Velcro Vinyl Hinge Six Foot Stretch Apex Hexayurt

This is an updated method to making a Hexayurt using the more recently developed Vinyl hinges, and velcro fasteners instead of bifil-tape. I designed it to partially fold, partially velcro together. You end up with 4 folding sections (main walls, door walls, main roof, cone roof end).

Huge credit to all the other resources I combined to do this. I'm sure its not the first time its been done, but this combination of an apex stretch 6' yurt with vinyl hinges and velcro never showed up in my searches, so I'm documenting it all in one place for clarity. I used one other Inst'able, a google group post, youtube and appropedia.

https://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_project/Schematics

https://www.instructables.com/Six-Foot-Stretch-Apex-Hexayurt/

https://www.appropedia.org/w/images/3/31/Hexayurt_Construction_with_Vinyl_and_Contact_Cement.pdf

https://groups.google.com/g/hexayurt/c/2QRUl3txk-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MiKiIaf9Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Xe0cJNCTo

The idea behind Velcro is that it makes assembly and disassembly super quick, and removes the time-suck burden and resource waste of re-taping the joints every year. Also, bifil tape sucks: it is not UV stable, sticks to everything its not supposed to, and tends to fall apart after only a few days on playa, requiring repairs to be made to playa-coated panels (not fun).

Velcro is incredibly strong in the shear direction (pulling side to side, not apart), making it a great way to fasten the panels together tightly but temporarily. Once ready to go home, pulling it apart allows quick disassembly (though honestly a little slower than simply cutting the tape) with minimal maintenance before the next use. The flaps also work to create waterproof joints, a design which proved itself during the 2023 MudMan event, just be sure to bathtub the floor properly!

7@ 8'x4' sheets of 1"+ Polyisocyanurate foam board (eg: Tuff-R, Johns Manville) Specifically NOT EPS (Styrofoam, it is weak and will break)

150' 2" Aluminum foil tape (Nashua 322 and similar)

2 pints of Contact Cement (Barge Glue, Dap original, etc) Note: the Green can/low VOC stuff will NOT work

3 yards 10gauge or heavier vinyl. I used clear that was on sale from JOANN. UV stable is desirable!

1.5" x ~45' Velcro (1" is probably ok)

Follow the steps in the other instructable to cut the panels for a 6' stretch apex yurt. Note that the difference between the Apex and normal stretch yurt is in the tall end/Door and roof, and you get a small bit of leftover panel triangles. Bevel the cuts such that the outside (shiny metal side) is the longer side of the bevel (and is where you measure to). I used a box cutter style razor blade screwed to a section of 2x4 I cut on my miter saw to the needed angles (15, 30, 45), and slid it along a straight-edge at the proper distance. See the youtube video linked at the top, they use a sharpened putty knife instead of razor blades.

Use the foil tape to cover the exposed foam of the edges. With 1" board and 2" tape you should get 1/2" on each side on the flat edges, and ~1/4"-1/8" on the beveled edges (so be careful with alignment here). Also tape over any punctures, tears or damage that exposes the foam core (do this any time you notice it as preventative maintenance). Other tape might work well for this, foil is what has traditionally been used. It does seem to lose adhesion sometimes.

Each permanent hinge has vinyl on both sides. With 1" thick boards, one side will use 6" wide strips (2" on the face of each panel, 1" on each edge), the other 4" (just 2" on each face). For the velcro flaps, you will want 2 @ 4" wide strips to make the seal flap (One is 2" on the panel face, 2" flap, the other 1" face, 1" edge, 2" flap). For extra secure velcro, you can and should add a single 4" vinyl strip (2" on the face for the velcro, 1" around the edge, 1" on the other face) to the panel where the velcro glues directly to it. If you use thicker foam boards, increase the width of the strips that include an edge by the extra thickness.

It can make for a more durable yurt if you go ahead and wrap ALL other edges with a vinyl strip (not accounted for here), especially the bottom edge that sits on the tarp/playa. This will give an area stronger than the paper foil to tape the floor to (prevents dust blowing under, and if bathtubbed, water from seeping in). If doing this, 6" strips are best to give more surface area on the sides.

Since the vinyl comes in 54" wide rolls, it works best to cut lengthwise along the roll.

