The Build Crew is comprised of everyone who helps make the DMV real on playa. We have members whose focus is construction, art, lighting, management, fundraising, media and two council members to interface with the org and other departments.
A team of build leads has been meeting since February to help plan for the needs of this year's build.
It takes us all to make it all.
You only need to read the first six pages of this manual (after you skip the table of contents.)
It contains checklists for equipment and PPE you need or might want to bring with you to the build (for example, safety glasses if you'll be using tools).
The rest is a reference manual. Any of us can look at it on-playa to understand what is needed for almost any step of the build. It's a work in progress, so let a build lead know if something is missingor has changed.
We'll have a printed copy and electronic copies on-playa. You can also put a pdf of it onto your personal device if you wish (for offline use). We'll publish one here when we've finalized this document for this year.
Build leads are encouraged to read this manual. It covers how we support the build crew during setup and breakdown. It also includes some relevant standard operating procedures.
The DMV is standardizing on T25 Torx head screws for almost all applications . We already use lots of T25 deck screws, and we saved them from last year. We didn't keep any Phillips head screws - we used to buy new ones every year because they get stripped out. We can be better at LNT by re-using T25 screws for multiple years.
Unfortunately, 'truss head screws' only come in T25 versions in sizes too large for our needs. So, we're makeing our own. We'll have:
1-1/4" long washer screws that replace the old Phillips truss head screws we used to use
1/2" long washer screws for hanging artwork instead of staples.
we still use a few T30 structural screws for the deck
Sara Keyes has been driving our fundraiser, which we hope will provide funds for all our plans for 2026 and beyond.
Watch this space for more information coming soon.
We're planning our next Build Crew Zoom meeting.
Watch this space for the date and time, and a direct link.
This is where you sign up for on-playa setup and breakdown shifts.
Dragonfly
CareBear
Rainbert
Alpha
100 Proof
Sara
Mark Wagner (TollTroll)
Cassandra
Powered
You can email the DMV Build discussion list at dmv-build@burningman.org
Or contact Powered at hoco@burningman.org or Cassandra at cassandra@burningman.org