal frame is not attached to the platform, but just sits on top. The only thing that holds the whole contraption together is gravity, some ropes that secure the bottom of the canvas to the platform, and more rope that attach the top of the tent to stakes in the ground. The stakes are 2 1/2' pieces of 3/4" metal conduit driven into the ground with only about 3" revealed. The ropes have a 300 lbs working load. It's like a scene from Gulliver's Travels!

The canvas inner sanctum

 

Rainfly

Even though the canvas is waterproof, I still added a separate rainfly. My current rainfly is a 20' x 30' poly tarp. I'll upgrade it to a 25' x 30' vinyl tarp before winter. The rainfly is designed as a totally separate structure that flys a foot or so above the tent. This keeps snow loads off the metal tent frame, and allows air to circulate between the fly and canvas during summer months.

My initial design for the rainfly support consisted of two poles, one at front and one at back, connected by a strong rope and staked to the ground. It was sort of like a clothes line that the rainfly draped over. This design got me through one of the warmest Virginia winters in recent history! :) Actually, I'm very thankful that the winter of 2011-2012 produced so little snow in Virginia because I'm not sure how much load this structure would have tolerated. I upgraded this system in September of 2012 after a lot of trial-and-error. The new system is really just a beefed-up version of this original system.

20' x 30' poly tarp serves as a rainfly

With the platform built and my rainfly in place, I'm high and dry! I have never had any problems with moisture in the tent. And I'm prolonging the life of my canvas, albeit at the sacrifice of my protective rainfly. But then again, the tarp is 1/3 the cost of the canvas, and much easier to replace.

Finished exterior

Now, to finish the exterior, I added a wooden and Plexiglas door that I custom-built to fit this particular tent, a small 3' x 4' porch, and stair steps up to the entrance. A kerosene lantern lights the way!

My front door

 

Kitchen

My original kitchen consisted of a piece of plywood between two shelves.

Original kitchen

In October of 2012, I installed a new kitchen. The new kitchen is a definite improvement over my original make-shift setup.

New kitchen

I cook on a two-burner gas camping stove that is fuelled by a 20 lbs propane tank that stays outside the tent. A 10' adaptor hose connects the two. A single tank of fuel lasts more than two months, which is pretty good considering I heat most of my water on the gas stove.

Bedroom

I sleep on one of the most comfortable beds that I've ever owned! It sits on a sturdy frame made from 2 x 6s and a 3/4" plywood top, sort of like a workbench. The frame is pretty high, giving me plenty of storage underneath. The bedding consists of a futon mattress piled high with a variety of blankets and sleeping bags, and a feather comforter. It's a nest! And believe me, in the middle of those cold winter nights when the wood stove has burned down to coals, it's my best friend!

Bedroom

 

 

Bathroom

Okay, it's time to talk about my bathroom. This is where I always get a *lot* of questions, so let's get started!

Let me first say that my bathroom is...unconventional. And although it's fully functional (and by that I mean that you can do everything in this bathroom that you can in a modern American bathroom, and I mean *everything*) the way that you operate this bathroom is very different from what most people have ever experienced. (I actually give my first-time overnight guests a small training class on how to operate this bathroom!)

I'll add a separate post that goes into great detail about my bathing and personal hygiene, which is a *huge* topic, and one that I get asked about a lot. It's certainly deserves it's own post (in fact, the topic of solid human waste alone is probably worth an entire blog! :) ). But for now, let me just introduce you to how my bathroom is designed.

My bathroom consists of the following items and fixture:

• Earth closet (EC, a.k.a. toilet). You can read all about my tent toilet in a separate post.
• Dump sink. This is one of the most convenient fixtures in my bathroom. The dump sink is plumbed to a dry well. I use the dump sink for grey water. It sure beats going outdoors to dump waste water, and it's more sanitary.
• Water containers. I carry in my water, and sit the water containers in my bathroom.
• Wash tub. I do all of my washing in a white enamel wash tub.
• Hot water pot. I use a stainless steel pot for hot water. I heat the water on my gas stove, then sit the pot on the bathroom vanity.

My original bathroom consisted of a piece of plywood on top of two wooden stools.

Original bathroom

 In October of 2012, I installed a new bath. I'm really happy with this one.

New bathroom

 

Wood stove

In the winter I heat my tent with a Yukon II wood stove. It has a 2 cubic foot firebox which provides a 6 to 8 hour burn time. The stove is specially designed for tents. It's lightweight and easy to install and remove. In fact, I remove the stove in the spring to make room for a clothes closet and extra seating for guests.

The Yukon II has a tent heating capacity of 14' x 16' at zero degrees, and 10' x 12' at 30 below. It really does the job, even during those bitter-cold, windy winter nights, as long as you tend to it properly.

I ordered my canvas tent with a pre-installed stove jack in the back wall. The stove jack consists of a sewn-in piece of heat-resistant fabric with a 5" hole in the center, just the right size to receive the 5" stove pipe required by the Yukon II. I just run 5" stove pipe from the stove, right out through the stove jack, and then extend it out and up, well away from the tent and rainfly. I'll add a separate post on wood stove installation and usage when I set it up again in the fall.

Wood stove