Roof (and dome) vs. wind...the wind keeps winning!

[CoachM]

Originally Posted by jeritchie

Ok, Ken here from

Yurts of America

.

have a few things I will ask and point out.

Nesting Bird yurts was sold to Rainer about 12 years ago. So this yurt isn't 3 months old, more like 12 or more. Nesting Bird sold to Rainer because of retirement not lack of skill or craftsmenship in their yurts.

I would need to see a closeup of how the yurt attaches to the roof.

From my point of view and 30 years making yurts it look like the wall is hanging on the compression cable.

IF this is the case the yurt is setup wrong. All major companies have a second attachment system under the wind flap. That is the cable & hook or grommet and rope lashing, that the outer wall hangs attaches to the roof. Reason for this is that the roof and wind flap creates a pocket the keep water and rain out.

The second problem that happens is the roof is put up upside down. if this is the case, then its not right and should be changed.

If you do have the outer wall attached under the wind flap, then how did the yurt roof fit before the wind got to it? Did it seem to small didn't go over the edge of the rafters? In most yurts you have a 6 to 10 inches overhang and the wind flap have another 8 to 10 inches. Again, this is to create a pocket for the outer wall for wind and water.

Last, did the wind flap have it's own cable to pull tight to create a seal around the outside of the wall?

Being a 12 or older yurt did you see the yurt setup?

Did you order a new cover for the yurt?
did you make any changes in the compression cable?
who setup the yurt, did they have instruction, did they know what they was doing, did they make any changes in the frame?

All these questions need to be answered before you or anyone else should be bashing the company.

So things to check is the following: I am assuming all parts are original and no changes have been made in the yurt.

1) is the roof the correct size, I am assuming you purchased a used yurt.
2) is the roof right side out? YES this makes a difference.
3) with roof right side out, is there a cable to attach the outer wall to the roof with wind flap on the outside of yurt?
4) is this the cable you outer wall is attached to? IF the cable is to long, it will change the diameter which makes the roof to small at the outer edge.
5) if all above is correct did you seal (cable/Velcro or glue) wind flap to outer wall?

Any one of these could have cause your problem.

As for the

dome

, the main reason they fail is the stops on the opener are not set correctly. They either let the

dome

open to much (causing to much stress) or the lower one isn't set, it permits one to crake down the dome to much and again causing to much stress.
If they are fail when the roof itself fails, then I would say, no one designs the dome to take the force of the roof trying to come off, only to stay on the attachment points.
Here is a helpful hint. IF the wind comes mostly from the west, then have the opener on the east. This will push down the dome and not try to lift it.
Most companies say if the wind is over 10-15mph shut the dome.

Domes are the one thing on a yurt almost all companies have problems with. There are to many things that can go wrong and I hate to say, almost all of them are due to install, not quality of materials. If installed correctly they will give you years of service. But that's the rub, "if", if not, they will most likely have issues.

Here is a short story on domes: I was flown into Hawaii to help finish her yurt the builder simply didn't want to follow the instructions. When I got there 1 of the 2 yurts was up and the 2nd was almost ready for cover. ( should point out they had taken 6 weeks to get to this point) When I got there the dome on the 30' yurt had a chunk blown out of it. (where the opener was). IT was pointed out to me and first thing I said was " did you set the stops correctly" We got a ladder and sure enough, will I should say, it wasn't they were set incorrectly, in fact, they wasn't set at all. When I asked who open the dome, guy said I did. I asked how far was it up before it broke, he said "about a foot". They only open about inch and half to two inches. They are vents not windows. This mistake cost the customer 1200.00 cost of new dome, but another 1340.00 in shipping cost. (we don't profit off of shipping, that was the real cost to ship)


I hope this helps some.

ken

Some of the components are from the original Nesting Bird, while others have been replaced. I did not see the yurt up before working on getting it up at the new location (3 months ago).

Thank you for noticing my mistake in attaching the jib hanks to the compression cable. The wall is attached to the compression cable rather than the roof flap. Attaching the wall to the roof flap is a workable (though time consuming) fix at this point, though I am concerned that it will strain the second attachment system under the wind flap to the point that it is unable to drop below the crown all the way around. This would make sense to add additional weight and stability to the roof. The second attachment system is what I used to create my wire rope anchor system and should make a difference.

We have corrected the previous issues with the dome. I will also be confirming fixes with Rainier. It has been really stressful to have to address this problem multiple times and I am hoping for a window to correct the issue prior to Christmas.

I will update with pictures of the wire rope anchors and corrected roof once complete. I do not have a snow kit installed inside.

[jeritchie]

Though it's not our yurt, feel free to call if you want to talk.

Ken