Plywood Hexayurt construction details
by Vinay Gupta • September 13, 2009 • Everything Else • 6 Comments
This video shows the construction details on the plywood hexayurt that we built at the Engineers Without Borders / Practical Action “Small is…” festival.
It’s really a fairly simple design. I want to do another one which shows much more of the construction process and detailing – how the boards are lapped in more detail, the way the walls are lapped, and the construction process. But if you are familiar with the Hexayurt (http://hexayurt.com), this is how you make one in plywood.
Thanks, Vinay. More progress. Lin
Cool. Angled blocks. I didn’t get that before.
Reflecting in June on the sheet metal “patch” jointing technique of my own plywood hexayurt
http://andrewdurham.com/2009/09/design-bonanza/
I came to the same conclusion: internal blocks would be better.
I was thinking of making them much smaller, though–out of 2×2’s rather than 2×4’s–and making more of them, about one per foot, as I have done with the patches, filling in the seam with cheap exterior caulking before tightening the screws fully.
Hmm, just had another thought. It is nice how smooth the wall and ceiling are inside. But compact, sanded blocks could be attractive, too. Maybe make them of 1.25″ plywood. Sanded and oiled, the plys would look beautiful.
Congrats on an excellent demo. It’s absurd how easy, quick, and cheap the hexayurt is in comparison with standard construction.
oh, yeah: I really like the eave created by the shortened wall panels and the overlapping of the roof section panels. Questions:
How many inches do you over lap
1) the roof panels in the middle of the section (looks like 2.5″)
2) the roof sections at their edges (looks like 1″)
And is the idea for sealing just to caulk and paint these lapped edges? I think that would work. Butted edges no, lapped yes. Great idea, man.
Namaste Gupta,
This cheap plywood hexayurt has potential for 3rd world countries and the likes. I live on the isle of Borneo, and I believe you could build it with thinner boards locallly available (less than 1 inch thick, maybe with cheaper veneer).These are mostly tropical countries and the heat and humidity is more of a problem than any others.
My only thought is that, why go thru’ all the the trouble of doing the wood blocks and cutting the boards down to different sizes:-)
Local hardware shop parts like door hinges (iron or stainless steel types, different sizes) are cheap and readily available in these countries, and they could serve as the connectors/hinges/joints at various angles for your usual-sized plywood design with some wood screws.
Another thought is that, tyre and/or bladders of bikes/motorcycles/cars are usually thrown away when punctured, and could be easily cut with a large sissor and stapled/pinned to cover the seams, after using duct tapes and/or caulk as overlapping sealants in-betweens these boards.
Do’nt take it the wrong way, it is just that I have seen these stuffs lying around these regions on the cheap while backpacking, and could be used to improve on your projects. This could lead to cheaper, more viable local alternatives, and to cut down cost.
Love to see further developments on the plywood hexayurt.
Warmest regards from Borneo!
Wish u well on your projects…
Sly
Borneo Island,
East Malaysia.
Hey Sly, thank you for your comments and ideas. Yes, I think in 1/4 inch or 9mm OSB there is no problem, that’s probably true for plywood too. The wooden blocks work if you have a table saw, but are not at all convenient if you don’t. Hinges ought to work fine, or you could get bits of sheet metal bent to size. Open Farm Tech used “flashing” (thin metal strips for roofing). Rubber is an interesting idea, bits of tires last forever it seems and do pile up.
Please let me know if you give it a try! Even a small one would prove the idea.
Vinay
Posted this on another site, here goes again:
Couple of questions:
– Have you made metric versions of the plans?
– Have you translated the instructions into French?
– Have you investigated what sized plywood sheets are typical in that part of the world (metric) and adapted the plans accordingly?
– I have not read through the plans yet, but have you thought about using a “stitch and glue” method for assembling these? This is used in assembling small boats and might be well adapted to Haiti (think of your yurt as an upside down boat!). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stitch_and_glue