Krivoman blind platform.....

[Smart]

New to the Krivoman blind world and decided after hunting in an elevated stand, I wanted to go up a little from my normal 6x6 boxes one concrete block off the ground with this one. The original thought was to have a second blind on this 35x65 yard pen for better wind choices each weekend but it morphed into a "better for the dominant SW wind and still keep it in the shade" blind.. Truth be told its not much further away from my 6x6 but it is much better for the SW wind with my deer at the feeder. Everybody I talked to emphasized shade in these hot boxes, so I listened. They way it is set up in the pen, its going to be hard to talk myself into hunting out of my 6x6 box again unless its a north wind. Speaking of north winds......Friday was 22 and a high of 38 and Sat am was 12 with a windchill of 7... I'm paying for it now sick as a dog.

So after a few months of research and asking several TBHers on the platform threads a lot of questions behind the scenes,I decided on a 7' x 10' platform and 6' tall... 10' long because the Krivo is 82" long and I figured a 3' porch would be plenty of room for this big old boy to get in and out of the door safely.. I also had a 24" x 8' piece of 3/4" plywood left over from a previous build so no added expense there for the extension plywood wise. I went 7' wide because, besides my porch, I wanted the least amount of plywood top showing. I didn't min the extra cuts either to get it to 7. As you can see, I had plenty of uses for the shorter boards in bulking up the overbuilt platform deck any way. When I bought my Krivo used, it came with a 8x8x2' platform that was pretty warped but I was able to salvage the two 4x8 pieces of plywood and several of the treated 2x4s for railing and step support bracing. We made use of what we could and took the rest to the dump. The rest of the blind is new treated wood and at today's prices, I felt like I was building with gold bars.. Was thankful I didn't have to buy plywood for it at $70/sheet. Painted the plywood and will paint the rest of the platform after the drying period. I realized my age after a buddy of mine and I had to struggle to get the second set of legs in the brackets at 6'. The first two were easy but lifting the whole platform up over or 5'9-5'10 heads while trying to fit 6' 4x4s in a bracket was a challenge. That freshly treated wood is heavy! Lets just say my clean and jerk is not what it used to be. We definitely need another set of hands.. If I do this for my other pen, I will definitely be buying a pre-made metal platform or paying somebody to build a custom. I'm too old for this crap...lol I am, however, extremely happy with the way it turned out. Next project is the flooring and deluxe windows ...

Anyway...on to the pics...


The platform that came with it we salvaged from.




Started the build with the basic framing back home. Was too large to haul 5 hours on a trailer fully assembled so I put what i could together and pretty much cut what I could to make assembly easier in the woods.






And yes i overbuilt....see big ol boy mentioned above..






Was good to get it in the air here. we took a solid break after this. Again one more set of hands would have made it easier.





I went with stairs instead of a ladder. Might as well be easy access from the start .










The finished product to date. Still have several things to do to it, but this is where we got to, given our allotted time and we still had to refresh some brush in some of the turkey blinds in our strutting fields....




The view. That mesquite and cedar tree will be topped next trip as well...

[Sippy]

Thats pretty slick!

[ccbrown50]

Nice work. Fall can't come quick enough!

[mpotts]

Nice work SMART!!

[jerp]

Nice - the extra time and materials will be well worth it

[sboudreaux]

Great job, looks really nice!

[Bone Thug]

Nice job on the build….You did good. You’re going to really enjoy it.

[Smart]

Thanks fellas.

Originally Posted by jerp

Nice - the extra time and materials will be well worth it

I hope so jerp. Trying to keep it warp free and solid too some added time but hopefully it pays off in longevity. Due to the length of the sides, I had to scab some 2x4s for the diagonal supports or pay $25/board and haul them... Hopefully they also do their job. It was rock solid after I was done..

[doghouse]

Looks great. Wish I had those skills!

[Agdog]

Slick indeed! You should tag this over in the DIY too. Great work!

[Cooper]

Nice job Jason.....That's a stout platform for sure and should be there for awhile!!!

[EliteDriver]

Looks good...good job!

[TxBowHntr]

Question for those that built platforms using plywood for the floor. I did the same and when it rains, the water runs on top of the plywood under the blind and soaks my carpet. What are ya'll doing to prevent this?

[Smart]

Originally Posted by TxBowHntr

Question for those that built platforms using plywood for the floor. I did the same and when it rains, the water runs on top of the plywood under the blind and soaks my carpet. What are ya'll doing to prevent this?

Run a large bead of silicone around the outside base after screwing it down.

