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Card board blinds..


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I was asked to make a post on how and why I did the cardboard blind....

 

So here goes...feel free to ask questions....

 

I had a large packing  crate....looking at it a blind idea came to mind...being very cheap what I envisioned was a total recycled material blind...as best I could...so I made a frame out of 2x4s cut into 2x2's to save money...the walls were to be appliance cardboard....Being such a light material the 2x2 frame would not be a problem...So to work I went...... made the frame....I had left over roofing nails...long ones,I tacked the cardboard on to frame with ...I went to Harbor freight and bought camo tarps that were on sale....I then  wrapped the outside in the tarp starting at the bottom...that way any seams overlapped from the top(pics show different...put it ended up over lapped from top)...keeping the rain out......

I nailed the tarp on with the roofing nails...and then I took gorilla tape and tape and taped all the seams and a some square over each nail head...around the window frames I pulled the tarp inside and stapled it down..

The roof is double card board that was cut to have a 4" overhang all around then sandwiched into a tarp and all seams sealed with gorilla tape and nailed to the frame....this is where I say....when making the frame you should make it to have a good slant...mine I made flat...but then lifted the center to have it dome...which works...but I do shovel heavy snows off

 

The windows flip up...I cut them to fit just inside the frames....I wanted them dark so I bought thin plexi-glass and a roll of car window tint....drilled a hole CAREFULLY in the bottom of each window and a hole through the wall just above the center of each window frame...I attached the window to the frame with my own home made hing( layers of duct tape along the top edge of plexi-glass then nailed to top of window frame....strung shoe string type string through the hole in wall and then window ...all you do is pull to lift window and secure to a hook inside for what ever height you want...the door was cut to fit frame opening and made just like the roof...the hinge was just like the windows,,,added a better floor ...pt 1/2 in. plywood

 

All this is very light(relative) two ppl moved it ....it stays warm....the cardboard keeps sound down

 

So as with any new things..... improvements can be made....which is what I will be doing with the new ones....I'll post that  as soon as the weather breaks and I can work on them....hint...frames remain the same...but the cardboard walls will loose the tarp and gain rubberized roof paint...tinted and camo painted...I got the idea from...." The Cardboard Boat book" http://thecardboardboatbook.com.

 

Open link go to main menu ..click on more stuff...It's explained there...

 

 

Edited by growalot
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  • 1 year later...

Thanks for that bump....seeing a question was asked about the frame work being 2x2's here are the pics I took of the other bigger blinds frame work....remember we are on a west north west facing hill...the blinds are not set in the ground and we have some crazy winds up on this hill...with no structural problems...Everything was cut with a hand saw on siteI used a tape measure...square...hand saw ...a few angle brackets nails and hammer...just the platform and and base 2x2's were PT wood. all up right were regular 2x4's I had ripped for 50 cents each at the lumber yard.

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Grow I am glad this topic has come back for our viewing.You have a great creative mind and enjoy your projects.Its nice to see I am not the only one that reuses our resources/I use more pallets for my smaller project's and they cost Zero any of the wood that I cannot use is fire wood for my outdoor fire place.

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Thanks Dom...it's amazing what pops into my mind while walking...working and sitting on stand...I tend to see potential in everything and never go by plans...I made some wild forts when I was a kid...lol

 

Then again some plans failed miserably...like the "ice raft" I talked a friend into when we were sledding near the Canseraga (?) creek...... were we weren't suppose to be...but it was the best hill off of Ossion....well we got it cut loose with out getting wet...then it flipped on us and we had a mile walk back home in blizzard like weather...Mom pulled my pants and coat off me and stood them next to the heater....yep that one slap on the behind left a lasting impression...literally...lol

 

One reason I know kids left to their own devises unsupervised have brain farts that can have ever lasting consequences....When all they thought they were doing is having fun....

Edited by growalot
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Thanks Grow for the idea. I have 2 pop up blinds 1 small one for turkey hunting, and a large one I wanted for deer hunting. The problem is I don't trust leaving the large one up all season as i know it will get stolen. The cardboard box blind looks like it will work for what I need and although I will be disappointed if it gets stolen or destroyed it will not break the bank. Can you post some pics of the door? I'm sure I can come up with something but pics will give me a better idea of how to build it. I can't wait to get started. I already started collecting some cardboard. 

