Oops.

[errantember]

Due to the difficulty of finding the right tape here in Austin, I pre-assembled my hexayurt almost entirely with duct tape. While it was sitting in the heat waiting to go on the community truck, it was already starting to peel. I then got an emergency message from one of the hexayurt staff that I should take stranded tape with me to do repairs once on the playa, or my yurt is likely to blow away. I already bought some 2" stranded tape for exactly this purpose, since I knew the duct tape wasn't as strong as I'd like it to be. I also ordered some 3" stranded tape which will hopefully be here by Friday. This is the kind of tape I would have used if I'd had more than two days to get the job done. The yurt is on the community truck, which is already on it's way.

So now the question is, what do I do when I get out to Burning Man? It's virtually guaranteed that all of the existing duct tape, particularly on the outside, is going to melt off. If I wanted to take off *all* the duct tape and start over, this might be an advantage. But this implies re-doing hundreds of feet of taping in the dust capital of the world, which may not be an option. I'd also really like to re-do the fan-fold design with the new tape, but this is time-consuming and fussy, so I might not have time. Finally, the foil coating that makes the whole thing work is *very* fragile, and pulling even ordinary packing tape off of it is very fussy, careful work that still can partially damage the surface.

It's going to be interesting...

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

You need extra-wide tape that can cover past the edge of your duct tape and get purchase on the panels. I looked at the hexayurt instructions, and they recommend 6" stuff, right? Order that and have it shipped overnight if necessary.

I've tried to find 6" tape...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

...but there doesn't seem to be any hope of getting it before I leave. The 3" will work fine on the 6", as long as I solve the duct tape problem. The worse-possible-case scenario is to use the wider tape to re-enforce the join between the edge of the duct tape and the panel, since the adhesion of the duct tape is the real problem. I don't think it will come to this, though. Hopefully when I get into the community truck to pick it up on Monday, the glue will be nice and wet, and I can field-strip it and re-tape it inside the truck, which will be perfect dust-free area to do it in.

Re: I've tried to find 6" tape...

[hexayurt.livejournal.com]

Well, you don't want to put the new tape over the old tape. The exception is the taped edges of the boards - you did tape the edges, right? - if there's 2" tape on a board, only 1/2" is going to be visible on each face, and 1" covers the edge. So you can put 3" tape over that and be OK. On the roof cone, the gap between board edges is 1/2" or so, which with 3" tape is OK. Better with 6", but OK with 3".

But, from what you say about it peeling in the sun there.... geesh. I don't know what to recommend. Remember, too, that you can tape the *interior* for additional strength. That may come in handy if you're having problems out there, because the interior is cool.

Re: I've tried to find 6" tape...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

One bright idea I had is to bring a hair dryer. I can use it to remove the duct tape. I did tape the edges, but with duct tape. If I re-do the fanfold, I don't have to re-tape any of the vertical edges except the exposed two on the ends.

[breasystorm.livejournal.com]

good luck and remember the stories to tell me when you get back

Thanks, I will.

[errantember.livejournal.com]

I usually take a shitload of pictures. Still a bit iffy about taking my nice camera, but I'll be taking my Nikon at least for sure.

That...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

...is a hot icon.