Outdoor Winter Shelter! Blog #3

For those living or stay outdoors, the winter is a very scary time.  Temperatures in the northeast often drop below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and remaining exposed in to the elements is simply not an option.  Therefore, a shelter becomes absolutely essential to living.  Here, I have created a living space that would not only shield a wanderer from the elements, but would keep him warm and dry, and sufficiently protected against any force of nature.

The fort is about 5 feet in length and 4 feet in width and could easily accommodate two adult men.  The deck height is around 4.5 feet, so sitting is optimal in this situation.  When the weather conditions grow too difficult to bear, one can easily place the piece of plastic perfectly cut to fit the entryway.  This way, they will be completely out of harm's way and can begin to huddle in their sanctuary from the cold.  By doing so, they will create heat inside the structure and will remain warm for however long it is necessary.  This took about 1.5 hours to construct with only the finest snow.  It was gathered from the moderate snowfalls of the past week or so and will endure with the weather.  This is a phenomenal structure.  It is well built and sturdy with tightly-packed snow.  Nothing will bring this shelter down until the weather grows too warm to support it.  It will be present as long as anyone needs it and will be the saving grace for anyone who happens to be stuck in the unwavering cold.

Snow Day Snow Fort Blog #4

The cold weather and snowfall creates a serious concern for those living in outdoor conditions.  This dates back to prehistoric times.  So, in order to accommodate oneself, a snow/natural shelter of some kind become immediately essential.  In this task, I built a snow shelter with only the finest of snow brought to us by natural forces on this lovely winter day.  It is quite large and could easily support 3 big people, and is strong enough to keep them safe, and advanced enough to keep them warm and dry.  It was a challenging task, as it required about two hours spent in the icy cold January weather working with snow packed over a foot deep.  This would be quite challenging for an individual attempting this in the wilderness, as he/she will soon grow too cold too work, and the shelter may not provide enough heat to bring the person back to optimal temperature.  This type of structure is optimal for multiple people, due to its complexity to construct and sheer size.  Anyway, the shelter is about 7 feet by 4 feet with a height of about 5 feet.  It can easily support three adult males sitting down.  They can comfortably huddle together to stay warm, and the shelter will certainly not allow any force of nature inside.  It is strongly-packed snow that is sure to remain until the weather grows warmer.

It was constructed from the snow kicked up from my large driveway when passed through with a snowblower.  It has ample room for adequate shelter and, in intense weather conditions, one can be confident that they will be safe in this beautifully constructed product of engineering.  It is a perfect snow day experience!

Building a Shelter

By: Liam Godin

I made a small scale model of a shelter rather than making it outside. I am allergic to being outside and using my entire body for a task. I probably still ended up putting in just as much effort for this as I would if I made it outside.

These were my materials

To build this, I used brown pipe cleaners for sticks, I tore up a cardboard cup for leaves, and used a piece of felt for the tarp.













I began by hot gluing the pipe cleaners to the paper. This project was taxing, and I even burned myself! This assignment is harmful towards the students that are given it.

The glued on pipe cleaners. I bent them to be shorter and cover more space.

All of that fluff was going to be snow but it looked terrible. It's in most of the pictures but rest assured that I did not use it.

The sticks were used to support the shelter. They would provide a good base.

If this was a real shelter, these would be leaves.

The leaves were used for warmth. The idea is that several layers of broken down leaved would provide decent insulation for the shelter. Being cold is worse than smelling decomposing leaves.










As the leaves were being set, I burnt myself again. This is the worst assignment I have ever received.

The tarp.

The tarp would weather proof the shelter. this would also block light from coming in, so you can sleep in all you want.












Here's some images of the finished shelter in better lighting.

From the right a little

This shelter is my Magnum Opus, and it is now the centerpiece of my house. My parents are proud of me again, and I now see bright things for my future. Thank you so much Mr. Gray, I have seen the light, and have decided to go into architecture for homeless people. This has been one of the greatest experiences of my short time on this earth. I genuinely do not believe that I will ever enjoy something more than burning myself on hot glue while making a miniature shelter. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Pretty much straight on

Building a Snow Cave

By Liam Godin

I used brute force and a small purple shovel in order to dig into a hump in the snow in my yard. I made sure that the snow I was digging into was crunchy and would stay standing as long as it was cold enough.

