Kevin Sullivan

Hey Coydon,

   I'm considering building a yurt and first and foremost find your post and the responses to be informative, so thank you..Might I ask, have you considered your goals for insulating the yurt and possible approach?



quote=Coydon Wallham]I'm looking to build something to live in for this winter without chucking money to the gick production monstrosity. I'm drawing up plans from various inputs with little margin for error beyond going into survival mode, so would appreciate anyone shouting 'hey dumbass' if there is something my plans are missing.

It doesn't seem like building a platform is in the cards for the first year. I'm going to go with an earthen floor along with a rocket mass heater of some sort and count on large quantities of old, downed wood to provide heat from a central heater with a pebble style circle around the center. I'm using this website to come up with the lumber and fabric numbers I need. I chose 24' diameter and 58" tall walls to go with the 67" bolt of duck cotton I ordered.

One question that came up was about cutting the Uni (Rafters) with a 1" dowel at the end to fit the Toono (ring). Is there any reason to not just drill a hole in the Uni and stick in a dowel? I'm thinking that would make for an extra part to keep track of when deconstructing and moving, but wondering about comparable strengths...

I'm reading recommendations to keep the walls short for strength and presumably keeping heat down low. Any reason not to dig down for an entrance to fit a full size door?

I'm hoping to burn extra wood to compensate for a cold earth floor, but any suggestions on mitigating that heat? At the RMH Jamboree I was being encouraged to dig drown around the perimeter and install insulation (foam boards?) around that trench edge. I figure I'll do that at least for drainage, but anything to do for insulation down there that isn't gicky?

Hi there.

  I'm intent on purchasing a yurt for full year living. 14'-20' is preferential but open to what's available.


Kevin

Thank you Anne,

   The trailer is a 20 foot no pull outs. Materials I have access to most readily are old automobile tires and straw bales... When you mention tarping the trailer and then using straw bales, How so specifically?

Anne Miller wrote:I have experience with using both the RV  cover and a tarp.

I can't recommend the RV cover as the wind ripped ours to shreds.

Our hunters are currently using a Truck Tarp like a person would use on an 18 wheeler to cover merchandise.

Their trailer is 36 ft with slides.  They use straps to hold it over the trailer.  These straps go from one side of the trailer to the other and are anchored to the ground. There are probably at least 4 straps if not more.  Wind is really hard on the tarp.

As for a natural covering to go over the tarp I can't think of anything other than strawbales or cordwood.

There is a least one thread on the forum about a guy who used cordwood to build a building over the RV. I have forgotten his name as I don't believe he is active anymore. The way he did it it was like building a cordwood house with a walkway inside going all the way around the trailer which gave the trailer an insulating factor.

I found the thread, it was in the second like that I gave you:

https://permies.com/t/32322/permaculture-projects/Camp#387385

This has a diagram with the trailer inside.  He calls it a shed.

R Scott wrote:How mobile does it need to be? Do you park in the same place all winter, or move every month? Week?


Hi Scott.

  It will be parked in the same place all winter.

Anne Miller wrote:Kevin, Welcome to the forums!

I don't recall anyone suggesting something like this.  Do you mean wrapping in something like Tyvek or saran wrap?

The problem I see is securing it so that the door can be opened, have you figured that out?

Here are some threads that offer suggestions for prepping a travel trailer to be warmer in winter:

https://permies.com/t/134199/Living-Trailer-Hoop-House

https://permies.com/t/147066/Winter-preparation-living-trailer

I have heard of folks using strawbale or cordwood to build a wall around the RV to be something like an RV inside a building.

Hi Anne,

    Well to answer your question. Common more conventional practices some of which utilize a vinyl cover which covers the entirety of the trailer leaving only the door accessible. So my beginning thought was to give consideration to an inexpensive means of blanketing the entirety of the trailer and then possibly covering over that with the vinyl tarp. From there going in the direction of straw bale around the base and then perhaps a skirt of some kind. So to be more specific with my initial question, do any, preferably natural materials, come to mind that might be utilized as the "blanket" under the vinyl tarp? With that said what are the "costs" associated with the potential for minimizing the breathability by this thought of a "blanket" approach?

Hi there.

  Anyone have idea(s) about unconventional ways to wrap a travel trailer for insulating purposes in temperate winter climates for full time living?

John C Daley wrote:I have been involved with about 500 Adobe houses, I may be able to help.
Where are you located?

Right on.. Western Massachusetts

John C Daley wrote:I am curious as to the final outcome as well.
Kevin, what style are you considering?

Hello John,

   I'm considering Adobe or Earth Bags.

Hi Jeremy,

   Just caught on to this thread from some years ago. I'm over in the Berkshire of Western MA. in the design stage of a first building and reaching out to you to learn of any progress toward your goals. Have you built?

Jeremy Franklin wrote:So I've read a lot on this forum and abroad about the dangers of papercrete in regards to moisture retention, but I'm unclear on a couple of points and was hoping some of you might help shed some light.

A) I'm in upstate NY, and while we are accused of having pretty humid summers, I don't know if that counts as living in a "humid climate" where papercrete is not recommended.
B) I'm imagining an earth bag vertical wall (not dome) with a 5 inch layer of papercrete on the outside, and then cover the papercrete with a lime plaster.  Overhang the whole thing with a good roof and eaves and plaster the interior walls with an earthen plaster.  I haven't seen this sandwich idea suggested before, and was wondering if it would either solve the problem with the papercrete getting too wet or make it irrelevant as any mold would be buried from both sides.
C) Most people I've seen answering similar questions for my area recommend strawbale and cob for my neck of the woods, but I would think strawbale would suffer the same mold/rot problem if it was allowed to get wet, so I'm not sure what advantage that would have over papercrete.  I find that I just don't *like* strawbale, and it doesn't resonate with me as well as the thermal mass and free-form structure of an earth bag wall, so I'd prefer to find a way to insulate earthbags.  I've also read recommendations of scoria- or pumice-filled earthbags, but as there are no volcanic areas around me (nor rice-hull sources), those don't seem to be financially viable.

Am I just running into the unsolvable problem, or am I letting my personal preferences override my common sense and refusing to do what just works?