HexaYurts

[clocksnmirrors]

*very* interesting - anybody else heard more about the hexayurt workshop? I'd quite like to make that more visible on the site, I've wanted to see (decent, ethical) commercial production for *years!*
Please drop me a line if anybody finds out more!
V>
(inventor of the hexayurt)

you are THE vinay gupta??? it's a pleasure to see you haunting these boards!

THANK YOU for sharing your invention with the world. i can't wait to get my pentayurt to the playa!

[lucky420]

Thank you VG! Your invention has made my BM and other camping experiences so much more fun. Love My Yurt

[A Jester]

I hear they were going to test the H13 last year, does anyone know how that went?

I love my Hexayurt, but a taller door is on my agenda.

[slvrnmph]

I had an H13 I built on the playa last year. I don't have any pictures I think, but I'll look if I can find one. It worked great and the full height door was not only nice to easily walk through but the additional height in the front really makes the inside seem even way more spacious. I didn't have any problem with wind so the added height didn't seem to cause any wind resistance problems. I would absolutely suggest it over the standard H12.

[slvrnmph]

No good pics, but here are two from camp setup with the yurt in the background.

[MoBo]

I have a 10 panel Cube. I did cut the 8 eight foot Panels for the walls down to 7' tall as I am 6' 4" and that was plenty of head room.

Here is my cube type Boxayurt in photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64084674@N ... 778778884/

I used angle iron as stakes for the four corners and used a post hammer to put them 18" in to the ground. Then I tension the four stakes together compressing the cube about a foot from the top of the cube.
The rebar stakes around the cube cross (make an "X") on the top of the roof, pushing/securing the roof down on to the cube.

There is an internal crossbeam keeping the roof from collapsing as well as providing a place to hang the light inside.

it was out there 2008, 2009 and 2011 and stayed solid in the worst storms.

[Hondovious]

Resurrecting the yurt for this year.. So far adventures include:

Telling my girlfriend to use vinegar to wash off the playa from the taped sections and get the edges ready for new tape, only to realize after she used seasoned vinegar for sushi which has salt and sugar added to it.. Whoops, white vinegar and windex cleared off the sticky eventually

Lots of edge and foil repair. I love foil tape. It is worth the xtra money at HD for the thicker stuff. I kinda wish I had done all of the edging with this stuff!

Door repair and adjustment. I reinforced the door last year and added hinges and a latch. SO great, just need to improve the swing a little..

Swamp cooler is tested and ready for battle again, think I will replace the pad though. FYI, do NOT put melted cooler water in the swamp cooler. It stinks.

Here are some pics of my door piece. I keep the yurt in 3 two-panel sections for the walls and used the Danger hinge method to keep the roof in two pieces. The roof needed the most repair, but still so much easier than having 12 different roof pieces to assemble on playa. Fuck a bunch of that. The white you see of the right side is dry erase paint. It did not survive the winter so I will be redoing that as well. Having a dry erase area on the side wall, and one on the inside as well, is outstanding for leaving notes for friends and partners

[MoBo]

I have a 10 panel Cube. I did cut the 8 eight foot Panels for the walls down to 7' tall as I am 6' 4" and that was plenty of head room.

Here is my cube type Boxayurt in photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64084674@N ... 778778884/

I used angle iron as stakes for the four corners and used a post hammer to put them 18" in to the ground. Then I tension the four stakes together compressing the cube about a foot from the top of the cube.
The rebar stakes around the cube cross (make an "X") on the top of the roof, pushing/securing the roof down on to the cube.

There is an internal crossbeam keeping the roof from collapsing as well as providing a place to hang the light inside.

it was out there 2008, 2009 and 2011 and stayed solid in the worst storms.

Sorry, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64084674@N ... 778778884/

[otakup0pe]

Call it paranoia, over-engineering or just plain caution but I've decided to foil-over all exterior bifilament tape. Today I started going over our camp danger style hinges. I am not nearly precise enough to cover a six inch strip of bifilament tape with two three inch strips of foil tape so I've been doing the hinges with three strips.

OMG thats is a lot of foil tape. Time to rush out another order I guess !

[lucky420]

otakupOpe, why are you covering the bi tape with foil tape. What are you paranoid about that is making you do this?

offarock-can you stand up right in your yurt?

Hondovious-very cool looking door and your yurt looks very heavy duty

[MoBo]

Re: HexaYurts
by lucky420 » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:58 am

offarock-can you stand up right in your yurt?

Yup. I'm 6'4" and the roof is 7'.

[otakup0pe]

otakupOpe, why are you covering the bi tape with foil tape. What are you paranoid about that is making you do this?

While RMAX has a high ignition point, once lit it burns quite hot. Bifilament tape has a much lower ignition point and burns hot enough to ignite polyiso foam. http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_Safety_Information

Also seeing anecdotal evidence that the bifilament hinges will last longer (top binding layer won't break down) when not directly exposed to the elements.

Comedy Answer : Just doing my part to help stimulate the economy

[lucky420]

well thanks for answering and stimulating the economy.

My paranoia regarding my yurt is not fire but that it will lift off the ground and get airborne during a big wind. I strap it down pretty good buy my knot tying skills leave a lot to be desired. We took our yurt to Symbiosis this year at Pyramid lake. Winds out there reached around 40 mph gusts and we did okay although there was a little lift during some of the bigger gusts. The ground was very loose soil though and we only used 18 in rebar. For BRC i'm bringing longer rebar this year...

