Cave Mark #3

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I’d had some very useful comments on my previous “cave” blogs – I suddenly remembered that I had a windbreak, and could put that up in a U-shape to provide the required shelter and seclusion.

So, burrowed into the back of the shed, and brought it out – it’s a nice leaf-pattern (the only non-lairy one I’ve ever seen, which is why I bought it, even though I didn’t need it at the time – by the time I did need it I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it again).

It had been rolled up for years, and did not want to open – the base of the material seemed to have stuck together, so that some of the pattern came off on the inside of the piece that had been over it.

When I tried to put it up, I discovered that the screen seemed to be glued to the bottoms of the poles, I could not move it up at all

The only way I could get the material off the poles was by ripping the stitching that made the pockets for each pole – even for me that didn’t take much effort, so it would probably have split at the first breath of wind anyway.

Some of the poles were extremely warped, and the bottoms were whitened with something that had glued the poles to the pockets.

I could maybe put the poles up on their own, but how to re-attach the material?

I cut the material into four, intending to try to fix each separately between pairs of poles – I needed a hole-maker to start setting the poles (not bad, I only missed and hit my own hand once) – I used one of the panels to work out how far to space the poles

Made a much smaller space than I’d envisaged, but carried on anyway to see what it might end up as

Decided to brace the poles for added support – had to use that rotten nylon twine as it was all I had.

Next step was to work out how to fit the panels: I’d thought of using canes to make a frame, gluing the material to that (I bought a tube of external No-Nails!) and then tying the sticking-out bits of cane to the poles. I’ve got only a few small clamps, not enough to do more than one at a time, let it dry, then do the next, which is a bit dot-and-carry, unless I could use my larger clothes pegs.

But that could be done indoors, and would have to be, as I didn’t have anywhere to work outside (didn’t have anywhere to work inside, come to that, other than the kitchen floor, but at least that wasn’t dependent on the weather, and it was level). Besides, by this time it was starting to get dark, and I thought I’d done enough outside for one day.

That was a couple of days ago and I’ve done nothing more yet: apart from anything else, I need to clear the kitchen enough to allow me to work on the floor without being in my own light and in my own way – can just see me going back and forth doing cooking while there’s a trip hazard just waiting to pounce!

And then I suddenly remembered that I had something else that could be pressed into service. Last year I’d bought a Big Bite eyelet punch; was a bit of a prob learning how to use it (instructions in tiny French!) but I thought that setting eyelets in the panels would be much easier than making frames and gluing the material to them – just put in eyelets and tie the panels to the poles.

Also, I’d been wondering what to roof it with, and how. Went to Wilco’s during the week, wandered around and found their “sale” corner – they had a small cover for chair (I think: hard to tell, tiny pic) that was reduced because the packaging was damaged. Thought, I can cut that into one long piece and hey presto, there’s my roof. It already has eyelets on what will be one side, I just need to add more to the other side.

I just need to get out the Big Bite, punch holes in the panels and one side of the roof, set eyelets, and then the “construction” can be completed.

Guess what I’ve been tearing my hair out trying to find for the last two days? Go on, just take a wild guess …

• 20 Oct, 2014
• 7 likes

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