Love to hear any and all updates on this, as I am in Melbourne as well and have had similar ideas regarding long term living and waterproofing in a temperate climate.
On Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 12:30:40 AM UTC+10, Gwydion C. wrote: > > Hi all~ > > I'm looing at building a double Hexayurt in my backyard, as part of an > experiment in living out there with a veggie patch, minimal grid usage, > and with minimal building materials. I fell in love with hexayurts when > I first saw them, and have drawn up plans and made a scale model of a > joined 8ft hexayurt and stretch hexayurt. The idea is that the stretch > is the bedroom, and the main is the living quarters. They fit together > nicely along one wall. > > I'm in Australia, specifically in Melbourne, which is a temperate > climate without snow, medium rainfall (we are in a drought, atm), hot > summers, and occasional strong winds (about 60mph is max). We're not > prone to any weather extremes except bushfires in Summer, which I am not > at any risk for, and the odd flash flood, which I am at risk for. What > I'm curious is to people's estimates of how long a well-made hexayurt > could be used as a daily living space for one person. > > My hexayurt is going to built out of 'foilboard' - 1 inch extruded > polystyrene insulation board with an aluminium foil surface front and > back, and 4 inch bi-directional filmanent tape with foil tape over that. > I am probably going to look at sealing everything with a layer of > epoxy/waterseal, especially the floor. We don't have the Dow stuff that > the Hexayurt site recommends here, to my knowledge, unless there is > another Aussie on here who can advise me otherwise. I chose Foilboard > because it seems to be a decent insulator, at a reasonable cost - about > $700 for 19 sheets, or two big hexayurts. > > The flash flood and the water, I have made provisions for: a double > layer of tarp, sealed outside, and then inside with a 'bathtub seal', as > well as a door that doesn't touch the ground - it will make getting in > and out a bit trickier than the average hexayurt, but a six-inch water > barrier between me and any creeping floodwater from the front street > (where it floods to waist deep) should be enough to keep the water > outside. This might be good for hexayurts built in rainy areas as a > general thing - making sure the door frame doesn't go from the ground, > but gives an allowance for water. The door design itself, I'm still not > 100% on - are there ways people have been able to make hexayurts more > secure? I was thinking toggles and padlocks, possibly, but I'm not > really sure. > > I'm curious as to people's opinions on the project, and particularly in > experiences with living in hexayurts for a longer period. I'm hoping > mine will survive for a while, barring natural disasters. Much of the > potential stuff I can see going wrong can probably be prevented...things > like wind damage (i.e. the wind chucking things into my 1in polystyrene > walls xD) and water leaking. What is the projected lifespan of a > hexayurt? Has anyone lived in one for a while, and knows what > maintainance would go into one over time? I'd suspect the tape would be > the main culprit. Can anyone think of any issues? > > If people are interested, I will keep the mailing list informed on the > project, now that the plans are settled :D > > Thanks! > > Gwydion. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hexayurt+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to hexayurt@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
