Waterproofing the yurt with hydrophobic materials

[kochevnik]

Hello everyone.

It's been almost 2 months of living in the yurt. I love it, but I have major issues with water. I am still tweaking my cover and have some ideas on how to improve it. More covers hide the beauty of natural felt and I was just thinking.... Did anyone attempt to use hydrophobic materials on a felt yurt?

Similar to these ones:
Industrial Products | NeverWet
https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Ever-4000-4001-Ultra-Mini-Sprayers/dp/B00EVV7XOU

This one is non-toxic
http://www.cnet.com/news/liquidoff-non-toxic-non-hazy-hydrophobic-fabric-spray/


Videos are quite impressive. What do you think?

Kochevnik

 

[Jafo]

Hmm on a side note, that might be a good thing to put on my door at my yurt. It is starting to get gray from the rain hitting it. Thanks for the link!

 

[hierony]

I'd be very dubious of an electrical engineer that says he's managed to fully develop a break-though product in several months, especially one outside his area of expertise. Durability of any applied waterproofing may be an issue, especially in a weathering environment. But once a year isn't too bad. Maybe every two years? Maybe some small-scale testing on your part?

Also a note on nanotech--material behaviors & effects can be _very_ different from the bulk material properties, making any environmental/health effects unpredictable without thorough testing.

Canvas (duck weave cotton) at the heavier weights is waterproof. My canvas is dark green though, so absorbs lots of heat of sunny days (bad during the winter...). For me function trumps form, at least initially. So I'll be getting those used/free lumber wraps up sometime soon. Billboard canvas might be large enough--you could paint a design on it if you're so incline.

I knew of a girl that used clear plastic sheeting on the outside of her lightweight camping yurt to mostly keep it dry.

 

[hierony]

I should mention in case you need a rough number that my 6m/20 ft yurt with 6 ft walls has ~680 sq ft of fabric area, not including the toono flap. This website makes it easy to get the surface area of the roof (lateral surface area). Walls are a simple 3.14*diameter*height, minus the door area.

When I was wondering about waterproofing, I checked out a company called "Otter Wax". Quirky portland shop, mildly hipster but intriguing natural wax waterproofing. I don't know how it would turn out on felt, but they have melt cans that are brush applied. I tried it on a canvas scrap and didn't notice much improvement from the inherent water repellency of the canvas so I neglected to apply anything. Give the canvas a few years in the sun & it might be a different story...

The other waterproofing I've dealt with a little is Nikwax, a company that specializes in outdoor gear waterproofing. They have quite a number of different formulations--one for cotton, one for leather, one for synthetic fleece, for instance. I don't think they sell in gallon volumes, unfortunately.

You might want to get a few small volumes from different companies, then test each for how well it applies and how well it repels water on your felts--might take ~$50.

My canvas is keeping the water out alright, but it might need a hand with the more frequent winter rains. My door is the main problem right now--in a good rain water seeps though some of the paneling. It was stained but not sealed against water, dried out a bit and now the silicone caulking needs to be redone.