Gutters on the Yurt Skirt

[lizsteve]

We are collecting the rainwater from gutters into our cistern tanks. it's our only water supply so collecting into a ditch in the ground wouldn't work since gravity is important. But also, our yurt is on a deck, 6' high at the highest point.

I contacted CO Yurt Co about replacement parts and they are sending me a new set of everything and were surprised that they are breaking. The new set is still plastic unfortunately, but it's nice of them to replace what broke. I'll continue to use our metal bolts and wing nuts though.

[Bob Rowlands]

In general, plastic is a very poor material for structural materials that are constantly exposed to sun, weather, and stress. It is likely the new ones will fail in a similar fashion. Perhaps you could make use of tie wire?

[lizsteve]

Exactly what I think. It's so surprising and disappointing the companies use plastic. not only because it's not weather resistant, but it's a terrible material ecologically in general I try to avoid.
What is tie wire?

[Bob Rowlands]

Tie wire is a pliable single strand, soft annealed wire that is sold by the roll. Since it is used to tie up rebar, you'll find it in concrete section at Depot and Lowe's. It is easy to use. Double it over before twisting for a strong tie up. All you need are pliers to install tie wire. Add a cordless drill and some bits if you need to tie up an assembly that has no anchor point.

The applications for its use are endless . I've used it on my yurt, and dozens of other places over the decades. I always carry a roll of it with me in my truck and work van.

Regarding plastic, my only comment is future archaeologists will dub us 'the plastic people'.