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Lol... not too hard to build the door I just took a freezer/frig/or water heater box...intaced, but folded, filled with more folded boxes a bit smaller and then taped up all open sides... I used multiple layers of duct tape the whole length on one side adding to the width of each layer  then roofing nails the "hing" to the frame..I bought cheap vinyl shelf liner and covered the outside and inside then again sealed with duct tape and painted them...one I didn't bother with covering the back and she's still good. Now in the new blinds I will be using some type of thin inexpensive wood like a laminate they use in bathrooms The reason for this is I just don't want to make door frames to nail the card board to in order to get a stable window opening as on the walls and I can use less expensive hinges...but that may change as I do the framing.....the reason for this is to cut windows in them. The pics shown here are 2011 for this blind and the doors are still working fine This blind is the one that has wood siding I got off job sites free...left overs from cuts.... dumpster wood...finished plywood....windows I made from J channel I bought at hardware store cheap and scratched plexy glass from job site rehab...decking was a fence someone took down...old throw away office chairs and a dumpster dive for oriental rug ...inside walls are luan over card board box insulation...very warm and sound proof.

Edited by growalot
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Now remember...closer to ground you really need to take care with the weather proofing...card board is amazingly sturdy ..and dries fast...but standing moisture will cause problems...as you see I have decks on my blinds and they collect snow all winter ...with the cardboard being properly sealed I haven't had a problem. I will be making blinds closer to the ground 1-2ft in the next two years and even with using the roofing paint I will use either Gorilla glue tape or a good duct tape before painting with the rubberized roofing paint to seal edges

Edited by growalot
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Cheap luann doors use interior glues. I don't think they will hold up outside for long. Grow you should get a job on the show Tiny House Nation!

I would assume you would have to seal them from the elements much like you would have to seal the cardboard...........I realize they use interior glue, cardboard isn't made for outdoor all weather applications either, because cardboard is made out of...well, cardboard.....that's why it all needs to be sealed.

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Actually the laminated door would delaminate faster than the cardboard in a open, not standing, moist enviroment...something I found out using a painted luan...

I have to assume it's due to not only the process used to turn the tree pulp into paper sheets but the use of a cornstarch glue to press several sheets together and that is moisture resistant...the lauan bubbles and seperates because  it is actual shaved sheets of wood glued with their grains going in different directions...these sheets easily separate in moisture...where the cardboard is treated....... wood pulp fibers heat treated and pressed together then those sheets thickened by the glueing and further pressing of multiple sheets...That said there is exterior luan made with water proof glue..more expensive

I had card board backing the lattice on this out side chicken coop "gate"(food storage area) it lasted for 5 years before the "gate" fell over and layed under the rain and snow not being able to dry...that cardboard had nothing done to it just part of a paper towel box.. wall lining is still up......pics before I lined that to keep wind blown snow out...also use it as a blind sitting area...I built that coop as well.

 

PS....... that plastic lattice work I got 15 sheets for a $1.00 a sheet at Loews...each sheet had a crack in the corner. and they were dumping them. got all the PT wood for that coop and two stands for 78.00...construction returns and wrong cuts...

Edited by growalot
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the first were from appliance stores and the small blind is cardboard from smart blk. boards Mr.B installed on a school job...very heavy card board...the stuff I have stored in the barn I bought out of Geneva from a cardboard  place...Gosh ...I'll have to look up the name of the place...I found them on the web when I googled NYS cardboard suppliers...Good guys to work with hey ship to rochester a lot.

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By the way guys...since Kryon now sells a spray paint just for plastic you could go this route for said blinds...

 Due to the cost of the rubberized paint it could be less expensive if buying the card board. 10 sheets would easily do a blind then spray paint what ever camo you want...if a ground blind it could be a snow camo with little paint...for turkey and bow...they would get use to it.... but you could also do a light camo cover with tie downs...just ideas

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Corrugated-Plastic-Cardboard-10-PACK-WC4896-10/202489118

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