Here's a picture of the tools that I used to make the cave. 

The cave ended up large enough for me to climb into and have my body in it. Near the end of building it, the entrance began to cave in, so I poured water onto it, so that it would freeze more than it was already. This seemed to work, as the entrance became sturdier.

This is what the cave looked like without anyone in it.

I fit inside of the cave

The cave became more challenging to dig out the farther I got into it. I would have to dig at the walls, and move the snow around me and kick it out of the entrance. I blocked the light coming into the cave in order to gauge when I should stop digging upwards. Once the snow allowed a small amount of light through, I would stop.







Since the entrance began to cave in, the cave became wider and slightly shorter. I could fit into it entirely if I bent my legs slightly.

A picture from inside of the cave, with my brother's legs in the background

I asked my brother to help me dig the cave, and because he is such a good friend to me, he came out a few minutes before I went inside to take a picture of me.

Snow Day project

 I decided to draw an igloo instead of actually building one because it seemed much faster and easier. Stacking snow bricks seems fun but building an entrance is definitely the most difficult part. My father and I used to build igloos using coolers to pack the snow into bricks but back then I was a lot smaller so the igloo when finished was also small. if I were to build an igloo that I could fit into then it  would take a long time and the snow and temperature would need to be just right for the snow to take the shape of the cooler and not crumble.

Shelter Project

 My shelter has 3 walls each wall is 3ft tall but it is based on a larger 6ft tall model. The two stone walls that form a perfect 90 degree corner were pre existing and cannot be moved by the elements making only the front wall susceptible to damage. The two stone walls make an excellent wind barrier and can store thermal energy well. The third wall is a tarp which drapes over a stick that was laid across the two stone walls connecting them. The tarp is also laid on top of the two stone walls and secured by rocks placed on top of the tarp. Just like a chain my shelter is only as good as its weakest link so I secured the bottom of the tarp wall to the ground with tent stakes. the last part of my shelter is the cardboard that I placed as a flooring which as a barrier between the person and the frozen ground. there is also an evergreen tree which branches over the shelter and provides further protection from the snow and wind.

snowday fun

"Fort Snowsworth"

 To make my fort I used a large shovel to move snow and pack it down to make walls around 3 feet high.

this is an aerial view of the fort.

This fort includes walls that can protect from incoming snowballs, and even RPG's!!!, and a alcove to hide your own snowballs

Here I am laying in my fort, you can tell how happy I am from my smile:)

Small Snow House/Castle

Tools I used for the small snow house/castle: a shovel and a snow brick maker

(1) How I built it:

    1. Use a shovel to collect a pile of snow.

    2. Clear a ground area of the house/castle, make sure the ground is flat (even there is snow).

    3. Make twenty snow bricks from the pile of snow. When each one of the brick is made, put them on the cleared ground and pile them up.

    4. Shovel the rest of snow from the pile onto the piled snow bricks.

    5. Shape the snow house with hands. Make details (roof, windows, etc.)

(2) What it could be used for:

It could be used for outside decoration. 

Attempt at a Snow Fort

I found this particular assignment to be very challenging because of the weather and the way that snow fell in my yard. I didn't get many drifts that were above 2 feet that also weren't in my driveway. My initial plan ended with an igloo. I started by finding an an empty area in my backyard then shoveled out a hole that was about 2 feet by 3 feet wide and about 1.5 feet deep. I used these walls to start the base of the igloo that turned into a fort. I didn't get to chance to take progress pictures along the way so I will just describe my construction process.

After defining the walls and base of the igloo I began to build up the walls of them by piling and packing the snow progressively. I used a plastic yard container/bin/bench as one of the walls and then used some flower pots to help support another wall. Because I started with such a large base I had to relocate a lot of snow from other parts of my yard which might've been the hardest part of the process. The second hardest part of the process was trying to regulate my body temperature while building this and trying to find the materials and parts of things that I wanted from my garage and yard.

