Building a fold up ice shack. I've never built one so I was hoping to get a few pointers. Just wondering which is better. OSB or plywood? Paint or stain? I'm trying to keep it a light as possible. Any info is appreciated.
Npauls has a really good design. His is also extremely warm inside even when only using the small little buddy heater. ideal space for 2 fishermen with a shelf for gear and a center concole. tight but room for 3 if desired. send him a PM or just wait and i am sure he will find this thread
oh and comming from my background in woodwork. plywood and paint. OSB absorbs water like a scottie papertowel and stain will really not help stop this because the wood will still absorb liquid. Paid however seals off the the wood so it cant absorb water
Look into using 1/4" fiber board(Puck Board just like the hockey rinks) it is a little more expensive but was worth it. I also went with a 2 x 2 frame it is fairly lite one guy can man handle it if need be.
My Hut was built to fit into the box of my mazda b4000 pick up on top of the wheel wells. It fold down flat and I mounted some downhill skis to the bottom to tow easier.
It is a bit on the heavy side but will last forever.
I ended up using 3/4" plywood for the floor and the 2 end walls. It was a bit over kill and I probably could have went with quite a bit thinner for the walls and just a bit thinner for the floor. I also used a huge poly tarp that we ended up folding over 4 times and contact cementing together to form the tarp to finish off the rest of the hut.
Me and the old man took a ton of time to plan it out before we started building so we didn't have a crappy fall apart shack like the first one we tried.
It turned out really well other then the weight. It only takes a minute or so at most to set up and if you want to move around the ice you just have to shut the hatches and start pulling with everything in the hut.
I should have done a step by step of us building it but had never thought about it at the time. Pretty tough to explain everything that we did.
My Hut was built to fit into the box of my mazda b4000 pick up on top of the wheel wells. It fold down flat and I mounted some downhill skis to the bottom to tow easier.
It is a bit on the heavy side but will last forever.
I ended up using 3/4" plywood for the floor and the 2 end walls. It was a bit over kill and I probably could have went with quite a bit thinner for the walls and just a bit thinner for the floor. I also used a huge poly tarp that we ended up folding over 4 times and contact cementing together to form the tarp to finish off the rest of the hut.
Me and the old man took a ton of time to plan it out before we started building so we didn't have a crappy fall apart shack like the first one we tried.
It turned out really well other then the weight. It only takes a minute or so at most to set up and if you want to move around the ice you just have to shut the hatches and start pulling with everything in the hut.
I should have done a step by step of us building it but had never thought about it at the time. Pretty tough to explain everything that we did.
Nate
there are some options to cut down on weight on your rig for sure. If i secure a truck for next season id build a lighter version of yours. The best thing about nates tent is the shelf. you can put your flasher and camera on the shelf and then you dont have to bend over constantly for gear or when there is some action on the electronics. much more cofortable to fish in. and it held the heat very well
If you use 3/4 pre treated ply for the floor and end walls, and you frame in the floor with pre treated 2x4's it will end up strong, but unnecessarily heavy. That's what I did, it is awesome, but much too heavy to haul through drifts.
I looked at some plans online and it sowed the 2 fold down walls were cut a foot shorter than the length of the floor. Is this to accommidate for the tarp to fold up or can I make the folding walls the same length as the floor?
Of course these homemade shantys would be virtually impossible to get on the ice right now where I live but I am still thinking about it.
I too have been thinking about this for a while. If I make one I am thinking 1/4 inch plywood untreated for the end walls stained black. Black cloth tarp from Princess Auto which will be the biggest expense. I am thinking about a 5/8" plywood floor on a 2x2 frame. Someone had 2" of plywood scraps cut into strips fastening the tarp on the outside which looked good cause it was custom cut to the curve and may add a little stability. The two 2x4 runners on garage sale skis seem OK (too bad I threw out my old 210s). A few windows. Maybe two doors. Hooks and small shelves to put stuff on.
I have toyed with the idea of no floor, just a frame with a separate custom plastic bottomed, curved sled.
I know making one of these things is a little crazy but I can't resist.
Here's a detailed description of how I built mine. If I were to do it again, the one big thing I'd change is use real plywood, not OSB. Everything else turned out awesome.
Homemade Folding Ice Shack
Linear Mode
