Burning Man Hexayurt mishaps, kludges, and learning experiences

[Spiral Syzygy]

So this year was comedic in hexayurt land for me and my roommate,
Beebop. A few years back, Beebop and I built an 8' hexayurt and
brought it to pre-comp, Burning Man '08, and Resonate 5. This year, we
had different interests and decided to camp in separate camps. I
borrowed a 6' hexayurt my coworker and friend, Kathleen build for
Lakes of Fire.

Well, Beebop and I both packed the tape in the same bin and that bin
never made it to the playa for reasons that are still a mystery to me.
Oh Mercury Retrograde....

So long story short, I couldn't set up the 6' and ended up sharing a
tent with a close friend. Beebop decided to be brave and used a
combination of overlapping pieces of 2" gorilla tape covered with 4"
aluminized tape.

The results were ok. Given, we didn't get any hurricane winds this
year, but the 8'er held up. The trick was to tripple the tape up on
the run around the ring that connects the roof to the walls. This gave
a really nice, wide, and thick band of gorilla tape. This tape is
really strong and has some flex and give. The draw back was it wasn't
quite wide enough to grab the walls well and there were some minor
gaps. Another drawback is that gorilla tape is expensive and you HAVE
to cover it with aluminum tape or the sun will reek havoc on the
gorilla tape.

But it did work in a jam and the hexayurt did provide some good
shelter for me on a late morning nap.

So to wrap up, you CAN get away with other tape if you are in a bind.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket when packing things up for
transport.

Cheers,
Spiral

[RichShumaker]

I have posted this before but I think putting playa learning lessons
in one place would be helpful for all.
My lesson came pre-playa last year.
I wanted to get a thermal barrier on the whole hexayurt and I used
cardboard not insulation this time.
So I bought special space age NASA paint and I started by painting the
whole roof.
I had created a 6' stretch fold-able roof. So I had one seam to tape.

I pre-built in my living room and I was super proud at how good the
roof looked and came out.
It had minor bubbling and bowing but it was still solid.

I taped the roof seam and I taped the walls and went to dinner. When
I got back the tape had pealed off the paint.
There was no wind in my living room not even a fan.
GREAT now my roof can't be taped down or attached to the wall on the
playa. I bought enough boards for a few modifications but not enough
to redo the whole roof.
So my solution was to flip the roof inside out. The paint would have
been amazing if it had allowed tape.

Fail not Epic but still a Fail.

Rich Shumaker
P.S. This is the reason I am working on alternatives to tape. I can
still tape the seams on the inside.
The idea was to use strapping to hold it down to the walls.
For tying the roof to the walls the idea would be to use medical
bandage that you would use for your elbow or knee.
Overall I wanted the least work on Playa with the fastest build.

[Beacon Sway]

RAIN !!!............Monday, didn't finish full taping the bottom of
the yurt to the tarp on the outside................THE RAIN CAME
IN !!!........learn from my error, grasshopper!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/scottgeller/Hexayurt# ( pic from 2009 )

[Keith Brown]

I never did tape mine.  I ended up slitting some rain holes in the tarp (a very cheap one), and letting the rain run slightly in and down the hole into the playa, where it was pretty well instantly absorbed.  Next year I'll probably get a good tarp, draw out the yurt pattern on it, cut it to fit on the inside with a small "brim", and tack it up with a few swatches of tape.  I'll also have a sill for my doorway... a 1/8" x 1" piece of aluminum stock about 8 feet long to keep the door-wall from stretching wide.  It will be taped directly into the wall.  This year I was having "spread" problems at the doorway (a nice 6' high arched door about 30" wide just off-center of one wall).

-Oswego

[Joshua Keroes]

On Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 6:22 PM, Keith Brown <kei...@nfnc.org> wrote:

I'll also have a sill for my doorway... a 1/8" x 1" piece of aluminum stock about 8 feet long to keep the door-wall from stretching wide.  It will be taped directly into the wall.  This year I was having "spread" problems at the doorway (a nice 6' high arched door about 30" wide just off-center of one wall).

I've had a 4' length of 1/8" strap steel taped on the bottom of the that wall's edge. I'm convinced it's a smart idea.

[Mark Newell]

Speaking of doorways...For the past four years I've been using a sliding door on my sexayurt.  I salvaged a piece of foam a bit bigger than the door opening and built a slider (or track) sill and header for it to slide in.  I've been really happy with the solution.   I added a weather seal last year, folded over tape on the sides of the door this is quite effective in keeping the dust out.  The header, because it sandwiches the foam, acts as a convenient place to hang small things (hats, goggles, even our camelbacks) without damaging the foam.  It also serves to strengthen the door way, which after some many years of use is getting pretty weak.

here's a pic from last year - http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Qo8ONjBvRno/TJkYxvSijtI/AAAAAAAAHP8/XOomTumoAB8/s800/IMG_3578.JPG
Note that the tarp, as it's configured in the picture, would be a huge liability this year, as many have described. We too were flooded on Monday night.

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[Zippy]

> > I've had a 4' length of 1/8" strap steel taped on the bottom of the that
> > wall's edge. I'm convinced it's a smart idea.

As a means to prevent spread on your door, another lighter, simpler
alternative to aluminum and steel is bi-filament tape. I measured a
piece of tape, 2 feet longer than my doorway width, folded it over on
itself longitudinally to make a one inch wide, 6 layer bi-filament
strip (sticky side in), and taped this to the bottom of the wall, with
the one foot of excess on each side of the door. That strap keeps the
doorway from spreading and doesn't stretch. Once the wall is
installed, the strip lies down flush along the thresh-hold on the
tarp. I then tape it down to the tarp, so it doesn't become a
tripping/catching hazard.