The finished product was tarp-less but designed to have a tarp. I would've spent more time and effort working on this fort but I was limited time-wise. You may notice that there is a spray bottle in some of my pictures. I used warm water and the freezing temperatures to solidify the walls of snow. Sadly, this time around I did not have a dog with me.

winter shelter

Alejandro Jimenez
Winter Shelter 








For this assignment I was inspired by the image above. I like the idea of using the rope as the "supporting beam" and the blanket as the walls. But we had to use natural resources so I changed things. Instead of rope I am using a vine to tie between two trees; and instead of using the blanket, I am using sticks and leaves to isolate. I also pilled snow on the outside layers to use all support for the sticks. 
The inside of the tent is filled with a layer of sticks and on top of that leafs to keep it a little bit comfortable.

SnowDay

The initial snow fort was designed to keep three people sheltered from the outside wind and snow. There are two entrances both facing the same direction. Initially, the fort only had one entrance, but because of support and size issues, a second entrance was necessary. Both entrances are facing in the opposite direction of the wind so that the cold air flowed around the inside of the fort, protected the inside from wind gusts and snow drifts. 

The other day's snowfort was constructed the night of the snowfall but due to not charged cell- phones only one image was captured of the fort in its prime. 

Snow Day Fort

Snow Project




I dug this fort with a shovel and the use of my hands. It is very effective and can fit one person. It can be used to take cover, and also can be used to sleep in. Although sleeping wouldn't be ideal, it would work if you wanted it too.

Snow Fort Project

Alejandro Jimenez 
Snow Front 


Due to freezing temperatures, I decided to look through Google for igloo images to accurately draw how one would look like in real life. 



I was inspired to draw my igloo based on the image above. I added more detail trying to make it more realistic and give it that wildlife environment.
                                               
 

I drew my igloo with as much precision. I am not the greatest artist but I tired to create the shadow effect as well.  Igloos are a great and easy way to great a temporary shelter if needed. It protects you from the cold and harsh winds.

Snow Day Engineering - Building a Snow Cave

For my project I was with my friend Greg plowing and began brainstorming ideas for what to make.  As he was moving a compacted mound of snow I thought of how structurally that could save me some time.  After the storm cleared I found a lage snow bank and began Digging.  I made a cave about 4' deep with a height in front of about 2' and a tapered height in the back of about 1 foot.  The cave was about 4' wide in front and 3' in the back.

Winter Shelter

I failed to collect enough logs and branches for my original plan of the shelter project in this cold winter break. Since it was snowing, and our backyard had enough snow, I ditched my old plan and decided to build the shelter only with snow.

The snow was loose, they did not have the texture of concrete that could stick together when the wind blows. So it seemed unrealistic to build a full-scale shelter with snow, but a one-fourth scale shelter was possible. It turns out even the one-fourth scale shelter could support a nine years old child.

I only used shovels. With some help from my host-dad, we shoveled snow behinds a big branch that fell down a long time ago, piled them up to the high of the arch of the branch. Then I pat them into shape, made sure they would not fall apart easily. The pile of snow was about 35 inches tall. The last step was to dig a hole on the front side of the pile, I shoveled the hole deep and wide, made sure it can actually fit someone for the shelter use.

Tori (she is only nine years old), she tried the shelter and said it was pretty comfortable. I asked her does she think the snow on top of her could fall off when the strong wind blows? As she experienced and thought it was not possible. She also answered it was not cold or wet in there.

The cave shape shelter fits the requirements of the assignment:
Even though the shelter is made of snow, it protects people from the cold weather. Usually, it is cold because of wind, since the shelter is a cave shape, it blocks wind from people. Also, the snow stays dry when the weather is cold; thus it fits all requirement.

Snow Project

           This is my igloo. To create this igloo a couple materials were used for stability. I used 2 pieces of pallet for the sides and then laid 2x6's across the top to ensure the roof would never cave in. Next, I took the snow plow and plowed parts of my yard and piled all the snow on top of the wooden structure. I used my brothers help to carve out the inside and made a door. To be even more creative we added a slide down the backside of the igloo. This igloo is capable of keeping one safe from the snowy stormy weather. It is insulated with snow and is low to the ground so wind in minimized.

This is my brother and my dog on the side of the igloo.

This is the front of the igloo where you can see the wood structure and the opening to climb inside.

Here is a overal view from the end of my driveway with my brother sitting on top of the slide. 

My Igloo

To make my igloo I used a pile of snow that I made when I was shoveling out my driveway. I used a shovel to carve out a hole in the center of a pile to create a place to sit. I shoveled the snow out of the hole and threw it on top of the igloo to make it even larger.