For the hinges you will need:

1@ 8'x4" and 8'x6" strips for the main roof hinge,

1@ 6'x4" and 6'x6" strips for the door panel hinges (Apex end),

3 @ 4'x4" and 4'x6" strips for the main wall hinges

3 @ 54"x4" and 54"x6" strips for the cone roof end hinges

For the velcro flaps:

4 @ 6'x4" for the main roof to main walls

4 @ 2'x4" for the short edge of the small triangles in the cone roof connected to the main walls

12 @ 4'x4" for the triangles of the cone roof to main walls, and main walls to door walls, and main roof to cone roof.

4 @ 54"x4" for the main roof to door walls

For securing the velcro on the panels:

2 @ 8'x4" Main wall long panels top edges

6 @ 4'x4" Main wall short panels top edges, main roof to cone roof edges, main walls to door walls edges

2 @ 54"x4" Main roof to door walls edges

Totals:

3 @ 8'x4"

1 @ 8'x6"

5 @ 6'x4"

1 @ 6'x6"

21 @ 4'x4"

3 @ 4'x6"

4 @ 2'x4"

9 @ 54"x4"

3 @ 54"x6"

There are 4 main assemblies, as mentioned in the intro: Main Walls, Door Walls, Main Roof and End Cone Roof. All, except one joint in the Main Walls, use a normal, externally flat (meaning, when setup, the vinyl is flat across the outside shiny part), hinge. The Appropedia page on Vinyl hinges is a very detailed resource on how this works and how to glue them. Below is my description of the process.

Each hinge attaches one panel to another in a way that lets them fold flat for transport/storage. To set up for a normal hinge, put the two panels close to each other in the layout needed. Lay the vinyl strip to be glued next to the joint to be glued together. I used a 2" wide brush to paint a stripe of the glue along the shiny face of one panel up to its edge, being sure to use a decent amount of glue. I then painted the strip of vinyl with the glue. Wait a few minutes until the glue has dried mostly (but not fully!), then carefully attach the vinyl to the board (you want only ~2" of vinyl on the board, the rest hanging off. Push out bubbles and press the vinyl onto the board. Then, paint a 2" stripe on the other panel's edge, let it dry some, then set the two panels together as they should be when assembled (be extra sure the ends of the boards are even!) and press the vinyl from the other panel onto this one.

Fold the panels so the newly glued joint is on the inside of the fold and panels are flat together, exposing the un-covered part of the joint (If excessive glue was used, place wax paper over the fresh vinyl/glue to prevent gluing the panels together here). Now apply glue to the cut and taped edges of both panels, and to the 6" strip of vinyl matching this length. Again wait for it to cure some, then carefully line the stip up down the middle of the joint and press it on, being sure to press it onto the panels and any vinyl from the other side poking through. Paint 2" stips of glue on the faces of each panel, wait for curing a bit, then press the vinyl down as with the other strips. It should be fairly strong already, but wait a few minutes before stressing the joints.

Repeat this for every permanent hinge joint, except 1 of the main wall joints between the short and long panels (doesn't matter which one). That one joint will be made "backwards", such that the "flat" part of the hinge is on the inside (non-shiny side), so it can fold reverse from the other panels, making a "z" shape 3 layers thick when folded flat.

The sections attach to each other using Velcro. Because of the way velcro attaches/detaches, and to provide waterproof joints, we have to use flaps for it. Attaching velcro to both panel edges directly will make it nearly impossible to disassemble without breaking the panels. Flaps allow peeling the velcro apart a little at a time. We also want a little extra length on the flaps to cover the joints at the end of the panels and at corners, to prevent water from leaking in.

Glueing the flaps is much the same as the hinges above: use copious amounts of glue, apply glue to both the panel and vinyl, let it dry a little before sticking the parts together, and press them on securely, pushing out any bubbles. The flaps will extend ~2" off the panels, giving another 2" of contact to the panels. Using a 2" brush, apply a 2" stripe down the shiny face of one panel at the edge, and coat a matching strip of vinyl. Attach the vinyl such that half (~2") is on the panel face and the other half hangs off. Apply another stripe of glue on the other side of the panel, covering 1" of the face and the entire cut edge of the panel. Attach the other vinyl strip so that its edge matches up with the edge of the already attached vinyl strip (flap is 2 layers thick), then press it onto the edge and face of the board, making sure that where it first touches the panel has no air gaps, so things will fit together cleanly and be less likely to peel.

Do this for all marked "Flap" edges of the panels: All edges of the main roof assembly, the bottom edges of the cone roof assembly, and the 4' vertical edges of the door wall assembly.

