Flock House Poly Pod/Instructions

To make one window panel, assemble nine clear plastic bags and two rectangular pieces of bubble wrap. The bubble wrap should be approximately the same size as the clear bags you are using. We found that produce bags from the grocery store work well.

Iron a single plastic bag onto each side of both pieces of bubble wrap. When ironing, do not hold the iron in one place for more than two seconds at a time, as that will cause the bubble wrap to pop. To iron the two pieces of encased bubble wrap together, use the iron to crimp three edges of the two panels together. This will help keep the two pieces of bubble wrap together while you are ironing them together. Leaving one side open allows for air to escape from that fourth side.

Iron another clear bag on each side of the panel.

When both pieces of bubble wrap are securely attached to each other, crimp shut the fourth side. This makes the resulting panel stronger.

Iron two to four more clear bags to either side of your window panel depending on how rigid you want it.

Detach the umbrella fabric from an umbrella frame. Fold the umbrella fabric in half around an arched piece of polypropylene pipe and sew in place. Attach the polypropylene pipe and attached fabric to the top of a window opening with screws and weather-stripping. The wooden frame represents the top of the window opening.

Attach a second arched piece of polypropylene pipe to the window opening. Use pins to attach the pipe in order to let the arched piece articulate up and down in the window frame.

Attach a vertical rib made from polypropylene pipe to keep the awning from sagging. Make this piece removable so that the awning can still articulate.

Secure the umbrella fabric to the arched piece from Step 2. The vertical piece from Step 3 should hold the umbrella in a dome-like shape.

Cut an umbrella in half leaving the umbrella fabric attached to the frame. The handle should still be attached to one of the halves. Leave enough fabric to wrap under the ribs when cutting the umbrella.

Remove the hardware from the umbrella half that does not have the handle attached. Use the umbrella half with the hardware removed as a rain-fly and attach this to the window opening. Sandwich the umbrella fabric for the rain-fly between an arched piece of wood and some weather-stripping. Attach this with screws to the window opening with the weather stripping facing the structure. A second arched piece of wood is representing the top of the window opening in this picture.

Secure the other half of the umbrella to the window frame under the rain-fly with small hooks. The hook attachment allows for the awning to be removed so that more air or sunlight can be allowed through the window when desired.

Finished awning secured to window opening

Gather nine plastic bags of any color along with pieces of string that are approximately the same length of the bags.

Start with three bags. Lay one bag flat and place pieces of string vertically on the bag an inch to an inch and a half apart. Then place another flattened bag on top of the string and add another layer of string on top of that bag as before. Lastly, place the third plastic bag on top and iron them all together making a rigid panel.

Create two more panels using the descriptions from the previous steps. Iron all three panels together, one on top of the other, to create one rigid panel.

Roll the panel from step 3 into a cone shape and iron the overlapping edges together creating a cone shaped planter.

To make the planter holders begin by taking three strips of cut plastic bag and braid the strips as tightly as you can. After braiding the desired length crimp the end with an iron to stop the braid from unraveling.

Secure the planter holders to the frame or window panels and place the planters in the holders. The planter holders here are secured to the window panels.

Gather nine plastic bags. These nine bags will create a single door panel.

Lay three plastic bags on top of each other. Iron these three bags together to form one panel. Do this two more times to make three identical panels.

Iron the three panels from Step 2 together to create a rigid door panel that is a total of nine bags thick.

Repeat steps 1-3 until you have enough panels to fully cover the door frame.

To strengthen the door, create a thick plastic strip that is about two inches wide. To do this, simply take one plastic bag and fold it in half until it is about two inches wide and iron. Leaving the handles of the bag un-ironed. Do this to a second bag and place the bottom end of the second bag in between the un-ironed handles of the first bag. Iron the handles of the first bag to create a longer strip. Repeat this until this two inch strip is the same length as the height of the door.

Place two panels over the two inch strip side by side at the bottom of the strip, with each panel covering half the thickness of the strip. The panels should not overlap each other. Rivet the plastic panels to the plastic strip. Place two more panels side by side slightly overlapping the top of the first row to create a shingle effect so that water will run down the door. Do this for the length of the strip.

When the full area of the door is completed, attach the completed door to the frame with hinges. Cut the edges of the door to fit to the frame.

It is recommended to use thicker plastic bags for the canopy to add to the rigidity of the panels. Gather nine plastic bags in order to create a single panel.

Place three bags on top of each other and iron them together between parchment paper. Repeat this process two more times to create three panels. Each panel should be three bags thick.

Iron the three panels together to create a rigid panel, totaling nine bags thick. Repeat Steps 1&2 until there are enough panels to cover the top portion of the door.

Lay the panels over the top of the door frame. Arrange the panels to overlap creating a shingled effect to allow water to run off. Rivet the panels to the frame, and to each other for reinforcement.

Cut the canopy to the shape and dimensions required.