I just got back from Burning Man this year. It was an awesome time. I went with 7 friends and we decided to DIY our own shade structure. We followed Jon Starbuck’s design (archive.org link<\/a>) which uses a 20’x20′ aluminet tarp stretched between four 7′ tall 2×4 corner posts, with a 10′ tall center post, plus a 20’x10′ sloper on the east side.<\/p>\n The total cost was around $480 dollars (about $390 without the sloper). It easily fit four tents plus plenty of room in the middle as a kitchen \/ sitting area. Total prep time was about 2 hours plus a practice run to set it up once. In the desert, it took five people somewhere between one and two hours to set up. It provided pretty good shade from sunrise until about 3:30pm. After around 5:30pm, our tents provided good shade from the west.<\/p>\n
| Item<\/th> | Price<\/th> | Notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|
| 20'x20' aluminet<\/td> | $200<\/td> | with nylon webbing and pre-sewn grommets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 20'x10' aluminet<\/td> | $90<\/td> | with nylon webbing and pre-sewn grommets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 100' static rope<\/td> | $15<\/td> | We got cheap rope. It worked, but it was pretty shot afterwards.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 8x ratchet straps<\/td> | $35<\/td> | We got two packs of four, 16' long. These only need to go from the top of the pole to the bottom, with about a ~30 degree angle, but 16' was no more expensive than 10'.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 4x 8' 2x4s<\/td> | $13<\/td> | We had the staff at Home Depot cut these exactly in half to make a total of 8 four foot sections. These are for the corner poles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 3x 5' 2x4s<\/td> | $5<\/td> | We bought one 10' board and had it cut in half, then scrounged another spare 5' section from scrap. These are for the center pole.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 4x 3\/8\" x 6\" eyebolts<\/td> | $5<\/td> | These are where the rope will pass. We got all hardware in 3\/8\" diameter. Pick whatever (as long as it's not tiny), but be consistent!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 18x 3\/8\" x 4\" hex head cap screws<\/td> | $15<\/td> | We got 18 bolts (3 for each corner post and 6 for the center post). Make sure to get them long enough to go through two 2x4s. Also, especially if you suck at drilling like me, having threads only on the last inch of the bolt is very nice.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 100x 3\/8\" washers<\/td> | $11<\/td> | We bought a ton of washers. It was way easier than figuring out exactly how many we'd need.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 100x 3\/8\" nuts<\/td> | $10<\/td> | Ditto.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 100x black zipties<\/td> | $15<\/td> | The tarps will be zip-tied to the rope. Also, I used a ton of these things to fix random stuff that broke on the Playa. Get decent ones. I'm not including a link because the ones that I bought broke a lot. They worked, but I'd have much rather had better ones.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 100' paracord<\/td> | $15<\/td> | We also used this for a lot of repairs and tie-downs. I suggest getting some reflective paracord as well, because it's much easier to see in the night.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 14x 3\/8\"x3' rebar<\/td> | $27<\/td> | We got 2' rebar. Get 3'. Also, get more than you think you need. Don't forget your tents.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 14x tennis balls<\/td> | $15<\/td> | You put the tennis balls over your rebar, or you will eventually injure yourself by stepping on it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 8x 1\/4\"-5\/8\" hose clamps<\/td> | $6<\/td> | These are part of a system for attaching to the rebar. Get extras!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 8x 1\/2\" fender washers<\/td> | $3<\/td> | These are part of a system for attaching to the rebar. Get extras!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n We made a number of modifications to Jon’s design:<\/p>\n
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![\"Camp](\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3053\/2848590495_1df1f5c47c.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Rebar,](\"https:\/\/aftbit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-05-19.40.58.jpg\")
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