Hello all, As an experiment while on a long conference call for one of my other endeavors, today, I fashioned a 1/12 scale pentayurt out of some thin cardboard sign material and stuck it together with some tiny pieces of scotch tape.
The design I used was a 5-sided version of the "8-foot Hexayurt" I was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy it was, even with such a flimsy material. After construction, some things were easier to measure than calculate: The structure is about 11 feet high and 12+ feet across (I estimated a little under 14 feet, side to opposite corner). A 6-foot head-room area begins about 2 to 2.5 feet in from the 4-foot walls. For those who remember, I'm trying to figure out a winter-capable structure that would mix the ease and simplicity of the Hexayurt design with the strength needed to withstand snow loads and insulation needed to house people in cold weather. My initial idea was a Pentayurt designed after the 12-foot Hexayurt with guy lines inside at the roof edge (forming a 5-pointed star pattern) and custom cut sheets of insulation to block off the lower 8-feet from the roof area, essentially forming a cold-storage area attic for light storage. While the structural integrity of a 6-sided structure is impressive, that of a 5-sided structure is *really* impressive. The key points of failure in my mini model were the bits of tape holding it together and not in the stiffness of the materials. With the strength I'm seeing in my model, I think a full-sized Pentayurt could withstand moderate (2-3') snow loads if made from properly fastened 1/2-5/8" plywood. Past endeavors in wood seem to have used at least a partial internal framework of 2x4's. I'll probably follow suit at least around the base of the roof and possible half-way up to reinforce the long roof seams. I'm also considering coating the outside of the roof pieces and the lower 6" or so of the walls with driveway sealant if/when I build out of wood. In the mean time, as I refine my idea for a winterized structure, I have good news to report! I've acquired (definite and enthusiastic) permission to build a Hexa/Pentayurt on some property in Canaan, NH! I'm organizing a late May Day / Beltaine celebration at a farm and spiritual retreat up there on Memorial Day weekend and the land owner would love there to be a workshop on the subject. I've already asked Vinay if he'd be willing to come up and help us out, but he doesn't think he'll be able to be in the country (US) at that point... So my question to the good folks here is whether anyone with some experience in building this sort of structure be willing to come and run the workshop? We're running on a shoestring budget, so we can't pay you but we will definitely waive the gate fee for the weekend. It'll be hard enough (financially) to acquire 10-15 sheets of insulation and a couple rolls of tape... If anyone is interested and can make it please let me know and I'll get you on the guest list. If anyone would like to come and attend, teaching or not, the details of the event are at: http://www.aspcanaan.org/wp/?page_id=209 I can probably arrange transportation for one possibly two or three people from Manchester (Boston Regional) Airport (MHT) if you are flying in. ASP has a van we could commandeer for the purpose. I'll post more when I finally get out to a local building supply store to price out options in building materials in the area. Brian -- --------------------------------------------------------------- | [email protected] Proprietor: http://www.JustWorksNH.com | | Computers and Web Sites that JUST WORK | | Work: +1 (603) 484-1461 Home: +1 (603) 484-1469 | --------------------------------------------------------------- -- 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.
