Hi all~ I'm looing at building a double Hexayurt in my backyard, as part of an experiment in living out there with a veggie patch, minimal grid usage, and with minimal building materials. I fell in love with hexayurts when I first saw them, and have drawn up plans and made a scale model of a joined 8ft hexayurt and stretch hexayurt. The idea is that the stretch is the bedroom, and the main is the living quarters. They fit together nicely along one wall.
I'm in Australia, specifically in Melbourne, which is a temperate climate without snow, medium rainfall (we are in a drought, atm), hot summers, and occasional strong winds (about 60mph is max). We're not prone to any weather extremes except bushfires in Summer, which I am not at any risk for, and the odd flash flood, which I am at risk for. What I'm curious is to people's estimates of how long a well-made hexayurt could be used as a daily living space for one person. My hexayurt is going to built out of 'foilboard' - 1 inch extruded polystyrene insulation board with an aluminium foil surface front and back, and 4 inch bi-directional filmanent tape with foil tape over that. I am probably going to look at sealing everything with a layer of epoxy/waterseal, especially the floor. We don't have the Dow stuff that the Hexayurt site recommends here, to my knowledge, unless there is another Aussie on here who can advise me otherwise. I chose Foilboard because it seems to be a decent insulator, at a reasonable cost - about $700 for 19 sheets, or two big hexayurts. The flash flood and the water, I have made provisions for: a double layer of tarp, sealed outside, and then inside with a 'bathtub seal', as well as a door that doesn't touch the ground - it will make getting in and out a bit trickier than the average hexayurt, but a six-inch water barrier between me and any creeping floodwater from the front street (where it floods to waist deep) should be enough to keep the water outside. This might be good for hexayurts built in rainy areas as a general thing - making sure the door frame doesn't go from the ground, but gives an allowance for water. The door design itself, I'm still not 100% on - are there ways people have been able to make hexayurts more secure? I was thinking toggles and padlocks, possibly, but I'm not really sure. I'm curious as to people's opinions on the project, and particularly in experiences with living in hexayurts for a longer period. I'm hoping mine will survive for a while, barring natural disasters. Much of the potential stuff I can see going wrong can probably be prevented...things like wind damage (i.e. the wind chucking things into my 1in polystyrene walls xD) and water leaking. What is the projected lifespan of a hexayurt? Has anyone lived in one for a while, and knows what maintainance would go into one over time? I'd suspect the tape would be the main culprit. Can anyone think of any issues? If people are interested, I will keep the mailing list informed on the project, now that the plans are settled :D Thanks! Gwydion. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