[otakup0pe]

My paranoia regarding my yurt is not fire but that it will lift off the ground and get airborne during a big wind.

Rights - that's my other fear. Further stimulating the economy by shelling out for large playa staples and ratchet straps.

[Hondovious]

So another thought I have been having, since I like to do things ridiculously over the top, is to build a monkey hut and use it off the front of the yurt as a foyer/de-dusting area. Taking off shoes and the like to keep the dust inside to a minimum. I do worry a bit that a strong gust could push the monkey hut into the yurt and potentially damage it. Do you think keeping a lot of tension off the front pulling it out away from the yurt would be enough to prevent that? Am I insane? I kinda want to have the monkey hut, put some astroturf on the inside, and maybe a chandelier close to the door. I will be on playa 12 days this year, so the effort is worth it, just want to make sure I am not taking bigger risks with my silly decadence.

[theCryptofishist]

Hondovious
I have no idea how well this would work, although people do love their foyers. But I salute your willingness to go over the top. That's one of the secret principles fo the burn.

[lucky420]

I was thinking of doing the same thing with a monkey hut in front of my yurt. But I just do not have the time to try and make one this year...

[big baby jesus]

My last hexayurt was an H15 built out of 2" R-Max and it worked great. I gifted it to some Swiss guys last year because I was only able to come up for a few days and it didn't seem worth the trouble and it gave me an excuse to build a new one. I'm making the new out of 2" again and I'm building a better foyer. My last one had a sort of foyer, A panel extension. As small as it was, it helped.
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigbabyjesus61/6022308463[/img]

[big baby jesus]

I tried the Img button and the URL button and can't figure out how to post a picture of it. Sorry.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigbabyjesus61/6022308463/

[Jackass]

My last hexayurt was an H15 built out of 2" R-Max and it worked great. I gifted it to some Swiss guys last year because I was only able to come up for a few days and it didn't seem worth the trouble and it gave me an excuse to build a new one. I'm making the new out of 2" again and I'm building a better foyer. My last one had a sort of foyer, A panel extension. As small as it was, it helped. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigbabyjesus61/6022308463

One slash too many

[lucky420]

thanks for sharing big baby jesus. I love seeing the inside of yurts.

And were you by chance at compression this last saturday in REno?

[big baby jesus]

Lucky420,
Couldn't make it to Compression, it looked cool though. I'm 6'3" and my H15 felt so spacious. I've got an indoor kitchen this year and it'll fit within the 8' x 6' dimensions of the wall. Last year it was a bar, this year it'll be more. I saw your posts about the wind and you'll be fine if you just go with longer rebar, I used 24's and 36's and never once gave the winds a thought. Remember a set of vice grips, you'll never be able to pull the rebar out, just clamp the VG's on and spin them out.

[junglebrad]

Home Depots in Dallas are only carrying 3/4" thick Rmax R-matte, which is too flimsy. They can special order Thermasheath 1" and 1 1/2" thick, but you have to buy the whole bundle. Not an option for me. So I was thinking of getting the 3/4" thick stuff and glue them to some thin plywood (perhaps 1/4"?). I've been reading that plywood isn't the greatest material for the playa as it is heavy and a bitch to put up. But I can't seem to find anything other than 3/4" insulated panels in my area.

Any ideas?

[lucky420]

do you have a Lowes down there in texas? Or a building supply store, more like where contractors would buy construction materials.

[slvrnmph]

Home Depots in Dallas are only carrying 3/4" thick Rmax R-matte, which is too flimsy. They can special order Thermasheath 1" and 1 1/2" thick, but you have to buy the whole bundle. Not an option for me. So I was thinking of getting the 3/4" thick stuff and glue them to some thin plywood (perhaps 1/4"?). I've been reading that plywood isn't the greatest material for the playa as it is heavy and a bitch to put up. But I can't seem to find anything other than 3/4" insulated panels in my area.

Any ideas?

What if you did a double layer of the 3/4" panels? Meaning gluing two panels together. I would think you could do that just for the walls and then just use a single layer of the 3/4 for the roof. Or if there is a mailing list or facebook group for Dallas burners and post and see if you can get a group to go in together on the bundle of the 1" or 1 1/2". There could be other people in your area interested in building a yurt.

[junglebrad]

We do have a Lowes also but you have to order the whole bundle from them as well. I thought about doubling the panels but that would cost twice as much. Do you think a plywood backing would be a bad idea? I already have quite a few sheets of waferboard in the garage.

[slvrnmph]

I just can't guess how the plywood would effect the cooling factor. Maybe instead of using a whole sheet you cut into an X shape to stabilize the the panels so they are more wind resistant without adding so much extra bulk?

[lucky420]

would plywood affect the cooling factor? RMAX is insulation that is used for houses. Depending on what exterior your house has, the RMAX is still covered with some type of wood, siding, stucco (wood underneath) etc.

and would 3/4 RMAX be that flimsy if it was taped and staked real good?

[lucky420]

on page 23 of this thread towards the bottom of the page, Vinny Gupta who is the inventor of the hexayurt posted a comment. His eplayan name is hexayurt, maybe you could pm him and ask about the 3/4 rmax. Not sure how often he checks this board but maybe worth a shot.

[slvrnmph]

When I built my first yurt there wasn't enough 1" panels so I used some 3/4" on the roof and it was fine. But I didn't use the thinner panels for the walls.