Insulation--alternate forms

[hierony]

I need yurt insulation--I didn't get it originally for fire-safety reasons (melty & burny insulation in a place heated by fire and one exit is _not_ a good idea...). I want a portable & relatively durable yurt, prefering renewable materials. It is a traditional-style yurt.

I like the idea of felt, but don't have any cheap sources unless I want to make it (requires lots of hours...). Fiberglass would compress under the canvas weight; mineral wool would crumble with too much handling.

My final conclusion was to use wool-blend blankets. Not terribly thick, but I can layer up ($100-400/layer). My idea is as follows: yurt frame, light cotton liner, wool-blend blankets, burlap, linen, burlap, wool-blend blanket, tyvek, canvas.

The idea is to use the liner for appearance/reflect light, use the blanket as insulation & to prevent air currents, burlap will act as a spacer while the linen will prevent air currents between burlap layers, another layer of blanket for 'real' insulation and to prevent air currents, tyvek as a water barrier, and finally the waterproof canvas. Cotton utility blankets could be added in there somewhere, too, if this isn't enough.

Thoughts & ideas?

 

[annieoaktree]

Just curious how you made out with the insulation. I am currently considering the purchase of a yurt and I am looking into the details.

I also like the felt idea seeing as that is traditional.

 

[hierony]

I purchased a wool-blend blanket material in rolls (~5' wide, 100 meters long, 4 rolls). Figured out how to make a cone from a two dimensional sheet, then how to make the larger sheet from the material I had (attempting mini-scale patterns was well worth the effort for trouble-shooting/perfecting purposes). I still have more sewing to do, but it's summer and I haven't had the yurt up for a couple months. I'll certainly post more when winter comes!

 

[annieoaktree]

Ah very clever. I look forward to an update when the seasons change.

 

[Kiwassa]

"Reflectix" type insulation has proved to be very helpful for me. I think if you have enough material up there, you should be fine. The only concern is that it doesn't compact under a heavy load, however, I found that snow is the best insulator, so you'll have time to figure it out I'm sure.


Where is it that you found rolls of wool blended blankets?

 

[hierony]

From a wool mill in India (See these two posts). There's a number of options, though--N American wool mills might have something too.