Dear Todd: A few ideas.
If you are making a more permanet structure you need to determine the durability needs. for example, if you live in colorado and it gets 20 below zeero, that is very different than living in florida. iin florida you have the potential for hurricaine loading, in colorado you have cold and snow loading. fortunately the angles on the roof of the hexayurt sheds snow faily eaisly. here are some specific ideas for your questions: - waterproofing the structure (paint, asphalt sealer on seams) 1. you could use metal roofing. this is readily available, easy to install and very secure. this is the "shed tin" you buy at your local home improvment store. by the time you buy waterproofing,, etc you could easily have a polymer or metal tin roof. - drainage - how to site the structure so it's level and not sitting in water or wet earth 1. you could build a freestanding deck. it would level the site and have the deck be 8-12 inches above the ground. you could floor the deck with a plywood / foam / plywood sandwich called a stress skin panel. this will help to ensure good drainiage, keep the floor a little warmer on cold nights, and keep all the water out. 2. you could build a raised gravel bed. taking 2x6's make a "sandbox" and put large gravel in the bottom, working your way up to smaller pea gravel then sand on the top layer. you keep the water our with a ground cloth (waterproof tarp) or by surfacing the sand with pavers. - footing - how to make a surface that will work well with the hexayurt, will drain well and prevent weeds growing up all around and inside see above. unless you build it out of poly and it is a green house, you should not have to worry about weeds inside the hexayurt. you can always put down a layer of "weed kill" cloth. it covers the bottom layer, and blocks out all the sunlight. if you want to buuild direectly on the site, you could also use the weed stopper cloth under you pavers. - how to insulate it so it's warm and comfortable inside i would recommend that if you need significant insulation, you can easily make what is called a stress skin panel in the shape of each of your hexayurt pieces. basiclly 2 sheets of 1/4 plywood with insulation board sandwiched in between. use construction adhesive so be the "butter" between the "berad" of the plywood. it holds VERY well. depending on how much insulation you want... they make 3 inch thick insulation board. the main issue is cutting the pieces correctly so they still fit together. expanding foam insulation is GREAT for filling in between tedges, and acts as a very strong gllue in the seams. it also seals the panels tightly. you should use "nail plates" to hold the panel together in stead of tape. these are angled pieces of soft steel which have holes in them for nails. you could also use screws. i put the foam insulation on the screw before driving it, so it is also sealed up. messy but works great. another good thing about the expanding foam, is that once it hardens, it is easy to trim flat and make it look nice. - how to light it so it's usable during dark periods if you have trong stress skin panesl, you could use a conventional skylight. alternatively you could cut small squares in the panel and layer plexiglas in there. flat head screws, expanding foam to seal, and some flashing to cover the "top" of the seams, and your set for daylight. a small solar panle kit, which has a built in battery and two led "shed" lights is a easy solution for nightime lighting. - doors and windows - how to create a useful entrance and light into the structure there are some nice designs that are just happening on the site. i'd suggest a simple hinge door, and have it open out, right at the edge of you 8 inch high platform. that way it is easier to "step into" you hexayurt. another idea, if you are elevating it, is to have a "cut out" in the deeck which is to be covered by part of the hexayurrt, so you kinda duck in under the door way, and step up into the hexayurt. Just some thoughts. I've been building tree houses for a while, so these are things i use for them. On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 12:19 PM, Todd Reed <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > I've watched the development of hexayurts on this list and at the burn with > interest for awhile. I'm thinking about using a h-yurt as a semi-permanent > installation at my house. I'm thinking about all the elements that would go > into making this successful and wondering if there's any sites that talk to > the totality of things you would have to do to build an h-yurt and have it > last. > > I live in a wet environment in winter, with occasional snow. The h-yurt > will be used mostly for storage but I've given some thought to insulating it > and using it as a workspace. > > The considerations I have are > > - waterproofing the structure (paint, asphalt sealer on seams) > - drainage - how to site the structure so it's level and not sitting in > water or wet earth > - footing - how to make a surface that will work well with the > hexayurt, will drain well and prevent weeds growing up all around and > inside > - how to insulate it so it's warm and comfortable inside > - how to light it so it's usable during dark periods > - doors and windows - how to create a useful entrance and light into > the structure > > Given that I'm trying to do this within the overall concept of an > inexpensive building, there's a considerable amount of planning involved in > getting it right. Any ideas about this would be great. > > Todd > > > > -- > 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]<hexayurt%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en. > -- 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.
