Yurt
Building Update
Yurts are easy and cheap to build. They can be
owner-built for a few hundred dollars and provide four-season homes that are
simple to construct in about six weeks. That said, they only work when the
fundamental principles of architecture and construction are strictly followed.
Those principles are structurally safe, built to last
for decades, livable without fossil fuels, always dry, warm in winter, cool in
summer, won’t burn and doesn’t annoy the neighbours. Then there are the
essential intrinsic requirements – sunshine, fresh air ventilation and a
pleasing view.
The design only works when the site works. When
choosing the site evaluate – slope, groundwater flow, surface water flow, water
table level, soil composition, vehicular access, solar orientation, sunshine
and wind.
The reason you should build or supervise the
construction of your yurt is that details matter - or you listen to the
whispers of intuition, so you don’t hear howls of remorse. There is a plethora
of micro homes and yurt kits available in the marketplace. These are convenient
and expensive consumer products. Consumerism is a polite word for profit and
envy. Buyer beware.
To date, I have built three yurts and with the third
one I really think that I got everything right (full construction details are
available in my ebook and on this blog). They are all in central Ontario where
winter temperature can drop to – 20c. In a damp or cold climate full exposure
to winter sunshine is essential.
The basic specifications remain the same. Twenty foot
inside diameter (floor space 315 sq.ft.), door faces east, the south facing
window is a full-size recycled patio door set on its side. The other four
windows are equally spaced around the wall and all can be opened. The
twelve-inch diameter center post is set upside down to maximize the surface
area to support the roof beams. The roof has an eighteen-inch overhang, this is
a simple way to protect the wall from the weather. The yurt must be built above
the surrounding ground, this is further enhanced by setting the lattice wall
poles on a stem wall made of 25 kg ‘poly’ animal feed bags filled with crushed
stone and tamped rigid. This wall is two bags or ten inches high. A drainage
channel is dug around the outside to direct surface runoff away from the
building. The site is carefully chosen or modified to prevent ground and
surface water becoming an issue. I used R20 six-inch fiberglass insulation,
there are more expensive, but environmentally more friendly alternatives, like
hemp. The waterproof membrane for the roof is an industrial quality 40 ft by
60 ft tarp. I cut it in half so that the roof has two layers and the remainder
covered the walls. Because all four windows open, I am not concerned with
having breathable walls. The inside wall is covered with used lumber tarps
which are available free if you ask nicely. I will cover both the inside and
outside with cow manure. A herd of cattle graze my land, in spring the area where
they have been fed round hay bales is a sloppy mix of cow poo, mud and strands
of hay. This mixture is free, comes ready made, spreads like peanut butter and
sets as hard as tree bark. Within a few weeks of applying it is hard, a grey brown colour and has no smell. It is applied in two thin layers and the final
one on the inside is whitewashed. To get more heat from the wood stove, I position
the stove four feet laterally from where the pipe goes through the wall so that
more heat radiates inside rather than into the great outdoors.
On a personal note, I do get a certain about of
criticism from friends who say, “You can’t tell people that they can build
their own home in six weeks for $500, other people are just not like you.”
Well, maybe I am too enthusiastic at times, however, with a little help from
your friends you might be surprised just what you can achieve. To help you
saddle your dreams, I am happy to respond to questions and comments either by
email, hughmorshead@gmail.com
or through Facebook.
