how much to overlap fabric/canvass

[loaderman]

some do, can't remember the thread but someone used micro balloons or something and smothed his out.

[eaglesdare]

mike, i did hide one side of mine, at least i tried to. never got around to the other side. it turned out to be a pita the way i did it. my seam was on the roof.
i do believe that someone did with using foam: was it athoekid?

on my second one i will put the seams on the sides, you could then use covered foam to stick on and hide the seam. and if done right could double as a rain gutter?

[atahoekid]

I hid my seams by using a foam cap. I made the caps out of 1/2 inch foam, covered them in foam, glued them down and sealed the edges with silicone. Worked great!

[Wobbly Wheels]

Do you guys do anything to hide the seam?

Mike...

Another question regarding that: is the saturated canvas hard enough to sand the edges to feather them ?
Or do you think it would go fuzzy if you sanded it ?
I guess I'm asking whether the canvas gets truly saturated, or if it's like glass cloth where the adhesive just forms a continuous film around the outside of the fiber.

[GPW]

It should sand pretty smooth ... wear a mask ...

[Mary C]

Has anyone ever opened up the seams with a seam ripper before applying the canvas? I was thinking about getting one of the drop cloths to see if I could get a span of at least five feet plus shrinkage room. I am still reading and trying to be good but after reading so much I really cant remember if anyone has tried this. Still planning but it is getting closer.....

[eaglesdare]

i must say i do not think anyone has tried that yet. if you do, please let us know the results.

[Wobbly Wheels]

I've cut apart the panels of dropcloths to use them as fabric for other gear, if that's what you mean.
I've never used it this way but yeah, the seams do come apart - they aren't glued or anything. The one I "unzipped" was like the seam down the leg of a pair of jeans (lap seam ?). I would imagine they're all done the same (cheapest) way.
Given the amount of work involved, I'd just cut the seam off if I had to do it again. The edge of the fabric is stitched as well (serged?) so that would have to come out too or it would leave a high spot.

[Mary C]

lou, I have finally finished reading the whole forum. I swore I would read it before the New Year and yes i cant remember half of what I read. I am not sure why I even bothered to read some of it and stuff like the old gatherings I maybe didn't read but I did glance over. I went pretty fast and now I am so confused about some of the finer points. Did I read stuff or am I just imagining it. I just couldn't remember if it was done. I will get a large canvas from hf or hd or lowes and check out the seams and the placement and what works and doesn't. I need a couple of tarps so it will give me something to do. HA!!! someone said something about some gathering in Feb. I went back and can't find it now. read something about firehose by someone cant find that again. Happy New Year what the heck

[GPW]

Not to worry Mary !!! We can’t even remember what we wrote .... Instead of using tarps , you might do better ($) by checking the fabric stores for good deals on just plain old canvas ...

[atahoekid]

There are also places on the internet that sell wider pieces of canvas that are seamless. They are used for theatrical backdrops and are a bit pricier than you can pick up off-the-shelf, only you can say whether or not you think it's worth the extra $$, but seams were a major issue to me and in the end used the corner caps as a way to hide seams and I used fiberglass instead.

[eaglesdare]

after reading wobbly wheels post, i must say i agree with him. just cut the seam out. i think ripping the seam apart just wouldn't be worth it.

[GPW]

... or you could just leave the seam and incorporate it into the design ... like a “racing stripe” ...