Give your tent a longer life for $5

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February 25, 1999

Give your tent a longer life for $5

By KRISTIN HOSTETTER
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Rocks, roots, sticks, stones, grit, sand, mud, muck and sap -- these are just some of the things that can wreak havoc on the thin nylon floor of your tent. Not to mention the fact that water can seep through, if the floor isn't properly sealed.

If you could spend five bucks and 15 minutes to ensure that your tent floor could withstand just about anything nature chooses to hurl at it, would you? Of course you would!

Five bucks and 15 minutes is all it takes to make a durable, custom-fitted ground sheet for your tent.

For materials you'll need a large sheet of waterproof material. You've got loads of options: an old shower curtain, a piece of polyethylene from the hardware store, nylon from a fabric store, even a piece of Tyvek housewrap scavenged from a construction sight.

(Tyvek may be free and extremely lightweight, but it's not the most durable choice. In fact, it'll probably last you only a single season.)

You'll also need scissors, a marker, and some grommets (optional).

Step 1: Lay the uncut ground sheet out and set up your tent on top of it (sans rainfly and vestibule.) Stake the tent out tautly.

Step 2: Using the marker, trace the outline of the tent.

Step 3: Except when using nylon (see Step 4), trim the excess off, following an invisible line that is 2 inches inside the line you traced. This is to prevent any exposed fabric, which will direct rain underneath your floor. This is very important! When your trimming is complete, no portion of the ground sheet should extend beyond the footprint of the tent.

Optional Step 4: If you plan on using nylon (a good choice because of its light weight and durability), disregard Step 3 and cut exactly along the traced line. Then sew a two-inch hem around the perimeter of the ground sheet to prevent fraying.

Optional Step 5: Instead of cutting uniformly 2 inches inside your tracing, leave the corners on the line and cut the sides inward in an arc. Then attach grommets to the corners. By looping the grommets over the tent pole tips, you've firmly attached the ground sheet. Plus you can use it as a pack cover in the rain, a cooking shelter or a vestibule extension.

Barry and Hilda Anderson's new book, the updated and expanded "Short Trips in the Pacific Northwest," is now in area bookstores. For an autographed copy, send $16 plus $3 to cover shipping, handling and sales tax to Short Trips, P.O. Box 1555, Port Townsend, WA 98368.