I glued velcro directly to most panels. This works, but if the velcro pulls off, it comes away with the foil. To reinforce the edges you can use a strip of vinyl to cover the panel and spread the load. Glue it up like most other places: coat it with glue, then paint an ~2" stipe on the shiny face of the panel to receive it, at the edge. Following normal procedures, let it dry some, then attach the vinyl. Next paint the cut edge and ~1" of the inside face, let cure a bit, then fold the vinyl around the edge and press all the bubbles out. This should create a secure and strong attachment layer for the fixed velcro.

After trying a few things, I have found the outdoor exteme industrial velcro (15lb rated) works great! Sooo much easier than trying to glue other velcro to stuff. 1" wide is probably enough as long as the two halves overlap well. 2" or more is really too wide and will probably result in damaging the yurt trying to separate it during disassembly.

Pick one side of the velcro (fuzzy or hooks) and use it exclusively on the flaps, using the other side for the fixed faces. I used fuzzy on the flaps, and hooks on the fixed edges. Attach a strip of velcro to each flap, lining up the edge of the velcro to the outer edge of the flap. Check where the flaps align on the fixed edges, and attach the other side of the velcro to give the best match.

The most important thing is to NOT put velcro on the ends of the panels inside a joint! You will not be able to pull the panels apart without ripping or breaking something.

Cut a door in one of the taller door-wall panels, making sure to leave at least 6" of panel between it and any joint. Angle the cut inward slightly (when cutting from the shiny-side, angle the blade toward the inside of the door itself) so it will open/close easily, and make rounded corners. Consider reinforcing the panel the door is cut in with thin (1/16") ply/card/coroplast around the cut, especially top and bottom. Similarly, cut vents to fit your swamp cooler or a fan. I use a 12"x12" filter, so cut a 11"x11" vent in one end, a 6" circular hole for the swamp cooler pipe in the other, and a small square for my electric cooler exhaust. Keep the cut-out parts and hinge them so you can seal the openings if you want, and taper the cuts so they open to the inside (I frequently closed the square vent to block out the light, easier to do when it can close from the inside).

Glue a hinge made of vinyl on the tall side of the door, just like the other panel hinges (flat layer on the outside). To keep the door closed, I pushed a couple of small neodymium magnets into the beveled short edge of the door flap until flush with the edge, and taped over them, then added metal washers to the panel where they lined up. I also added a ~3" flap with a magnet as a sort of door handle/latch, with a washer on the inside of the door panel to make it easier to pull it closed and latch in place.

Vinyl is not UV stable unless it specifically says it is. This means when you use this in the hot sun, the UV rays will degrade it. With Vinyl, this means it turns yellow and gets stiff, eventually cracking. Consider taping over or painting the exposed vinyl with something to block UV.

You might want a "rain gutter" over the door to keep water from leaking in along the inward sloping top edge of it. A strip of tape mostly folded on itself to leave a bump/flap, attached just above it and sloped to let the water run off should work fine, though I had minimal problems without this.

When assembling and testing things, check that all the flaps overlap to cover the seams well and prevent water from making it in. I added some small pieces of vinyl, glueing them to existing flaps, where I needed more coverage, and am glad I did (the only water that got in during 2023's rainstorm was from not bathtubing the floor tarp, my walls were dry.

IMPORTANT! Do this at least once before heading out to playa! Make sure it actually works, and you didn't forget to do something (like actually glue the velcro onto one of the main walls (oops)).

This assembles much like any other yurt, the only difference being the velcro. Pay attention to the flaps, try to keep them from attaching too early. This yurt can be assembled by a single person in ~10minutes if the wind is minimal.

One consideration to think about is orientation. If you can, line this up so either the door or cone end is pointed into the primary wind direction. This will keep buffeting down. Also note that while the velcro flaps do a good job keeping stuff together, if the flaps are pointing into the wind, this creates a windward gap for the wind to blow into, carrying dust with it.

First, lay out the floor tarp, it should be larger than the footprint of the yurt so the panels sit on it.

Unfold the main walls and set them in the general orientation they should be (long sections parallel, ends about even).

Unfold the door walls, set them at the end of the main walls and line things up. Once in place, pull the velcro flap tight and push it onto the other panel to join the two sections. Repeat on the other joint.

Unfold the cone roof end. This can be done inside the wall perimeter if doing this solo. Otherwise, an extra person to help lift/place this section can be useful. Line up the large triangles with the 4' wall sections and attach the velcro flaps. Line up the 2' smaller triangles with the main wall edges and attach their velcro.

