Succah, a Temporary Shelter Covered in Natural Materials, Built Near a Synagogue or House and Used Especially for Meals During the Jewish Festival of Succoth.

suc·cah

so͞oˈkä,ˈso͝okə/ noun noun: sukkah a temporary shelter covered in natural materials, built near a synagogue or house and used especially for meals during the Jewish festival of Succoth.

Yay giant white boards!

I counted wrong in my initial shopping list on how many pieces of plywood to get, so just go off the list I make in the next step.

This, like all projects, depends how big you want it to be.

Our succah was 16'x16' and 8' tall (was making it big enough for my entire fraternity to fit)

Supply List:

(qt = quantity)

4x4x10' = qt 2 = used for spiking and nailing into the ground as stability support to the walls.

4x4x8' = qt 2 = used for two front corners.

6x6x8' = qt 1 = used for the center support to hold the roof supports up.

2x4x8' = qt 42 = used in the construction of the walls.

4'x8' plywood (3/4" thick) = qt 12 = used for the walls.

7" carraige bolts (5/16") = qt 30 = used for going through the plywood, 2x4's and 4x4's for the corners.

(you'll also need non-slip washers and nuts for the bolts)

2 1/2" (two and a half inch) deck screws (exterior designed to be used with wood) = qt big box = for holding wood together.

Wood stain = qt 1-2 gallons = for staining wood

Tools:

I got most of my sawing done at Lowe's, but like with any project a circular saw and a jigsaw always come in handy.

Drill (Dewalt for me, but I won't judge).

All things stain related (cheese cloth if your fancy, old t-shirts / throwaway rags if your plain), probably a drop cloth or two. Garbage bags for used cloths. Lots and lots of gloves so you don't stain your hands.

Clamps, you can never have enough, unless you hoard clamps... then you probably have too many.

Stain at your own pace, the more details you pay attention to the less you'll get on your clothes. (stain like never comes out)

Also start building the sides once the stain is dried. It's a pretty simple concept. I don't think I need to explain how assembly works, the pictures speak for themselves.

Our succah was built against a fence so that counted as one wall.

You'll need 4 "sides" 8 feet wide, and 2 sides 4 feet wide. That will leave an 8 foot gap to be your entrance. Feel free to modify said numbers. In the end as long as it doesn't fall down from a strong breeze, you've succeeded. (Mine stayed up for about a month)

Don't forget to take breaks!

If you have a Rabbi nearby, you'd do well to consult. I myself am not Jewish, so there were a lot of rules and regulations I didn't know about, hence the constant consultation. (That's not me talking to him, I'm the one w/the camera).

Anyway, back to the sides.

You can't see the spike, it's already in the ground, but I pointed out where they go in the pictures.

NOTE - I had a little (1 foot ish) piece of 4"x4" that you put in the top of the spike and then use either a rubber mallet, sledgehammer, rock, your fist if your realllly strong and have a high tolerance for pain, etc... to get the spike into the ground.

Back to the definition:

suc·cah

so͞oˈkä,ˈso͝okə/ noun noun: sukkah a temporary shelter covered in natural materials, built near a synagogue or house and used especially for meals during the Jewish festival of Succoth.

So I climbed a tree with my machete and trimmed us up some branches.

Lucky for us the one tree in our back yard had enough branches to cover our 256 square foot roof.

We decided the walls looked a little ... plain. Not like I was going to spray paint gold leaf on them or anything, so we added all natural potato sack material to give it a little "natural-posh" without taking away from the basic aesthetic look it had.

Finished! Let the festivities commence!Bar