This past year I brought a 1.5" RMax Hexayurt with an extra 2 foot extension, making it 6 feet tall at the walls. I held the whole thing down with interior rebar in the corners (staked out as the perfect hex), and six pieces on the outside placed in the middle of each panel (about 2 inches away from the panel). I used 48" molded elastic tie-downs attached to the rebar with a small loop of nylon rope to create hooking point at the bottom. at the top, I used the 6" tape to tape a Simpson Strongtie sheet metal strap (ST2122 $1.77) to the edge of the roof. These straps have a 1/2" hole already punched close to each end, so the tie-down strap hook goes into the hole and stays put. The tape is more than strong enough to hold the strap in place. Here's some links: The ties installed: http://keithleeds.com/hexayurt/ties.jpg The tie: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgl/R-100374893/h_d2/ProductDisplay
Using these made it so much easier to pack, and assemble... no tubes, no extra tape flopping around, they're flush to the surface. The 48" molded-ends elastic strap tie-downs I got at either Costco or Harbor Freight (don't remember which)... came as a kit of 2 per blisterpack. -Oswego On Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 11:29 AM, chasomatic <[email protected]> wrote: > I used straight rebar, and a rebar driver I made. The driver is a > heavy piece of solid stock about 2" thick and 3' long. I taped the end > to accept a piece of 1/2" rigid electrical conduit (not thinwall), and > screwed a 11" piece of conduit into the hole. When you put the rebar > in the conduit and slam the device down a few times the rebar is in > the ground with 11" sticking out. I covered these with water bottles > and glow sticks. Next year I plan on placing the rebar stakes in the > middle of each panel directly next to the hexayurt (between 2 > corners). Each tiedown point (6) will have lines to 2 pieces of rebar > (except the door panel) and won't stick out at all. I'd like some > feedback on this idea if anyone thinks it's interesting (maybe > everyone does this and I just don't know). > > On Sep 15, 9:35 am, Zippy <[email protected]> wrote: > > The original poster referred to tarp tie-downs (anchors), but the > > responses seem to be talking about guy line anchors. I'll respond on > > both: > > > > Tarp anchors: If I want to secure a tarp to the Playa surface, to be > > used as a floor for a structure for example, I use simple smooth 6" > > nails and nail down through each tarp eyelet, putting a backwards > > angle on the nail so it puts tension on the tarp as it goes in. I > > nail them in all the way down, so they don't create a tripping hazard > > and the head of the nail pinches the eyelet against the Playa > > surface. I've been doing this for 8 years and never had a problem. > > The tarps hold down tight all week, and are easy to remove at weeks > > end. Tent pegs also work, but depending on the ones you use, they are > > harder to nail down flat than the regular 6" nails. > > > > Guy line anchors: I'm of the opinion that many people over-design > > their guy line anchors at Burning Man, like putting 18 inch rebar > > stakes in for a personal 2 man tent. There are many, many threads out > > there suggesting that this is what you need to do. That said, when in > > doubt, over-design is always preferable to under-design on the Playa, > > because there are serious potential safety issues at stake (wow ... a > > nice unintended pun there!). > > > > On Hammering: On of the key factors to establishing a solid guy line > > anchor is hammering your stakes in arefully so as to disturb the > > ground as little as possible, thus maximizing your purchase. When > > people hammer sloppily, bending their stakes, and resetting them over > > and over at different angles, the ground ends up being so disturbed > > even an 18" stake can be rendered ineffective. Here's what you do!: > > set your stake on the ground at an appropriate back-angle ( I use > > about 30 degrees) taking time to plan out the correct and final > > location (you don't want to have to relocate it 4" away). Hold it > > firmly with one hand, and use sharp, accurate blows with an > > appropriately sized hammer, starting with a small hand sledge, and > > moving to a larger sledge if necessary once you've established > > alignment. If your not good with a sledge, that is okay, but recruit > > someone who is! > > > > On Stakes. For my hexayurt I used six 12" #5 rebar stakes (in the US, > > the gauge number represents the number of eights of an inch, so #5 > > rebar is 5/8", #4 is half inch etc.). The stakes were custom welded > > with a tie down hook and a hammering plate. Having a good quality > > stake like this is important. First, a hammering plate (1" x 1.25" x > > 3/32" steel plate) ensures your hammer blows transmit more accurately, > > and your hammer doesn't skip off your rebar end (and hit your other > > wrist (ouch!)). Second, having a shorter length (12") and a thicker > > gauge (5/8") reduces the chance of your stake wandering or bending as > > it goes in, thus maximizing it's pull-out strength. Third, because #5 > > steel is stronger than the more commonly used #4 bar (1/2 inch), and > > because the stakes are shorter than the commonly used 18" stakes, they > > are easy to remove by hammering on the stake sideways gently in all > > directions (1/2" rebar will bend), then rotating them (with vice grips > > if necessary) as you pull them out of the ground. They are only 12", > > but their properties allow them to be hammered in almost all the way > > down, minimizing the tripping hazard and maximizing pull-out strength. > > > > My stakes were made by a long time Burner, brilliant welded steel > > artist and very good friend in the Northwest. He lives on a very > > modest income and designed these stakes for my purposes, but because I > > was so happy with them, he now makes and sells them for $4.00 each. > > That's more expensive than the ones linked in this thread, but they > > are also much better, and he does high quality welding and he is a > > hell of a good guy. He puts the quality of his work ahead of his > > profits. If anyone is interested, let me know and I can put you in > > contact with him. > > > > On Sep 14, 5:46 pm, Rhid <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I rolled the tarp in on itself till snug up against the walls of the > > > hexayurt then taped it in place... it makes a water tight seal.. > > > > > Icarus wrote: > > > > How is everyone anchoring their tarps to the playa? Regular tent > pegs? > > -- > 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]. 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