BiFi for seam sealing: Why?

[Steve Upstill]

Hey Group,

This year I'm doing the vinyl-and-contact-cement thing for my permanent hinges (very chuffed about that), and put in my tape order for the closeup tape. I ordered 4" bifi for those because (except for the one or two pieces of structural tape that close the roof and walls) they're just for keeping rain out, right?

Well I woke up this morning and realized: why are we even using that expensive bifi for joints where 1) the only purpose of the tape is to seal against rain, and 2) they're going to be ripped off at the end of the show anyway. Has anybody got any suggestions for tape that's not so dear and that pulls away with a tad less trauma to the foil? Of course you'll still need the strong, sticky stuff to finish your nice unfolding yurt, but still…

Cheers,
Steve Upstill

[Jeremy Shaw]

I am experimenting with contact-cement+vinyl as well. For the temporary seams I am thinking of using the size with vinyl strips as I do elsewhere. One half will be contact cemented to the polyiso as normal. But on the other side I will contact comment velcro strips on the vinyl and polyiso. 

- jeremy

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[Steve Upstill]

I thought briefly about that, but having a little experience at keeping rain out in a permanent building I figured the velcro wouldn't really provide a seal on an edge that's parallel to the direction of flow. Maybe it wouldn't be enough leakage to matter…

[Jeremy Shaw]

Ah yes -- I didn't really think about rain. Maybe I'll make a vinyl flap on the receiving side under the velco that bridges the gap and tucks under the top layer of vinyl. I'll think more about that.

On a related note -- what are contact-cementors doing about sealing the edges that have been cut so that they don't moop all over the place? Are people still taping those? And, if so, using what kind of tape? Hopefully something cheaper than bifi since it is not load bearing at all?

- jeremy

[Brian Evans]

Edges should be sealed with foil tape.  Cheaper and lasts longer.