Floors – Price Varies, check price list
A canvas floor fitted to the size and shape of your tent. Hidden grommets allow the use of small spikes to hold the floor in place.
I used to prefer rugs to a canvas floor, however, rugs are considerably more bulky to transport. Also, my research indicates that walking on rugs is probably a non-period practice (unless you are fabulously wealthy). Finally, I have found that in dusty, windy conditions a floor combined with sod cloths does help keep the inside of the tent cleaner.
Painted floor cloths (faux rugs) are a period practice, and I have a least a tiny bit of evidence for their use in tents, so, if you want to spice things up a bit, consider a fancy painted canvas floor.
Sod Cloths – Price Varies, check price list
Sod cloths/Mud flaps/Rot cloths are flaps of canvas sewn to the bottom edge of your walls to seal the wall to the ground. There are advantages and disadvantages to sod cloths, which is why they are optional.
- When combined with a floor they do a pretty good job of keeping blowing dust out.
- They may help to keep creepy crawlies out (and small pets in) especially combined with a floor
- They may help slightly in keeping the tent warm.
- They add bulk/weight/and cost.
- They make the walls somewhat harder to fold.
- Even in extremely windy conditions, the wind down at ground level is virtually nil. Very little wind penetrates into the tent.
- Even in very rainy conditions, water does not tend to come more than an inch or two under the walls.
- If you have situated your tent so poorly as to have a river running through it, sod cloths are probably not going to help.
- I have found very little (or no) evidence for sod cloths in period.
My suggestion is, if you want a floor, get sod cloths (to help keep the dust out), and if you don’t have or want a floor, give the sod cloths a miss too. If you frequently camp in dusty, windy conditions without much grass or other ground-cover, the combination is quite nice.
Stalwarts and Sod Cloths
Stalwarts are a bit different. They come with a dust ruffle bottom. This is not a true sod cloth. It comes down to meet the ground, but does not fold under. A dust ruffle does a decent job of sealing the edge against wind and dust and is definitely historical. True sod cloths can be added to the bottom of a dust ruffle as custom work if you really, really want that edge closed up. However, most folks find the dust ruffle to be a perfectly satisfactory solution on its own.
Door Closures
Standard Closure
Door panels overlap one full panel. Toggles inside and out. With the full panel overlap you can use the roof toggles to hold the door open or closed.
Ties – $25/door discount
Same full panel overlap. Replace toggles with ties inside and out. I personally prefer toggle to ties, but they do take longer to make (thus cost more).
Subtract a Door – $85/door discount
My tents come standard with the walls in two pieces, thus creating two doors. If you want, I can build the wall in one piece, eliminating a door. I don’t recommend this as you will no longer be able to catch cross breezes.
Add a Door – +$85/door
I can make the walls in three or more sections, thus creating more doors. Probably only useful for large tents.
Pole Bag – +$110 (for Essentials) included w/Stalwarts
A canvas bag sized to hold all your poles. has a double bottom and a 2″ wide shoulder strap for easy carrying.
Fancy Arched Door – +$110
Add an arched doorway. The standard overlapped door is still there for weather tightness. It looks cool, but doesn’t effect functionality one way or the other. Nice on round pavilions, might be doable on other styles.
Porch Canopy
Porch Canopy – +$330 (for Essentials +$40 if striped) +$440 (for Stalwarts)
A porch canopy for a round pavilion. As in the picture at the bottom of the round pavilion page. Includes poles, ropes, and stakes. It works well for sun and light rain, but because it is flat, should probably be taken down in heavy rain.
Ropes
Heavy Set-Up Lines – +$50
My standard set-up lines are 6mm (~1/4″) hemp. I can make heavy lines from 10mm hemp. This does not seem to be necessary from strength perspective. Some people like the look.
Perimeter ropes – +$10 or $15 ea (included w/Stalwarts)
These are ~12′ long hemp ropes with a eye-splice in one end and whipping on the other. Use 4-8 of them to replace a wall when setting up as a sunshade or add a few for extra stability in extreme wind conditions. $10ea (6mm) or $15ea (10mm)
Hempex Ropes – No extra cost
Substitute Hempex for hemp rope. Hempex is a three strand rope made from spun polypropylene. In appearance it is nearly indistinguishable from natural hemp. In the hand it is somewhat slippery. Is somewhat stronger than hemp, but the hemp is more than strong enough. It is essentially impervious to rot, but hopefully you are not putting your tent away wet anyhow. (Canvas, even Sunforger, WILL mildew if you put it away wet. Anyhow, I like the hemp better because it’s the real thing, but I offer Hempex at the same price, because my costs are the same for each.
Decorations
Seam Stripes
I sew the seams with a period style of seam that has a narrow bit of fabric covering the primary stitching. This naturally creates a stripe of fabric on each seam. I use Sunbrella fabric to make stripes and any other color accents. Sunbrella is a 9.5oz Acrylic canvas intended for architectural awnings. It is extremely colorfast, and the weave is almost identical to cotton canvas. You’d have to know what you are looking for to tell the difference. Available in Blue, Red, Green, Black, Yellow, and Purple.
Contact me for custom color availability.
Other appliqued decorations
The sky’s the limit here. Common choices are things like star peaks and diamonds or checks on the panels or valance. Let me know what you are interested in and we can make it happen. All of the fabric possibilities of stripes apply.
Fancy painted decorations
The jury is still out on this one. Others have reported good results and so far my experience has been promising. I just don’t have enough yet to call this official. If you want a fancy painted design, contact me and we’ll talk.