im buliding a portable 4/8 wood floor wood ends round roof.what works better 20 dollar tarp or 100dollers for good black canvas im talking condensation dripping and such the tarp will be black also.planning to put vents on each end to help with the sunflower heater.gonna use it for a spear/angel house,whats your opinion?thanks

If you are going to use it for sight fishing/spearing I would go for a good Canvas tarp

Canvas will be darker, warmer, quieter, last longer etc. Also easier to patch. I would not go through all the work of making the house and use a cheap tarp to top it off.

I made one of those a few years back but I doubled the cheap tarp noisey but worked ok for the season! Plus.....it was double insulated lol

I've done the same as you with the shack but just used the cheap blue tarp. Not dark enough for spearing. No mater how light of plywood its way to heavy to be portable, ok to pull out of the back of your truck and just sit. I would still save the money and buy a good one next year because I think you will anyway.

my idea was to move it around with 4 wheeler,i know u can buy the suit case type wood or plastic floor with black canvas,but once i set up to spear i wanted to leave it there and im not sure that it would be there the next day.the heaver type they seem to leave alone to much work to take i suppose,just my 2 cents

Charlie1959

The condensation is coming from the sunflower heater. I know that they work great for heat, but I call them the widow maker! My buddy and I almost met the good Lord a number of years ago. The low oxygen shutoff valve failed and had he not woke up vomiting we would have been toast. I would recommend getting a small heater you can vent and take with you when you leave. I have one that used to be made by Strikemaster called the Handi Heater. It is about the size of a 20 lb tank, but being able to vent makes the house stay relatively dry. You can leave the vent pipes attached to one of the walls or easily slide it back out and leave it on the floor. Just an idea...no matter what type of heater you use make sure you do have some fresh air get into the house. Good Luck...and canvas would be your better bet.

Sorry Charlie I understand now.

hey no problem i know what u are sayin they are a hog to pull by hand my buddy used to have one,i have a fish trap i use otherwise and even then some snow and a sled full of stuff and then the wheeler is a must,unless your young

You could go with the cheap blue tarp and use a layer of refletix insulation on the inside. That would cut down on light penetration and condesation.

I am still using the 4 x 8 I built 20 years ago. Canvas all the way. In fact the heavier canvas the better. Keep in mind also the noise of the plastic tarp in the wind also. Condensation is not an issue, a soon as you get the heat going the canvas dries and stays dry. I use a Mr Heater and the breathing of the canvas keeps the air quality good.

yea i found a shop in fairbault that has the good stuff,plus i was gonna put a small vent on each end,thanks for the input

Use the canvas, it will last much longer. To minimize the condensation, double layer the canvas.

Charlie, yea I put a open/closing vent in also. Another thing that worked well to help with folding and storage was to stand up a2 x 4 one end, a 2 x 6 on the other then put 1 x 3 along the long ends. That gives you a box to keep things inside and helps when folding up to give room to tuck in the canvas. Good Luck