Building a Durable, Foldable Yurt for Burning Man

Please feel free to comment on this blog post if you have questions.

This is an well-insulated, air-conditioned, and dust-storm resistant yurt for use in hot, dry, desert environments. It is constructed out of 7 4’x8’x1″ R-Max panels. Rather than using tape, I used rubber cement and “Tuff” waterproof drop cloth cut in ~10″ strips to create my own “extra durable” water/dust/sunproof tape. Interfaces in the roof and between the roof and side walls include 8″ flaps (one top and bottom) that are rolled together to provide a good seal. Top and bottom edges, as well as the door and A/C cutouts, are edged with corner bead (think drywall corners) held together with 1″ 10-24 machine screws. I’ve sprayed the yurt with a borax and boric acid solution to provide a degree of fire retardant given the flammability of the materials involved.

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