THE LITTLE YURT

(Page 3 of 10)

November/December 1976
 
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D. TENSION BAND OR CABLE

The secret of any yurt's strength lies in its tension band . . . a cable which holds the building together by encircling the structure at its eaves. A good type to use is the 3/8" guy wire that utility companies frequently discard . . . local junk dealers often have it. (1/4" cable also works well, but is less commonly used. In any case, be sure the band is galvanized.)

Place a ring nail about one-half inch from the top of each and every board juncture in the wall . . . but leave about 3/8" of the heads out of the wood to support the band (Fig. C-2). Remember to have someone hold a hammer against the inside of the wall boards while you're driving the nails!

Now lay the cable over all but the last eight or ten nails, let the band sag so that it's as slack as possible, and attach and tighten the clamps. Then gently force the band up and over the remaining nails. Great care and respect for materials under tension should be exercised here. The cable should be snug, but not "fiddle tight". If it's too loose, repeat the process, but take the cable off a few more nails before you apply and tighten the clamps. If the band is too tight to slip over the nails, loosen it a little. Then clamp the cable very tightly, remove those last few nails one by one, slip the cable up as you work, and replace the nails in the same holes with the cable now above them. NOTE: Don't squeeze the wall too tightly with the band or the nails around its top will start to pull. At this stage, the wall should feel flexible. The roof will make it rigid.

E. ROOF AND COMPRESSION BAND

ROOF: Cut the 1" X 12" X 12' inner roof boards into 18 pieces 62" long, and 18 sections 62-1/2" long. Next saw the 1" X 12" X 12' outer roof boards into 18 pieces 70-1/2" long and 18 pieces 71" long. Then cut all the boards as shown in Fig. E-1, so that you have 36 pieces of each length. (NOTE: In most cases, a 12" board is actually just 11-1/2" wide. If your boards are slightly wider or narrower, keep the 3-1/2" dimension the same and vary the 7-7/8" measurement.) If the boards are planed on one side only, it's important to make the diagonal cut the same direction each time . . . so mark and cut all boards with the planed side up. If you don't, your ceiling will be alternately rough and smooth.

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