Tipi Construction

[Broncology]

I feel like this has probably been discussed before, but I wasn't able to find anything through searching.

Any made their own tipi from scratch or know of a good source for information? I have the poles, but am not sure of where to source the material for the cover. Wondering if I would be miles ahead to buy a cover already made by a number of manufacturers? Thanks for any help!

[rreidnauer]

Kola! Where are you?!?!

He was our resident tipi expert, but doesn't participate on the forums any more. He's still living year round in one in Colorado.

[rckclmbr428]

I miss Kola, I know Crazy Crow sells them, had some friends with canvas from there, they liked them http://www.crazycrow.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CCTP&Product_Code=6902-018&Category_Code=825-200-000 If you are planning on staying in it much I would suggest doing as our good friend Kola did, Build a large deck, and erect your tipi on the deck. keeps it up out of the mud. The other way to go is find 10-15 buffalo, kill and skin them, use their brains to tan the hide, scrap the hair of, use their tendons to sew them together, and then smoke it long enough to make it water proof.

[spiralsands]

Didn't Kola drywall the inside of that tipi? I know that sounds bizarre but I remember that for some reason.

[rreidnauer]

Ha! Yes he did. It was an effort to further insulate against the high elevation Colorado Winters.

[loghousenut]

If the Plains Indians had had access to hippie tarps they would have never needed Bison hides. For them it was all about finding a way to do it that made the most sense. They didn't have to worry that someone would coma along and chide them for being out of style. They only worried about keeping their families alive for another year or two.

I work at a place that sells a 2 pack of really thick 12'x16' tarps for $17. They are modern silver on one side and either brown or blue on the other. Several layers overlapped would last as long as all that hide and cost a lot less. Tradition vs. functionality... You have to find your own balance. My Dad used to say that the Indians would have traded slaves and wives for friction tape. That was before duct tape came along.

So anyway, I think you oughta cover your TeePee with something that is cheap, durable, and serviceable. Bison hides if you have a bunch of them and a wife or two to work with them... Hippie tarps if you don't.

[loghousenut]

How about used carpet!? Several layers. Free. Outer layer can be UV resistant and almost any combination of colors. Bury it when you are done with it. Heck, it'd even make a good floor and cold curtain.

[rawson]

Supposedly the back side of carpet is a good surface for applying a masonry stucco, that would make one high class stout tipi.

[loghousenut]

What kind of a man would cover up perfectly good junk carpet with STUCCO!!!!???



Then again, it might work.

[rawson]

What kind of a man would cover up perfectly good junk carpet with STUCCO!!!!???



Then again, it might work.
Only an average Joe, circa 2/1/54 would stucco carpet that be me, certainly you can relate or have sympathy with.

[WNYcabinplannin]

We made a 20' tipi out of a 20x40' tarp. Canvas, cotton duct, with waterproofing. About 400$. Used a line at mid point of long side to trace a semi circle. Cut it and used scraps to make smoke flaps. There are plans online.
The narrow side dictates the height of tipi- so a 15x30' will make a nice 15'er
:)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Broncology]

Thank you for all the help so far! Lots to think about. I would like to make it more long term than short, so the traditional cavas may be the way to go? I searched for thread/post made by Kola....must have been deleted after a certain time of inactivity had gone by?

[rckclmbr428]

Kola was a member on here for a while, he got upset by something and deleted everything he had ever posted and disappeared, tis a shame, pretty neat guy.

[loghousenut]

Only an average Joe, circa 2/1/54 would stucco carpet that be me, certainly you can relate or have sympathy with.

I defer to the elders of the group. Edit my previous post to include the phrase "Holy Cow... That stuccoing the carpet idea just HAS to work!!!".


Posted by an average Nut, circa 2/15/54.










PS... I really do think it'd work.

[BarstowRat]

I met my wife working at a summer camp up on NorCal 13 years ago this month (seems like forever). Well all the campers lived in like 20"+ tipis, and staff lived in tents (hippy commune). Wife said one of the ladies made all the tipis, guess she is in that industry, said she would make the coverings for our yurt at (family) cost. I'll ask the wife this weekend when she gets back in town for the info.

