DIY top insulation

[sundogfarmer]

Hi,
I built a yurt this summer, custom-built rather than from a manufacturer. Now that it is January I am considering the value of some

insulation

...

I bought a bunch of Reflectix (foil covered bubble wrap) for this purpose. The walls were easy, of course, but I'm stymied on how to do the roof. It's a 4' wide roll, and the yurt is a 24' diameter.

Has anyone else done their own

insulation

in this way? What pattern did you use? How did you join the pieces of insulation together?

Thanks!

[hierony]

I purchased a yurt without insulation for which I've made some. I'll assume you aren't a geometer, so saying you should make an annular section to match the truncated cone that is your yurt roof is probably meaningless (though gives you good search terms).

Simply Differently, a website by a fellow that has made & lived in things like yurts, tipis, & geodesic domes, has an excellent breakdown of the math and a calculator to show you different ways to match the geometry.

I believe the reflectix is normally taped together. Duct tape kind of works, but I think the manufacturers also have a special tape. Or aluminium/ducting tape would likely work.

[Jafo]

Yes, normally taped together is how I have seen it.

[Bob Rowlands]

Adhesive backed foil duct tape is phenomenally sticky, and works absolutely fantastic on ducts. How it would work on reflectix beats me, but the adhesive is incredibly good and really adheres to the surfaces I have applied it to. Several layers are required to ease that problem. I do find the stuff tears really easily in applications where the substrate bends and/or shears. Also it is problematic to install on bendable surfaces. If you have peeled off a foot or so of backing and the adhesive touches itself during installation you'll have a tape ball like right now. It sticks way the heck better then duct tape or gorilla tape.

[Bob Rowlands]

That should read, several layers make for a more tear resistant install.

[thebitmaster]

I have some Reflectrix I'll be installing for this summer. I second using metal tape for the joins. I also use a layer of comforters and sleeping bags between my outer recycled billboard vinyl and the khana walls. They're super cheap ($1 each at our local Goodwill Outlet store) and provide a lot of insulation. We've just come through several nights of below freezing and even a day or two of consistently below freezing and it rarely got colder than 65 degrees in the yurt, even with only one little 1500 watt heater and imperfect sealing. Putting the insulation on the ceiling is easy, but to hang it on the walls, I use heavy duty clips that hang from my main tension band and grip a nylon rope below. I hang the comforters from that lower rope, which makes it easy to adjust them to the correct height since they're not all the same size. You can use office clips, but I use some super high-quality wooden clothespins because I like the look better.