[RINCON]

Originally Posted by TxBowHntr

Question for those that built platforms using plywood for the floor. I did the same and when it rains, the water runs on top of the plywood under the blind and soaks my carpet. What are ya'll doing to prevent this?

I ran a tube of silicone and then sprayed it with a can of black flex seal. Maybe overkill but it worked.

[IvoryRoot]

Looks great and built to last.

[Quackerbox]

Don't we have a diy section?

Sincerely, Smart 2.0

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[slayr]

Originally Posted by quackerbox

don't we have a diy section?

Sincerely, smart 2.0

sent from my sm-g970u using tapatalk

:d :d

[Agdog]

Originally Posted by Quackerbox

Don't we have a diy section?

Sincerely, Smart 2.0

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

I took the softer approach earlier

[Traildust]

Good job Granpa

[Smart]

Originally Posted by Traildust

Good job Granpa

. Who you calling grandpa there PeePaw?

[Traildust]

Originally Posted by Smart

. Who you calling grandpa there PeePaw?

I saw you left room for a stair lift in the future!

[Smart]

Originally Posted by Traildust

I saw you left room for a stair lift in the future!

. 2023 retrofit upgrade

[SaltwaterSlick]

Jason, I put those rubber horse mats in the floor of mine, then put carpet on top of those... Sure quietened them down and keeps the carpet from getting wet. In the offseason, hang a HotShot no-pest strip inside... My Krivo's are Black Widow magnets for some reason... I hunt the pest strips to keep wasps out, but a side bennie was no spiders!!
You got some skillz with wood n nails/screws... If I did something like that, It'd have to be square tubing and my wire welder!! Me n wood don't get along... Cant' seem to find any wooden welding rods that are worth a flip... hard to keep 'em lit!

[Olympic Recurve]

Solid work!

[Mayhem]

Looks awesome Jason


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[ByronB]

Looks fantastic Jason!!!! Stairs look great.

[Krivoman]

very nice. you need a job?

[Deathrow Jethro]

As with most of your projects, you knocked this one out of the park!!!

[HeyMikey]

Good job! You'll be able to enjoy the benefits of your hard work for a very long time.

[sandbill]

Solid platform work!

[Snowflake Killa]

Screw you

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[TexasCanesFan]

Turned out great Smart. Good job brother.

[talltexasshoote]

Good call on the stairs Jason. The older I get the less I like ladders of any type.

[Lights Out]

That should last a good while. Looks good

[Smart]

Thanks fellas for the good words! It was certainly a labor of comfort and a new view..(notice I didn't mention love) .

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

Jason, I put those rubber horse mats in the floor of mine, then put carpet on top of those... Sure quietened them down and keeps the carpet from getting wet. In the offseason, hang a HotShot no-pest strip inside... My Krivo's are Black Widow magnets for some reason... I hunt the pest strips to keep wasps out, but a side bennie was no spiders!!
You got some skillz with wood n nails/screws... If I did something like that, It'd have to be square tubing and my wire welder!! Me n wood don't get along... Cant' seem to find any wooden welding rods that are worth a flip... hard to keep 'em lit!

Thanks for the advice Charlie. We spray our blinds and our cabin down with Tempo twice a year so I'm hoping that does the usual deed for us. If not will get a pest strip. This came with a few of the 1/2 mats Mitch suggested and I have a few as well for under the carpet. Will try these first and then go to the horse stall mats if I'm not satisfied.

I wish I could weld. I took two semesters in HS of stick and oxy/cet welding (before migs) and never went much further. I keep telling myself I'm going to jump off into a 110 mig and teach myself. My youngest brother did it for a living but had zero teaching patience so I never got much from him.

Originally Posted by Krivoman

very nice. you need a job?

lol....thanks Mitch. I think I'm officially retired from base building for myself. Pretty sure, I'll be coming to you if I need another base. I'll help others on my lease if needed but ....I'm going the pre-made or custom route I do believe from now on

Originally Posted by Snowflake Killa

Screw you
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Yo momma...

Originally Posted by talltexasshoote

Good call on the stairs Jason. The older I get the less I like ladders of any type.

No doubt! That was the first thing I planned on when I knew I wanted to go up. Hopefully the 2x8s last ....

