Constructing a Tipi floor

We realize there are times when a floor is desired to be used with the Ultralight Silnylon Tipi. We are working on providing a nice durable bathtub floor option for the tipi. The floor will not be made from ultra light materials. If you would like a floor for occasional use, a basic floor is pretty easy to fashion with a lightweight tarp and some grommets. Creating a floor for the four person out of 5 mil poly tarp will weight about 2 lbs and for the six person the floor will weigh about 3 lbs. For the 6 person Tipi you will need a tarp that is larger than 14 feet. For the four person a tarp larger than 12 feet is sufficient. A grommet kit can be obtained from Walmart or several other locations. Here are the steps,

1. Pitch the ultralight tipi nicely.
2. Take the tipi down but leave the stakes in the ground
3. Draw the foot print on the tarp, make sure to mark the front and back and top or bottom. The Tipi is not round, so getting the shape right is important.
4. Cut the tarp slightly smaller than the footprint. You do not want any floor outside the tipi, this will only invite water into the structure when it is raining.
5. Mark a few of the tie-out (4 to 6 is sufficient) and install grommets.
6. Tie an adjustable piece to the grommets that can go to the tie out location. Shock cord is great for this but you could use some para cord with a hitch knot.

One of the advantages of a floor, with tie out locations on the marked locations of the tipi is that on nice surfaces it makes pitching the tipi that much easier. The floor can and will get dirty, it's nice to be able to wash the floor separately.