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Repairing leaking dome on yurt

The dome on the yurt has been leaking for months. I have had to replace the treated plywood ring every year. I'm shocked that the builders of this yurt continue to use this design. They soak the plywood in epoxy but water inevitably makes it way in-between the plies and starts to warp/cup. Eventually the water finds its way inside. This year I'm trying to band aid fix the leak instead of going through the effort of replacing the ring entirely. I used some metal bands bolting the warped wood back flat. Then I applied a thick coat of rubberized tar reinforced with mesh that hangs down past the edge of the plywood. I'm hoping that this buys me a year or two by shedding the water away from the wood preventing it from cupping and directing water into the yurt. Fingers crossed....

#homesteading #meshtadel #diy

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Discussion

Maria2000 1y ago

Its always annoying to me how badly some things are designed. Its almost like they do it on purpose.

rev.hodl 1y ago

They have personally delivered the replacement every year, no charge. I won't be bothering them anymore though, going to come up with my own solution.

phenixfalconer 1y ago

Sometimes you gotta take matters into your own hands. I hope this does the job. If not, you will have gained more experience

Adam Snyder 1y ago

A guy I used to work for would use this product when re-roofing old factory roofs https://acrylabs.com/

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

this kind of stuff is great, but actually why not use good old fashioned zinc?... easy to form, easy to repair, heat resistant and thermally reflective

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

incredible that a plastic dome is made and they were too cheap - or stupid - to make the plastic part extend far enough to cover the roof surface!

nothing more water resistant than that plastic, wth???

The Beave 1y ago

A DIY fiberglass part would likely outlast the rest of the yurt.

rev.hodl 1y ago

I like this idea, remake the plywood ring then encapsulate in fiberglass/epoxy. I was also thinking about using a big piece of some aluminum flashing and carefully bending/folding it over the plywood ring.

The Beave 1y ago

If you lay the FG on thick enough, you wouldn't even need the flashing, though, it would protect the gel coat from uv, so it isn't a bad idea.

rev.hodl 1y ago

I meant if not fiberglass then aluminum. Fiberglass alone would definitely last long enough. I just don't prefer working with drippy stuff. I make a huge mess. Much safer for me to work with solid materials lol

The Beave 1y ago

Ah.

Do you need the thickness of the plywood? If not, just use 1/8 aluminum got the ring and use a good two part epoxy to affix it to the dome. You can cut a ring with a jig saw. (I'd recommend clamping it to wood as a backer to not bend it much.)

Bitcoin and Clyde 1y ago

Could you use a pvc trim product to replace the wood? Thinking azek trim board or sheet. Good luck Rev 🤙🏽

rev.hodl 1y ago

You got me thinking I could use hdpe instead of plywood. That might be best simple solution.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

polypropylene would probably be a bit more heat-stable but i'd guess even on a pretty hot summer you would only have to replace it once a year

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

blue would probably be the best colour in terms of durability and time until it starts to crack, also

rev.hodl 1y ago

Doesn't seem like polypropylene is readily available locally in a similar thick sheet like the hdpe is. It all seems to be corrugated sheets instead of solid.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

well, yeah, that's a thought... typical "tarpaulin" style, usually semi-woven stuff, get a flexible polyurethane sealing paint and seal underneath it before you glue it down, this is a pretty good temporary dampcourse but you do need to replace it every few years depending on how hot the summer and how windy the weather (as this will inevitably cause it to flap about and weather the plastics).

i dunno what the ideal thing is, it's kinda funny setting up a yurt and not packing up every month or three to carry it in pieces on a horse to the next grazing area... if you know what i mean

they are rather good though, can be a very big shelter for something that needs no council permit...

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

hmmmmmmmm

yes, yurts... and horses... even if i do "own" the land i think that and a little herd of goats is definitely in my future...

and also sitting in the middle of the yurt throat singing with my family and playing my kaval

DefiantDandelion 1y ago

High tunnel poly folded and strapped down? Tricky to get the shape right from a sheet.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

yeah, it might help to use some origami folding techniques i guess... and perhaps if you could build a thing to sit it on and gently heat it until it is soft enough to make sharp folds in your origami :D that's about the best i can think of

oh yeah, another thing, what about tractor tire tube then paint it thickly with silver paint so it doesn't instantly turn into a goopy black thing, seems to me that might be about the right size, perhaps if not quite wide enough in the centre you could carve it out

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 1y ago

my mother is a textile artist... she just loves to knit and stitch and crochet and all that stuff, and i'm thinking about the idea of a canvas sheet... if you cut it across the bias, like a diamond against a bigger square, the natural tendency of the fabric is to readily stretch and drape over whatever you put it on

like, the most stylish stovepipe jeans - they are expensive because they cut them 45 degrees, across the "bias" - so they call this type of cut "bias cut" and it lets you take standard weaves and let them wrap around curves a lot better

so, if you are following me - what i would suggest is to get heavy canvas in a pretty decent size, something that you can cut a diamond from the square you get, or stitch together a bunch of smaller squares cut as diamonds from the base (think of 4 sections) and because of the way that the fabric naturally will cling by gravity over the curve, you can probably wrap it over top, then spray the top side with polyurethane water sealant, and then flip it inside out and the drape of it will still favour to keep with the dome shape of the curve

then, just stitch in some tabs with those metal rings, and you could have it tied down over 4 points around the sides of the yurt, it would look attractive and do exactly the job you need, and given you pick a silver or blue colour for it, it should last maybe as long as 5 years and be minimal maintenance, and have a kinda arty look about it

just a thought... i am a big fan of bias cut, always dreamed of making cargo pants in a bias cut so they are super slinky

The Bird 1y ago

Could you use fiberglass or pond liner?

rev.hodl 1y ago

Stretching some epdm rubber over the plywood ring would probably work pretty well! I already have some laying around! Love that idea.