Does anyone have experience using the building product Tyvek as a shelter?

I am looking for a web site that might have plans/suggestions for making a good shelter or tent.

Thanks in advance.

Just treat it as a tarp. Tie small rocks on the edges to make guy line points and have at it. By the time you get the appropriate spray glue and sewing time you would be better off just buying a small tent.

I have some experience with tyvek clothing. It works fine as an expendable item - like coveralls you might use, get filthy and then toss.

In fabricating something more elaborate, I would use silnylon, a fabric that is much more durable, making the investment of my time more plausible.

How would tyvek stand up to even moderate winds - say 35 to 45 mph? I have no idea, but I'll bet there are more suitable materials.

Tyvek and Barricade building wraps are quite strong. Stronger than the Tyvek typically used in industrial disposable coveralls. Both of those brands are rated for 90 days exposure to UV as I understand it. Which is better most tents. Nylon on tents is thin and susceptible to UV.

Nylon tents in my experience have lasted much longer than 90 days, even when predominately used in a high altitude environment. They are susceptible, however, and will rot out. In recent years many tent flys are fashioned from polyester which resists UV much better.

Thanks for the distinction between grades of tyvek. How does the construction stuff perform in high winds?

"How does the construction stuff perform in high winds?"

DuPont says it has high tear and wind load resistance, and can withstand 270 days of UV exposure. Water will roll off, but vapor can pass through. Car covers are made from it.

Sue

Yes. It works. I don't think it is as good as polytarp for most uses but it can make a decent tarp or tent.
Here is an idea of what is possible.
http://www.tarptent.com/sublite.html
But you likely won't get so fancy with yours.

If you are using it for covering a shed it works too.

Tyvek has been used for sails on cheap people's boats. Hey, it is cheap and it works.

Anybody know if Tyvek keeps mice out? Do they avoid it or chew right through it?

I can't imagine why they wouldn't drill right through it, depending on their motivation (sensing food or not).

A friend of mine left some M&Ms in a parks pocket, throwing it into his tent. Mice came right up through the ground cloth, tent floor, and parka to nibble on the goodies. A good example of why you should not keep food in a tent.

Just don't get Tyvek enviro suits made with pastel yellow tyvek. We learned the hard way that bees like that color of yellow, a lot!

Sharks like that color, too - "yum yum yellow"

The rating for construction products are generally very conservative. I made a conservative guess of my own at ninety days. After looking it up I find that Barricade gives you four months.

Tyvek offers:
2. DuPont requires that DuPont
™ Tyvek® CommercialWrap® and DuPont
™ Tyvek®
CommercialWrap® D be covered within nine (9) months (270 days) of its
installation. DuPont™ Tyvek® ThermaWrap™ must be covered within four (4) months
(120 days) of its installation.

If they fail inside that time they replace it or refund purchase price.

For non-critical uses I would think one-and-a-half to twice the rating is reasonable. Until degraded by UV or weathering both of these house wraps are quite strong. Their resistance to wind would be limited, IMO, by the system used to tie them down.

Also while high quality mountaineering tents are pretty tough, it would be interesting to try to look up their expected UV resistance, I have seen discount store tents degrade to nothing in a few weeks of strong sunshine. I have seen the nylon on the south side so tender that it was hard to wad up to throw away. On the other hand the north side was still pretty strong.

Ah yes, you tend to get what you pay for. My experience with better quality tents (REI, TNF) in extended use has been much more satisfactory - no noticeable degradation after several month's of service.

Yes/No. Even the discount store tents are much better than they used to be ten years ago. Used to be all they carried were very marginal 'pup tent' designs that were overprices for what they were.

Now they have functional and fairly well made domes and screen rooms. Often made by major manufacturers. Sometimes under a pseudonym or store brand. They aren't full featured, 'bombproof' units suitable for long term and extreme conditions. Your not going to be making a summit attempt on K-2 with one but there are quite a few I have seen for less than $100 that are entirely up to short term three-season camping. I even camped with a couple brought by friends. I usually go for a tarp and light bivy but when in Rome...

Even a discount store tent could be quite valuable as shelter and a place to store supplies in the weeks after a major disaster. And if they degrade to uselessness while they are being used they will have served their purpose. At a very reasonable price.

If another thread (the "foreshock" in CA) has any validity, which I doubt, I will be setting up a tent city in the backyard, using both a Costco special and some better quality, but smaller, tents. Expect an extended field review in the distant future, I hope.

Actually, one of the key determinants in tent quality is the pole material. Fiberglass = cheap. Aluminum = suited for more severe service. Any tent will be trashed if it is not set up properly in a suitable, sheltered, location.

My materials include lots of tarps and plenty of supplemental rope, especially for the cheapo tent, the darling of my DW, who prizes her ability to stand up in the darn thing.

My nylon tent (good quality EMS brand) lasted fine, except I started storing it in the attic. Bad idea, the high heat (or variable temps) caused all of the seam seals to separate, eliminating the water proofing for the rain fly and other parts. All tents now stored in the basement (up off the floor).

How long of an exposure before UV degradation becomes an issue for nylon? I know my tents are not out of storage & at the campsite nearly as much as I would like, so I don't see UV as a big issue.

Perhaps Tyvek would work for a tent/tarp in arid conditions but I would hesitate to use it outside of summer or in wet environments. Especially without a rainfly. Tyvek is not waterproof and a good soaking or standing water under it will come right through.

Even through hikers who look for the lightest material possible to carry for 1,000's of miles do not use Tyvek as much as sil-nylon type materials. And even then its usually a single season/trip usage.

A lot of factors would be in play. Is the tent erected late in the day and struck early as you continue your trip, or is it left up for the day? Are you at altitude? Summer or winter?

In many tents, the rainfly gets the brunt of the UV exposure, rather than the body of the tent. Most rainflys are now polyester, rather than nylon.

Tents I have purchased over the last decade or so have lasted for several seasons in what would be considered as relatively normal use. Any tent will wear out eventually and UV deterioration is just one factor.

Incidentally, you can replace that factory seam seal with hand sealing. It's a fairly simple process.

Tyvek and other building wraps are designed to stop liquid water while letting water vapor through. Kind of a crude Gortex. I have used it mostly as ground cloths or bulk tarp material and in that role it seems to work pretty well. Generally it doesn't leak as long as there is some slope to keep the water moving.

The biggest advantage to this stuff over Sil-Nylon is not raw performance so much as price. A 8' by 10' Sil-nylon tarp will run about $70 ($0.875/sqft.); A 9' by 100' roll of Typar, Aces version, runs $141 ($0.156/sqft); Lowes sells Tyvek at $188 for 10' by 150' roll ($0.125/sqft.)

Prices from:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___20069

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/typar-housewrap-9-x-100-ft-roll-p-39419.html?ref=42

http://www.lowes.com/pl_DuPont+Tyvek_4294925567+4294832803_4294937087_

The building wraps don't come with grommets and isn't hemmed but for a seventh the price you have to expect to lose some convenience.