Was wondering if i could melt/cut polycro (neatly) into a bathtub floor without sewing, because i hate sewing. and i'm too lazy.

polycryo is a plastic base right? so it should work...

anyone have experience with this stuff?

Edited by goonch92 on 04/01/2012 23:23:25 MDT.

It seems too thin to heat bond. Why not use double sided scotch tape?

If you buy your polycryo in the form of window insulation, it should come with a roll of double-sided tape meant to adhere the film to window frames. Should be fine for your purposes, especially if you plan the seams right (ie, stressed in shear, not peel). Heat might be a problem, as polycryo is meant to shrink when heat is applied.

For backyard use sounds great.
For real world application I would not bother.
But go ahead, it isn't all that expensive , for the first two or three times anyway.
Franco
BTW, it is a made up name , nevertheless it is polycryo

Guess i need to just buy some of this stuff and start experimenting.

the trick is gonna be folding/cuting the seems in suck a way they don't leek i have an idea in mind (kind of like the way youd wrap a present, no?)

why do you say for real world application don't bother?

Real world...

The bathtub walls are going to fall down unless you add more to it to keep the walls up.

Buy your window film from the hardware store or Amazon. You'll get a lot more for less $$.

Not answering your question... but just pointing out the the plastic sheeting is spelled polycryo.

Sorry, I thought you meant to replace a tent bathtub floor with that.
If you intend to use it as a disposable groundsheet , then it may just work.
However without some re-enforcement it will most likely collapse on itself .
Franco

No no. Yeah I have an ID silshelter and I need a ground sheet. and even though if I pitch it correctly in the right location I can probably avoid water flow (or some wind) but I would like the added securitty of a bathtub floor.

though I've never used polycro but heard its great for the weight and price... that being said i guess i assummed it would be rigid enough to hold a 2-5 inch wall because its plastic. So its very flimsy? any suggested improvement to try to hold it up?

Thank you all for your responses!

Gunther

EDIT: spelling and grammer

Edited by goonch92 on 03/29/2012 11:31:34 MDT.

It's barely stiffer than Saran Wrap.

well shoot...

EDIT:

Ill try pitching the corners of the flat polycryo sheet together to create the bathtub floor with flaps sticking out of the corners (triangles) ill hold that pinch with double sided tape. ill cut holes and make make-shift gromets on the flaps for ties. tie the ties to the roof of the sealing or the stakes to hold the shape... a little more work but the should hold it... I think

Edited by goonch92 on 03/29/2012 12:40:55 MDT.

Well, you can fold a raised corner in any sheet material. Turn up the edge of each side of the corner, make a diagonal fold in the corner (this will tend to form of its own accord as you turn the edges up). Fasten the resulting upper triangular flap to one edge or the other; a paper clip, for instance?

However, you may find that a structure like this will cause fracturing of the film in the corner, due to the sharp folds that result.

Experiment with a sheet of paper.

You can make these structures for non-right-angled corners, too, only the resulting 'triangular fold' flap isn't quite as convenient as it is with the right-angled corner (as the corner angle increases beyond 90 degrees, the flap gets narrower, and rises above the turned-up edge).

Nice idea, but the stuff is thin. Even if the corners stand up with some sort of reinforcement, the sides will droop. I had marginal success trying the same with Tyvek. Note that most bathtub floors have some toggle-and-loop hangers to keep them in place.

The trick with a plastic ground cloth is to make it a little oversize and roll the edges under, creating a small berm.

If you want to experiment, I would use duct tape in the corners.

> Nice idea, but the stuff is thin. Even if the corners stand up with some sort of reinforcement, the sides will droop.

That's true of almost all groundsheet materials. At least of any groundsheet materials that I'd want to carry...

As you say, the walls will need supporting by something (like they are by the inner tent with a sewn-in bathtub).

The folded corners suggestion was to allow experimentation without committing the film, or for ad-hoc use in the field.

Just put some smooth sticks or rocks (if no sticks available) under the edges by a couple inches. This will keep the edge off the ground and let water flow underneath the edge. Involves no cutting, taping, or bonding.

Edited by QiWiz on 04/01/2012 08:37:15 MDT.

Sorry to time-waste here , but I just had to jump in. For a nation that regularly butchers the English language, eg aluminum for aluminium, acclimated for acclimatised, etc, how can anyone complain about polycryo becoming polycro. I think it's a neat devolvement.

Edited by jhansford on 04/01/2012 10:22:12 MDT.

I dislike the word 'polycryo' -- I even lost a bet (beer) on this one time -- thinking back then that it was 'polycro.!

Polycro just sounds better -- although I suspect polycryo is an abbreviated version of a longer, more technical term??

+1 to what Robert says. Also: if it's not going to rain but it's windy, you might use those same little rocks to hold down the Polycryo (whatever) and keep it from blowing around.

HAHA thanks! polycyro sounds too... biological. polycro just rolls off the tongue... I'm changing the title back to polycro!