Whats the easiest shlock to make, for the very not handy?

amother

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 7:17 pm

Whats the absolutely easiest shlock to make for the most not handy people (Sukkah covering that goes on top of Sukkah to protect it from rain), for a Sukkah thats on a small porch on 2nd floor?

ra_mom

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 7:30 pm

We're not handy and had to contend with no shlock until we're ready to invest in a permanent awning. A porch doesn't leave room for throwing the shlock over the sukkah and tying down.

amother

Orange

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 7:39 pm

Any shlock is complicated and not worth the work. We don't have a shlock.

Genius

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 7:42 pm

I’m currently in therapy for the ptsd I’m suffering from the annual shlok struggle.
I lived higher than the second floor. The entire undertaking was suicidal even for the handy guys who came to help.

Elfrida

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 8:24 pm

Definitely be careful.

I knew one man who was fixing this into place on the ground floor, on top of a ladder. He learnt the hard way that it is a bad idea to cut the rope you are holding onto - and crashed into the concrete floor. He spent that Sukkot in hospital with a fractured skull, broken ribs and a broken leg.

We never had one. When it rained, the sukkah got wet. When it stopped, we went out with towels and dried it.

momX4

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 8:36 pm

I take a shlak and cover the tables and chairs when not in use. After it rains we just take off the shlack and everything underneath is dry

thunderstorm

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 8:38 pm

My DH is very handy but he does not do a shlock because of the stress and complications involved. It’s not worth it. We have managed without for many years and it never dampened our Succos...pun intended

amother

Purple

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:35 pm

But then what about all the nice decorations your kids bring home or make? Do they just get ruined every year?

ra_mom

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:37 pm

amother [ Purple ] wrote:

But then what about all the nice decorations your kids bring home or make? Do they just get ruined every year?

Must be weatherized before they are hung up. The rest is all weather proof like canvas posters, backdrops, plastic garlands and fruits. And the plan in to be"h invest in a permanent awning.

Last edited by ra_mom on Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Forestgreen

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:37 pm

amother [ Purple ] wrote:

But then what about all the nice decorations your kids bring home or make? Do they just get ruined every year?

Many of them can be rainproofed.

I'm going to let my son try for a good shlock this year.

Fool's errand, maybe?

There's a reason "shlock" is an insult in yiddish...

amother

Purple

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:43 pm

HOW CAN THEY BE WEATHERIZED/RAINPROOFED. IF PUT IN A ZIPLOC BAG BEADS OF MOISTURE STILL TEND TO GET IN I THINK. OR DO YOU ONLY PUT DECORATIONS THAT ARE MORE WEATHER RESISTANT TO START WITH?

amother

Cerise

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:43 pm

amother [ Purple ] wrote:

But then what about all the nice decorations your kids bring home or make? Do they just get ruined every year?

Most people I know see their sukkah as being outside, and inherently exposed to the elements. Part of the whole point of the decorations is that they are either weatherized or temporary, and sometimes both.

Re everything else, when you leave the sukkah, push the chairs all the way in and cover the whole thing with a large plastic tablecloth. Weigh it down if you like. It may blow off anyway. That's also part of Sukkos.

amother

Cerise

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:47 pm

amother [ Purple ] wrote:

HOW CAN THEY BE WEATHERIZED/RAINPROOFED. IF PUT IN A ZIPLOC BAG BEADS OF MOISTURE STILL TEND TO GET IN I THINK. OR DO YOU ONLY PUT DECORATIONS THAT ARE MORE WEATHER RESISTANT TO START WITH?

You can get flat ones laminated. With ziplocs, you can double up in opposite directions, which helps a lot. If it's smaller than the bag, put it in and then close the bag and fold it over, and tape it up- that does a nice job. It's nice if they last from year to year, but it's ok if they don't. The kids get sad, I get sad, and then we daven for mashiach.

ra_mom

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:49 pm

We invest in waterproof decorations. The class decorations sometimes don't last. We try with double laminating with ends not cut off so water doesn't seep in. Contact paper plus ziploc on bulkier items. And we make sure to make new pretty ones each year. Next year in yerushalayim! With an awning.

Last edited by ra_mom on Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Purple

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:49 pm

Thanks for these tips.
Glad I am not the only one.
Was wondering how everyone manages to save their decorations from year to year.

gyf45

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 9:58 pm

This made me feel better. I was considering getting myself into therapy for severe anxiety due to not having a proper schloch and it’s currently pouring and the plastic tarp we have slung over, is sinking lower and lower from the water weight. Ok.... guess on sukkos we’ll do a table and chair shloch and hope for the best.

Genius

Tue, Sep 29 2020, 10:24 pm

gyf45 wrote:

That’s what you have a broom for. You employ the upstairs neighbor to guide you and from the inside you punch punch punch until the bowch is gone. You will get drenched, in case you were wondering about your own safety during the fix-the-shlak mission

Mama Bear

Wed, Sep 30 2020, 1:36 am

Wow!
My 15 yr old son nearly had a nervous breakdown (chv) from trying for a week to put together a shlock. I fianally told him to look at himself in the mirror and he'll see a real shlock (it was a joke. He did not take it well.) It took half an hour of therapizing him to convince him it's not worth it. Everyone has their strengths and talents, and carpentry is not his.
I'm soooooo glad to see I'm not alone!!!