[BoFuller]

I'm amazed at the things I learn after 62 years. Two college degrees and to my recollection, I had never seen the word tipi before. I thought it was a poor phonetic attempt at spelling teepee, but upon looking it up, it appears tipi is the norm and teepee is the alternative. It just goes to show what one doesn't know. :)

[loghousenut]

Heck Bo, I'm sure you can't begin to guess all the stuff you don't know. For example did you know that the proper spelling for going #1 is really pipi?



And going #2 is pupu!





Don'tcha just love this forum! So much semi-useless information in such a streamlined package.

[rckclmbr428]

just for the record, #2 is #1 in my book

[spiralsands]

Heck Bo, I'm sure you can't begin to guess all the stuff you don't know. For example did you know that the proper spelling for going #1 is really pipi?



And going #2 is pupu!





Don'tcha just love this forum! So much semi-useless information in such a streamlined package.

And I pay good money to get this info to my laptop via fiber optic cable and wireless router. The world wide web at its best!

[rawson]

I defer to the elders of the group. Edit my previous post to include the phrase "Holy Cow... That stuccoing the carpet idea just HAS to work!!!".


Posted by an average Nut, circa 2/15/54.











PS... I really do think it'd work.

Well I think despite my elder status clout of two weeks it is trumped by a man with one of the biggest "Ridge Poles" in the west.

[Christofori]

I'm amazed at the things I learn after 62 years. Two college degrees and to my recollection, I had never seen the word tipi before. I thought it was a poor phonetic attempt at spelling teepee, but upon looking it up, it appears tipi is the norm and teepee is the alternative. It just goes to show what one doesn't know. :)

Patient: Doctor Doctor I can't work out if I'm a tipi or a teepee?

Doctor: I've examined you thoroughly and I want you to take two clonazepam, visit a Spa and take some Yoga.

Patient: But what was your diagnosis and prognosis?

Doctor: Well if you follow my proscription it should all work out for you by tomorrow!

Patient: But you've still not told me what's wrong with me, please Doctor tell we what's wrong?

Doctor: Oh sorry, it's so simple I thought I'd said it already... you are two tents!

I apologize for the old joke... but I really couldn't resist!:rolleyes:

[loghousenut]

Watch it, Mr. Fori... You're gonna fit right in here if you're not careful.

[Broncology]

With the advice, I think I WILL build a deck for the tipi/teepee :cool:. I'll probably scratch the idea of making my own cover and buy one already made. With this I don't feel the NEED to build every part of it myself as I do with the log cabin. The tipi will serve as a place to temporarily sleep while building the cabin.

[exsailor]

One of my hobbies is living history; we get together in primitive encampments and loosely recreate a Rocky Mountain Rendezvous. Tipis are common sites at these events. As was pointed out a number of sources are available for commercial traditional type tipis most will run you around $1500.00 depending on the size. Here is a listing of websites to check out: http://springvalleylodges.com/ http://www.pantherprimitives.com/tipis.html http://tentsmiths.com/period-tents-traditional-tipis.html
http://www.tipi.com/tipipoles/Tipi%20Instructions22.pdf this is a very well documented setting up tutorial
http://www.arcticcanadatrading.com/products/tents/traditional-northern-canvas-tipis/ http://www.tipiscanada.ca/page1/page1.html
http://www.whitebuffalolodges.com/index.html

Here is the one exception it is a book devoted to the living history topic and skill set. It teaches you how to layout on raw material, construct then set up your tipi. I find it available used and fairly inexpensive. Here is the title and author, "Mountainman crafts and Skills" by David Montgomery, it has a complete section on laying out cutting pieces and sewing a tipi. Enjoy

[Broncology]

Thank you for the links! I will have to spend some time lookin through them. I will look into the book, sounds like it would be very interesting even if I don't end up making the actual tipi myself. Thanks again for the information!