Finally, unfold the main roof. This again should be done inside the wall perimeter if solo. Extra people are a big help to this step. Watch the flaps since this part has a bunch that like to grab everything they shouldn't. Lift it above the yurt and slowly lower into place, lining things up as you go. Make sure the joints meet flush before letting the velcro attach. Ensure the flaps for the walls are attached, and use a stick to press the velcro together for the two roof sections. Make sure there is vinyl overhanging all joints so water will not leak into the yurt.

Either pull-up some of the tarp floor, or put another tarp inside and tape it to the yurt wall 2-3" above the floor. This creates a "bathtub" that will keep the floor dry when it rains and water runs under the walls (thats what it will do!). You should consider adding vinyl to the bottom edges or pre-taping the walls with foil tape so this will not rip the panels when pulling it off. Consider taping the yurt to the flat tarp on the outside as well (and pre-taping those edges for this too).

Use a rope-halo with tie-outs to lag bolt anchors. This yurt is light weight and will easily blow over/away if not secured to the ground. The halo also keeps the panels tightly pressed together since the edges are beveled. I used one tie-out at each end, and two along each long wall, spaced a couple feet from the walls (the tie-out should be just a bit steeper than the roof slope). Its surprisingly stable without the tie-downs, but you should still do this.

For its first burn, I also placed lag bolts driven only half-way in around the perimeter to keep the walls from moving outward. This was unnecessary, but did reinforce it a bit (I saw several designs that used a 2x4 perimeter wall around the base, this was a simpler solution). I didn't bother with it this year, taping the bottom edges to the tarps was plenty.

Taking this yurt apart is a bit different from others. The trick to separating the velcro is to use a screwdriver or other straight/rounded thing and slide it between the velcro layers. Be sure to fold the flap back as you do this to keep it from resticking (it likes to do this).

Disassemble in the reverse order of assembly. First detach one side of the main roof from the main walls. Then separate that half from the door walls, and finally from the cone roof section. This last part can be difficult since a lot of the joint is out of reach. Use a pole to try and slide between the velcro to get it apart. Once free, fold the roof section over flat onto the other half, and then detach the other side.

From there it should be easier to walk around detaching the remaining velcro and folding the sections back into their flat storage positions.

For storing and transport, a couple 8x4 sheets of thin plywood will help protect the edges of your panels from damage caused by ratchet straps and other pokey things, well worth the investment. If you arrange them correctly, this yurt will almost fit into the 8x4 sandwich, but will have a small triangle of panel sticking out one side.

I built this yurt over a few weekends in 2023 to go to Burning Man, finishing a few last-minute steps on-playa (as one does). It was a great success! I had stayed in an H13 yurt on previous burns, which honestly is almost too much space for 2 people, is a very large/awkward pile of panels to transport, and requires multiple people to setup. This little yurt was plenty of space for me, with enough room for another if I organized better, and held together through the challenges of unprecedented rain and mud that the playa provided this year. The only major improvement I do need to make are primarily with how the velcro attaches. While it held together just fine during the burn, it peeled off the panels and some of the flaps during disassembly. I did not vinyl-wrap all edges as I suggest doing in this instructable, and the velcro attached to the edges I did vinyl wrap fared better. Still, some velcro did peel away from flaps and vinyl, which means more maintenance before next year after finding a better attachment solution. My other lessons, for my first wet/muddy burn, include being sure you properly bathtub the floor, and use a rigid doormat. I did not bathtub properly, so the floor got a bit wet. Thankfully I keep everything off the floor itself with foam square floor tiles and a plastic straw woven mat, but it still caused some things that found the floor to get soaked. The doormat was an unforeseen issue but not unique to the yurt. Since trudging around in muddy playa churns it up more, this created a mud pit at my door. A wooden pallet-style mat would have prevented this and created a place to more easily remove mud-caked shoes.

For 2024, I returned with a few upgrades. I patched a few velcro parts with pre-adhesived velcro, and found that it works fantastically! I wish I had built it using that first. Second I did a better job of bathtubbing, but still got water seepage. This I think was due to my old tarp not resisting water any more. I broke my door panel by being lazy and not reinforcing it like I say to do, so that will need fixing before next year. But overall it was again a much better solution than a tent. I also spent a full month in it, arriving on playa August 9th for the Temple build and departing after LNT. It survived several high-wind events, more rain, and a wide range of temperatures. It will be back again next burn!