Building the Aroura

[Andy_in_Germany]

Thanks to the help I'm getting here and books by the like of Paul King and Dan Frank Kuehn, I'm able to start making sketches of our Yurt. Because I'm a romantic old softie I've taken to calling it the Aroura, hence the odd title.

Anyway, the first very rough sketch should be attached to this post. I work on the basis that if I start sketching and working things out I'll gradually come to a final design I can build. I'm aiming for a 12 foot/3.65m diameter Yurt.

So the first questions for the Yurt frame:

1: How wide are the wall lattice poles? I was aiming for Ash or Beech square section poles (bear in mind I work at a carpenters workshop: making this from planks is fairly simple). I'm assuming a cross section of 19mm by 19mm (3/4 of an inch square) will be enough. Is this correct?

2: What size should I make the rafters? I'm assuming I'll need 39 rafters (as suggested by Paul King), and I'l make then with pine or spruce. King suggests 32mm x 32mm (1.25in square) but this seems small especially if they have to carry snow (even with Baghana roof supports) and suggestions?

3: In some yurt pictures I've seen vertical supports going from rafters to the ground where they meet the walls. Are these snow supports or for exra security?

[Jafo]

How much snow do you normally get where the yurt is located?

[Andy_in_Germany]

Usually we have about two feet max, but in a hard winter we could have up to twice that if it falls faster than it melts.

Buildings locally have to be made to withstand about nine feet of snow on the roof, but I've never seen that much snow.

[Jafo]

Originally Posted by Andy_in_Germany

Usually we have about two feet max, but in a hard winter we could have up to twice that if it falls faster than it melts.

Buildings locally have to be made to withstand about nine feet of snow on the roof, but I've never seen that much snow.

I am not sure how building code enforcement works there, but I am betting it is pretty similar to here. If they are asking for it to hold that much snow, then definitely consider 2X6 rafters with studs. It wouldn't surprise me if they want some kind of engineered specs on things like snow load too.

[Andy_in_Germany]

Sounds more realistic. Many thanks.

Because the yurt is made partly of canvas it is considered to be a 'tent' or 'temporary structure' and thus not subject to as many planning laws, although I'm supposed to take it down at some point.

This is one reason I'm making a yurt: a 'permanent' building would never be permitted.

That said, there may be weeks when I can't get to the garden for all the snow, and if I've left the Yurt up it will be comforting to know it's solidly built (and nice to be able to use it in winter too), so 2x6 and studs will be the way to go.

[Jafo]

Another thing you might consider is, if you build it well enough with these codes in mind, you might just find that they approve it.

[Andy_in_Germany]

Originally Posted by Jafo

Another thing you might consider is, if you build it well enough with these codes in mind, you might just find that they approve it.

Alas, not unless I spend Euro 10 000 fitting a sewage line I don't need, and even then it is unlikely: no-one here has heard of Yurts, so they won't like the idea, and the local authority is in a big fight with a number of people locally who it deems to be living in 'illegal' houses, and I discovered the nearest 'illegal' house is only about 300 feet away from my land, so I doubt they will be very keen.

This is not intended to be where we live forever. Having a Yurt will mean we can take it with us when we finally move on, which will give us some flexibility then.

[Andy_in_Germany]

I'm currenty signed off sick from work with gammy elbows: I'm not allowed to lift anything, which is a pain for a cabinet maker.

A pain for Yurt making too, come to that.

Research doesn't need biceps, so I've been working out how much wood I need, what kind of wood to go for, and what the german words for some of the materials are. I've just got an email from the person running the http://jurten.heimat.eu/ website telling me that the German for 'canvas' is "Tipi-Stoff" lit: "Tipi cloth". Thanks to Jafo for posting that link.

So far I've decided that the wall rods will be European Ash, the roof rods spruce or pine depending on price, and the crown ring red beech.

To help me work out the quantities, I made a cardboard mockup of the crown ring with my youngest son this afternoon. I'd put a picture or a link but the software won't let me...

[Andy_in_Germany]

Originally Posted by Andy_in_Germany

I'd put a picture or a link but the software won't let me...

Software changed its mind apparently...

[Jafo]

Are you having an issue uploading pics?