So you have looked at modern yurts and are convinced that you would love to live in such a structure. The seller tells you all the good things about the yurt (there are many) and you are more excited than ever. He presents the price tag and learns that yurts cost between one-tenth and one-fifth of a similar-sized bungalow. He is told that a yurt can be assembled in a couple of days. So, knowing that you will be mortgage-free the instant the house is built, and that you will be living in this space-age creation (which was first built several thousand years ago in the Slavic and Mongolian regions), jump to the opportunity to go to the bare minimum with this unique idea. But there is so much more to consider before you buy!
While yurts have great appeal, and while yurt living has many advantages, there are countless drawbacks, impediments, and disadvantages to consider, as well as significant design and size options, depending on your region and geography.
Before you go into design considerations, think about some of the more obscure issues that become very important once you’ve moved in. In our place, for example, we communicate with nature in a very intimate way, with black bears, deer, raccoons and skunks, wolves and coyotes, weasels, mice, squirrels, an army of insects, snakes, birds, etc. This interaction with nature is, for the most part, pleasant.
However, when the bear approaches, you don’t want to cook inside a flexible-walled yurt with plastic windows. A solid wall yurt, raised off the ground is a must.
When skunks, weasels, and squirrels take up residence under the building, the neighborhood leaves. Consequently, an effective mesh screen and lattice barrier are vital in keeping predators and vermin away. Sure, the weasel will eradicate the mice, but that leaves the problem of a noxious weasel! Skunks relocate quite easily as they don’t mind being around us. It’s reciprocal. Squirrels offer increased resistance and, like raccoons, can wreak havoc on tarps. Our yurt blends in so well into its surroundings that a family of raccoons has made holes in the roof canvas, simply by climbing on it. Squirrels leave only pin-sized holes, but more of them.
Birds are much more difficult to deal with. His use of the yurt roof tarp for target practice is a mere annoyance, but his clamor through the very roof scrapes the cloth as much as any squirrel.
The wolves are a great experience, while the coyotes, having been away from the yurt for a week or so, feel free to move in, digging small caves under the shelters.
Insects, like mice, pose a major problem. No yurt should have indoor rugs, due to the risk of ant, tick, and spider infestations. As tightly as sealing walls and floors, insects find entrances. With flexible wall yurts, mice are a major problem. This problem is eliminated with well-built solid wall designs.
In general, though, the benefit of being in close contact with nature in your yurt outweighs the problems posed by such contact, if you prepare for these intruders and guests. Due to the tent-like assembly, you are intimate with the outside world and hear almost all sounds. In addition, by using design and color options (camouflage, etc.) for your tarps, the yurt can blend discreetly into its surroundings.
The basic design of the yurt has several drawbacks.
Flexible wall yurts, for example, have walls less than two inches thick. Even with the space age bubble and foil insulation employed, you will experience faster heating and cooling variations within this building. However, a solid wall yurt can be constructed with conventional studs and insulated to higher levels using matte fiberglass insulation, as well as bubble and polystyrene sheet or sheet combinations. On the other hand, a yurt, due to its circular design and open concept, heats and cools much more effectively than a similarly sized bungalow. For example, our 600 square foot yurt can be heated for minus 25 temperatures with a small radiant propane heater (4-6,000 BTUs), and a 20 pound tank will last almost a week. A 600-square-foot home would require triple that amount of fuel and still have hot and cold spots.
It is impossible to use standard glass windows in a flexible wall yurt. Consequently, the norm is to install single pane heavy plastic windows, which transmit much of the heat or cooling between the inside and outside. A solid wall yurt, on the other hand, can accommodate standard window units (smaller sizes). Doors pose similar problems, and more so because most yurt vertical walls are 6’6 “to 7 ‘- less than the standard door frame height.
Other infrastructure also poses challenges. All wiring must be routed through conduit as it is installed outside of the wall frame, rather than through it. One option is to use low voltage cables and inverters throughout the building. The plumbing is also installed in plain sight. Of course, this installation method is much easier and faster.
Due to the open design of these homes, privacy suffers and closet space is at a premium. Creative designs can offset these concerns.
Other considerations include safe heating systems. Open flame is very dangerous in cloth yurts. With solid wall designs, flame retardant materials and fire resistant wall panels can be installed. Yurts can be purchased with a chimney outlet mount, but pay close attention to sparks that can burn the roof tarp!
Other problems that can arise include condensation problems in cold climates, when warm, humid air rises and comes into contact with thin-insulated roofing materials, condensing and falling inside the building. If tarpaulins (particularly roofing tarps) are not tight against the skin, the wind causes the tarp to ripple, which, in turn, packs up any matte insulation used and reduces that R-value. Wind against a yurt is minimized due to the round design, this means there are no leeward sides or areas to the side of the yurt where you can snuggle against the cool breeze. That also allows smoke and loose sparks to migrate around the building during winter.
Yurts almost always do not meet the zoning demands of any urban jurisdiction and therefore do not qualify for permits. If you are building in remote locations, this will not be a problem, and some solid wall designs can, in fact, earn an engineer certification. Good design and construction practices should be employed regardless of whether the building is code compliant.
Most of us choose yurts as our living option because of their simplicity and environmental friendliness. Simplicity equals Spartan, and Spartan means less luxury. The yurt is simple. That, in turn, should eliminate the expectation of opulence. If you want opulence, stay in the city! The yurt offers a wonderful escape and an alternative to conventional housing, but be prepared for the downsides as well as the benefits.