Platform Insulation

Hey, folks. This is Jeremy with a continuing conversation about Yome insulation options. You can find my comments on the roof and sidewall insulation systems elsewhere in Ponderings. Bottom line, insulating the roof is the most effective step in improving heating efficiency in a Yome.

Depending on what a Yome is sitting on, how high off the ground the deck is, etc., the next most effective area to insulate is the floor or platform. There are a lot of options for floor insulation. Personally, I had access to a lot of fiber-fill scraps that we use for our side wall insulation, so I improvised a simple way of sealing off the space between the joists of my deck and just stuffing it with fiber-fill. I am not getting a great R-value, I’m sure, but nonetheless it has made a big difference. Read more

Structural Triangles

One of the repeated comments that comes up while designing various aspects of our Yomes is, “why only triangles.” It’s a basic concept in carpentry and engineering that we take seriously.  Have you ever seen a table or a chair with four legs that might have been a little wobbly?  Chances are the difference between this table and a more stable one is the number of triangles incorporated into the design.

To see the stability of a triangle versus any other polygon, take four pencils and four rubber bands, and form a square.  You’ll notice that if you push on any two sides that the square will deform its shape.  Get rid of one of the pencils and one rubber band, and form a triangle instead.  Now even though all the points where the pencils connect are just as flexible, the shape doesn’t change.  This is the inherent stability of triangles, and it’s what we seek when trying to create a stable structure.

If you look at our Yome designs you’ll notice one predominant feature, their frames are made entirely of triangles.  This is important since like our previous pencil models, the vertices of the Yomes are able to pivot around the bolts that hold them together.  By using triangles, we are able to make sturdy structures with much less material saving you money, keeping our landfills free of waste, and allowing the Yomes to be much more portable than they would be otherwise.

Next time you sit down at your table, or on that nice sturdy chair next to it, have a look underneath and see if you can spot the triangles that hold it all together.  And next time you go into your Yome, have a look at the framework knowing that you’re surrounded by a structure designed to remain stable and strong with a minimal use of materials.