Do-It-Your SelfInflatable

Gid-ur-dun!

Materials• Time : 1-2 days (approx 12 hours to install)

Materials Needed: most of this can be bought at HomeDepot

• 1. 14 pieces 2”x12” treated lumber, 16’ long

• 2. 11 sticks 3/8” cold role steel rod 20’ long

• 3. Carpet padding: get the cheapest stuff (4 or 6 lbs)*

• 4. Air blower (Grainger item: 7C447) – there are other, cheaper, blowers available

• 5. 2 pieces 3” diameter pvc 10’ long

• 6. 6 90-degree PVC elbows

• 7. Electrical power 110V

• 8. Drain collection box.

• 9. 150 x 3/8” eye bolt harden steel. Granger item # 3ZHJ7 or 5ZU18. At least 6” in total length, nuts, and fender washers. The quality of the steel is very important

• 10. 500’ of 9/16 webbing REI.com Item # 610111

• . 

• FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS IN ORDER!! READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING

 

#1 Mark the Ground

The Rule of 3,4,5

3

45

Mark the Ground

• Mark the outline of the inflatable on the ground. Your dimension (inside wall of the trench) are going to be: 65’2” x 37’8”. Be sure to think it over twice when deciding where to place your inflatable. Take in consideration drainage, utility lines, and underground power gas or pipes. A simple way of finding a 90 degree angle is the rule of 3,4,5. Sides measuring 3, 4, and 5 will result in a 90 degree angle.

• How to use the rule of 3,4,5:

• Note: these instructions use meters, but you can also use feet:

• To set out right angles in the field, a measuring tape, two ranging poles, pegs and three persons are required.

• The first person holds together, between thumb and finger, the zero mark and the 2 meter mark of the tape. The second person holds between thumb and finger the 3 meter mark of the tape and the third person holds the 8 meter mark.

• When all sides of the tape are stretched, a triangle with lengths of 3 m, 4 m and 5 m is formed (see Fig. 20), and the angle near person 1 is a right angle. NOTE: Instead of 3 m, 4 m and 5 m a multiple can be chosen: e.g. 6 m, 8 m and 10 m or e.g. 9 m, 12 m and 15 m.

• http://www.fao.org/docrep/R7021E/r7021e05.htm#TopOfPage

• http://www.fao.org/docrep/R7021E/r7021e0w.gif

#2 Dig the Trench

Dig the Trench

• Dig a trench on the out side of your rectangle, 12” wide and at least 24” deep. It is ok If you go down to 26”. Take care to dig a straight line and that the floor of the trench is smooth and flat. By following the outline you have already marked on the ground you will be able to dig straight and consistent. I cannot imagine doing this task by hand with shovels. You are going to need a backhoe. The typical bucket is 12”x 24” so finding your depth will come relatively natural. If you are familiar with a backhoe then you will be able to dig this trench in 3-6 hours. Digging the trench is the most difficult part of the job, the most time consuming, and one of the most critical steps. Take your time and dig straight. You want the bottom of the trench as flat as possible so you do not leave hollow spaces under the boards.

• Note: Place the excavated dirt on the outside of the trench and NOT on the inside where your inflatable will be! Also, place your tarp inside the area before you dig the trench. It weighs about 500 lbs. so you don’t want to lift it over the trench after it is dug. Take your time and dig a clean straight trench

Cross section of the Trench

12”

24”

#3 Dig PVC trench

4’

4’

PVC Trench

• Dig a small trench in a corner for the PVC pipe. Decide where you want you the blower. It doesn’t matter which corner just make it convenient for you. I placed ours close to our power supple. This trench only needs to be deep enough to bury it a few inches under the canvas and anchoring system.

#4 Install PVC plumbing

6’

PVC Piping

• After you finish digging the trench you will install the piping. You will need 6x90 degree elbows and 20 feet of 3” PVC pipe. Prime and glue the connections. Then, bury the system so as you can cover the area with the canvas and the anchoring system. When you have finished it will look like you are back to step 2.

#5 Lay down carpet padding

Carpet Padding

• Place 4 or 6 lbs carpet padding over the edges. This padding will act as a buffer between the canvas and the earth. It will also provide padding as people walk on or off of the inflatable. 4 lbs padding is cheaper but sometimes harder to find. It is more economical to buy from a wholesaler then from Home Depot. Regardless of where you get the padding buy the cheapest stuff you can

#6 Lay down canvas, and insert steal rods

Canvas and Rods

• A. Spread the canvas over the area. The canvas weighs 500lbs so you will need two or three people to help. It is very important to keep the canvas straight. You want all of the edges straight. If the lines are straight the INFLATABLE will look good and you will have equal anchoring all around. Pull the canvas tight. Pull it as tight as you can by hand. It will seem that the canvas is too tight and will not inflate. This is not the case. It will inflate and it will be perfect. The excess material at the corners can be tucked under its self. Like the way your mama wants you to make your bed.

• B. Insert the steel rods into the pockets that have been stitched around the edges of the canvas. After you insert the first rod overlap the last 12” with the second rod. If you tape the two rods together with duct tape you will be able to push the first rode by the second rod. Continue to insert the rods until all of the pockets are filled.

#7&8 Prepare the boards and use the webbing to tie down canvas

Step 7- Eye bolts

Drill twelve 3/8 holes down the center of each 2”x12”. By starting 14” from one end this will place your last hole about 2” from the opposite end. Place an eye bolt in each hole. Use the washer and nut on the backside to anchor the eye bolt into the board. Place the 2”x12”s end-to-end on the bottom of the trench, so that there is an eyebolt every 16”. Be sure the boards lay flat and that there are no voids under them.

Step 8- webbing

• You will first need to cut the webbing into 3-foot lengths. I have supplied extra feet, so don’t worry if you make a few mistakes. Remember to melt the ends. Use the provided webbing to tie the canvas to the 2”x12” by threading the webbing through the eyebolt and around the 3/8” rod in the pocket of the canvas. In order to loop the webbing around the rod you inserted in the pocket of the canvas you will have to cut a vertical slit in the pocket with a good pair of scissors. This will allow you to loop the webbing around the rod, and through the eyebolt on the 2”x12” and then pull the webbing tight and tie it with a square knot. Repeat this process around the entire pillow tying the webbing every 16 inches. (I recommend tying the knot close to the canvas, so that if you ever have to remove slack in the canvas you will only have to dig down to the knot.) If you dug your trench a few more inches deeper than 24” than you can tie the webbing tight enough that it allows the boards to float 1” over the bottom of the trench. Then when you back fill the dirt it will then push down the board making your canvas even tighter.

Step 9

Back fill the trench. Use a water hose to wet the dirt so that it will more tightly pack into the trench. The more water you use the better. Pack the dirt as tight as you can! Backfill in LAYERS, packing as you go. As soon as you have all the trenches back filled you can plug the blower into the PVC and fill it up. Allow for a few good rains to settle and pack the dirt. You can add the sand whenever you want, but I would recommend waiting for a few good rains so that the dirt is more heavily packed, and if you have any small problems you will be able to fix them without having to excavate the sand.

Step 10

• Call us before you install. We are positive you can manage it on your own, but we have found that it is better if you are able to talk it through once or twice. 

• Congratulations! You just installed an “inflatable” and saved thousands of dollars. Take your wife out to eat and let the kids jump until they are too tired to move