Tips for Winterizing Your Teepee

Teepees have become popular features on properties across the American West. These fixtures of American Indian cultures have a lot of utility and convenience for people of all backgrounds. Of course, if you are looking to use your teepee all year round (including during the winter), it’s important that you know how to winterize it.

Here’s some information about how you can winterize your teepee, from a company specializing in teepee poles in Utah:

• Choose the right site: The ground where you set up your teepee should be flat and level, with mowed grass and ground that drains well when it rains. It should be away from overhead wires and potentially falling objects, and an appropriate distance to the essentials, such as firewood, emergency access and sanitary facilities. During the winter, it can be especially helpful to have your teepee on the side of a hill or next to a clump of trees to minimize wind but maximize sunlight. Just make sure you’re not so close to the trees that they’ll dump their snow load onto the structure.
• Build a platform: Install a platform at least four inches off the ground so you’re not directly on the cold ground in the winter. You can insulate this platform underneath to ensure it stays warm during the winter months. Pie-shaped sections are the best choice for platforms. Make sure they are stable and properly blocked, and have enough support to hold weight. The diameter of the platform should be at most a foot less than the diameter of the teepee.
• Dry zones: Figure out the wet and dry zones in the area, and place rugs for warmth and comfort over the platforms you create in the dry zones.
• Firewood: You should always keep a large supply of split, dry firewood inside your teepee. This is especially important during the winter as, when the weather gets rough, you’re probably not going to want to spend a significant amount of time outside chopping wood (or searching for more wood). Be sure to practice safe fire procedures inside the teepee—if you’ve never made a fire in a teepee before, it’s best to do some research before you try this for the first time. Poplar and birch are great choices for firewood—avoid woods like spruce and pine that tend to kick up sparks.
• Liner: You can use a liner that extends across the doorway to create a vestibule that will help you reduce drafts during the winter months. This is just one more way you can prevent the outdoor elements from getting inside your teepee and making it uncomfortable.

These are just a few tips to help you continue getting use out of your teepee during the winter months. For more information about teepees and how to build them, we encourage you to contact Huberwoods. Our team of experts has served area customers for over a decade and would be happy to tell you more about what you need to know about teepee poles in Utah!

Categorised in: Teepee Poles

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