[BrandonA]

That will last forever. Solid A+

[Smart]

I know I'm preaching to the choir here for the most part, but for those that don't have them, those 1/4" impacts are the best tool to come along since duct tape. I've had one for about 6-7 years now and they sure make quick work of everything....especially the 3.5 screws and the 3.5" lags. My Milwaukee Fuel and my buddy's Dewalt 20v ate em up like nothing. Building this with a standard Dewalt drill like I used to build my blinds in 2008-2010 would have been a PITA with a bunch of pilot hole drilling and wrist bending.. As long as your wood can handle it, and treated wood being wet, it usually can not splitting, its run and gun.. They are too cheap these days to not have one in the arsenal.

[Gumbo Man]

That’s a great job Jason. You obviously were listening when told build it right and you’ll build it one time. That will out live most hunters over the age of 18. Now go kill Big Nappy and quit messing around.

[Smart]

Originally Posted by Gumbo Man

That’s a great job Jason. You obviously were listening when told build it right and you’ll build it one time. That will out live most hunters over the age of 18. Now go kill Big Nappy and quit messing around.

Thanks GM… I think Big Nappy found him a couple of hot girlfriends. He’s been awol for a week. …

[Exit110]

Looks like it should last for sure, nice job

[Gumbo Man]

Originally Posted by Smart

Thanks GM… I think Big Nappy found him a couple of hot girlfriends. He’s been awol for a week. …

You get a lot of girl friends when you have a big scar to show off and good story to go with it. LOL

[CWayne121]

Looks great! I've recently placed an order for Krivo and will be building something similar very soon.

Quick question for Saltwater

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

Jason, I put those rubber horse mats in the floor of mine, then put carpet on top of those... Sure quietened them down and keeps the carpet from getting wet. In the offseason, hang a HotShot no-pest strip inside... My Krivo's are Black Widow magnets for some reason... I hunt the pest strips to keep wasps out, but a side bennie was no spiders!!

Is your Krivo on the ground or a platform? Where do you think the spiders are getting in? My father is a tough dude but deathly afraid of spiders and we're upgrading from wooden box blinds to get away from the crawlers. Any particular area to shore up with the new blinds to keep them out?

[SaltwaterSlick]

Originally Posted by CWayne121

Looks great! I've recently placed an order for Krivo and will be building something similar very soon.

Quick question for Saltwater



Is your Krivo on the ground or a platform? Where do you think the spiders are getting in? My father is a tough dude but deathly afraid of spiders and we're upgrading from wooden box blinds to get away from the crawlers. Any particular area to shore up with the new blinds to keep them out?

Both. The one on the ground has fewer spiders. I buried the outside flange in the ground to keep bugs out... just used a shovel and threw dirt up on the sides of the blind all the way around for about 4-6" They get in around the door. Pretty much everywhere else, these blinds are dang tight. The only time I ever had wasps in them, my grandson left one of the windows open year before last late in the fall when the wasps were especially bad... That was not fun!!

[Passthrough]

I can’t imagine how long it took your OCD azz to research and construct that!!! Did you consult an engineer for the design??
Looks dang good man!! Hope you have many successful hunts from it

[Smart]

Originally Posted by Passthrough

I can’t imagine how long it took your OCD azz to research and construct that!!! Did you consult an engineer for the design??
Looks dang good man!! Hope you have many successful hunts from it

Let’s just say…. I’m glad it’s over . Thanks Shane!

[TexasCanesFan]

Originally Posted by Smart

I wish I could weld. I took two semesters in HS of stick and oxy/cet welding (before migs) and never went much further. I keep telling myself I'm going to jump off into a 110 mig and teach myself.

If you decide you want another base and want to weld it up we can do it at my place. Use my equipment and teach you to weld along the way. MUCH easier than a stick welder IMO.

Plus my cold cut miter saw is cheating for angles and octagons.

[Smart]

Originally Posted by TexasCanesFan

If you decide you want another base and want to weld it up we can do it at my place. Use my equipment and teach you to weld along the way. MUCH easier than a stick welder IMO.

Plus my cold cut miter saw is cheating for angles and octagons.

Heck yes. I should have hit you up 3 months ago...lol Great offer Joe. Thanks man!

[KactusKiller]

Great job on the base. I would make sure that your windows and doors don’t leak before you seal up the base. A couple of mine leak pretty good. You may drill a couple weep holes in the floor.
Also from a construction guy and someone who had to recall my bases put a heavy bead of caulk on bottom side of lip and sandwhich the caulk between the blind and wood. That plastic expands and contracts a lot with the temp and you caulk will pull away eventually if you just caulk the outside edge.

Just some past experience with the krivo

[ByronB]

Once I put my Krivoman on a six foot platform I have never even had a spider or any bugs in it. Seal it up tight and there should be no worries.