[greenthumb]

I am not sure what kind of tipi Kola ended up using, but I recall Montana Canvas being mentioned in the discussion of options he had available. http://www.montanacanvas.com/products/montana-lodge-tent

Yes, he did drywall and insulate because his canned goods kept freezing in the winter. He had a wood stove for heat and a camper LP stove for cooking. I admire his setup and independence. I've tried to contact him this year but the email addresses I have are no longer valid... hope the guy is doing well.

Another cheaper option is to use a billboard tarp. They usually come in 14x48, but sometimes you can get them bigger(we have a 26x48 tarp with a 45' high heineken bottle advertisement we use to keep our potato patch dry over the winter). These tarps are about $40 and you can find them on craigslist, or a few different internet retailers. The material is much more durable than the cheap blue tarps you find at the big box stores(sorry LHN), more like the pvc tarps that truckers use to keep loads dry. They tend to come in white or black on the blank side. I think they can be glued with vinyl glue, like pvc cement.

[jrdavis]

nudge -- Kola?
we talked about you with HIGH regard.
Idaho HIGH regard.
any comments?
Broncology is now an LHBA member and is on the forum...

[Kola]

I just saw this thread. Yeah I lived in my tipi up here in the Rockies for many years....first year, nothing but canvas and poles and a woodstove vented out the smoke flaps. The first winter I froze my petunias off and then framed it in and insulated it. Last fall after 7? years the canvas finally rotted out due to extreme weather and almost constant CO sunshine. I wanted to test myself, live off grid, haul in water..etc etc..barebones living. I played with gardening techniques which are a challenge up here with short summers, cold nights, hail and early snows. Root veggies do well and I built me a small greenhouse and later but a small fireplace inside as well. I could write a book on my life up here but don't have the time. You don't have a lot of free time when you are in survival mode, little money and older bones (I am 56....I think)

I bought the tipi and poles for a loner dude in Montana, he no longer makes them though. he cost me about 4 grand with shipping and the g-dang tipi poles were about 20 foot long. It was fun hauling them out 20 of them from the Fed Ex building in my 8 foot horse trailer with 12 foot hanging out the back whipping and bouncing around like a flyfishing rod. Of course the Oinkers pulled me over, I acted like a dumb redneck (easy to do) and they let me go...he just shook his head as he walked back to his baconmobile.

I could go on and on...yada yada. Bottom line...a tipi would be great in AZ, Fla or some place where the climate is better. I surely got a boatload of respect just thinking about how the Native Indians endured the harsh winters. Of course fur blankets were a must and heated rocks under ther beds helped ....but still, man..it's still gotta be rough as shite. Oh! and a pretty squaw to snuggle with probably kept things warmer. Here's some pics..any questions hit me up.

[Kola]

pics

22 ft round at the floor and about 15 foot high it wasn't tiny by any means, built her on a 22x22 ft deck, withstood 80 mph winds, hail, heavy snow, etc. Those savage Indians knew what they were doing. I must say it was romantic laying there at night, looking out the smokeflap opening and seeing the stars. The smokeflaps (when open) acted like big ear collectors and you could hear every sound from miles away...coyotes, chipmunks, woodpeckers, thunder, etc etc. When you had a fire going inside and went utside the tipi looked like one bigass lighted party cone and was super cool looking.

The guy who made the tipi said it took to 3 men to put it up. With my trock and my dog I did it myself......only to find out I measured wrong as the canvas was too high off the decking. I had to take the entire thing down, readjust it and put her back up. It went up like a breeze on the second go-round. lol.

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[Kola]

here's it morphing along as I dealt with new challenges (weather and such)

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[Kola]

here's it morphing along as I dealt with new challenges (weather and such), I built me a deck and a protective covering for my entrance way

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warmth and my sleeping bunk

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[Kola]

here's it morphing along as I dealt with new challenges (weather and such), I built me a deck and a protective covering for my entrance way

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warmth and my sleeping bunk...ad fur hat, two sleeping bags.

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[Kola]

having probs loading pics etc..hopefully the mods can delete the repeats////more to come. maybe.

[Septemberwheat]

That's an awesome tipi! Looks SO cozy!

[loghousenut]

It's no school bus, but for a teepee it'll do.