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Any good books on building a yurt?

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njtool

New member
Hello,
I just bought 14 acres of land and im looking for alternative ways of living and I want to build a yurt.
I woodwork as a hobby so I know my way around wood, machinery, and hand tools. There is also a place near me that specializes in canvas for trucks etc. I am planning on seeing how much their canvas is.

Are there any good books on building you own yurt? There is nothing on my land and I need to start building something as soon as the weather breaks. Ive looked for books and there doesnt seem to be to many out there on actually building them from scratch.
I have questions like the platform, what the best mterial, shape, and design. It will be an all weather yurt so should I insulate the platform? Whats the best non toxic insulation to use?
What size should the lattice be? I see a bunch of different thicknesses and materials being talked about.

Or if anyone can answer my questions, I would be greatful. I am hoping to start building in about a month or 6 weeks. What have people spent on building their own yurt from scratch?

Thank you for your help
 
None better than this listed below by Bob Rowlands
Anyone interested in learning how to actually build a yurt from scratch should go to:

Clan yama kaminari

Click on 'make it' on the left side of the page. Plans for 12', 14', & 16' yurt there. I built the 14' and 16' versions.
 
I studied this extensively before erecting a custom built 22' yurt and the instructions worked like a charm.
I did vary on the ring and went with my own design and it has turned out great. Greatest fun I have had in a while. Been having cook outs and camp outs and people visit and observe the yurt with lots of compliments on the structure, I say go for it.
 
There are a few other resources in addition to the clan yama kaminari yurt plans.

The Simply Differently webpage has a lot of details about the fellow's particular build, and also a number of online calculators that will give you some ideas of how much material you'll need and how to put it all together.

Paul King's The Complete Yurt Handbook also has details & a basic tutorial on building a yurt.

A rough estimate on yurt materials costs, if you purchase everything at retail, would be around $500-1500. Mind you, a very rough estimate. A sewing machine and various tools will be needed, plus a platform. Cheap platforms could be as low as $200 if you really scrounge; my 20 ft platform was probably around $600 (wood & nails, tarps & strawbales, plus a two yards of gravel). It's possible to just put a yurt on the ground (if you don't have water saturation during spring snow melt/flooding & put down a strong moisture barrier).
 
njtool, You might be interested in going here:

clan yama kaminari

click on make it, then click on yurt build. I built the 16' and 14' versions.
 
Thanks Bob,
Someone suggested that link and it was informative. I have to start with the pad and there is a build thread that im following that is interesting.
I would like to make the lattice before I move since I have the machinery where I am now and there is no power on the land unless I get a generator.
 
njtool said:
Thanks,
That looks interesting, how much did you spend on construction?
Click to expand...
I simply used items (unconventional as they may be) that I had on hand that served the purpose of erecting the yurt so well. My costs were so little due to that fact. It's like it was meant to be, in my case, and it just came together. I'd be tempted to say effortlessly, but it was some hard work but well worth the effort.
 
Ive been researching a lot and I have a question. Whats the standard, best, safest dimensions for the pieces of lathe? I might be able to get cedar that's just under 3/4" thick. How wide should I cut each piece for the lathe pieces? 3/4"? 1"? 1.25"???
I would like to know asap so I can figure out how much wood I need for the lathe

Any suggestions?
 
3/4" is pretty common.

To get a nice straight wall when erected, (with laths crossing at 90 degrees), steam bend them. Drive three stakes in the ground, the middle stake centered between the other two. Set the end two stakes a foot under lath length, and in alignment with eachother. Steam laths until pliable and bend between the stakes. Alternate laths so the stakes don't bend, themselves. IMO a straight walled yurt looks WAY better than waisted.
 
Can you explain what you are talking about a little better. Are you referring to a straight wall as a wall that is plumb and doesn't curve inwards along the middle?
Im a woodworker so I am familiar with steam bending and I understand the setup you are talking about but im not sure about what you are telling me to do. If I bend the lathe pieces, how would I assemble them? all the bows facing out so when its erected the center will remain plumb?
 
njtool, google images:

hyperbolid nuclear cooling tower

Assemble the laths with the bow all facing the same direction. Erect the khana so the bow faces to the outside of the yurt. Although the curve will remain, the yurt wall will appear plumb. Thin laths like the 5/16ths thick variety on my yurt, bends and twists a WHOLE lot better than the thicker laths, so that nasty shape is minimized. I just have this thing about plumb walls being a carpenter for 43 years. :D. The more diamond shaped the khana crosses, the more vertical the laths, and the less that hyperbolid shape appears.
 
Yes, all the lath bows face out when assembled into wall sections, and also when the yurt is erected. The wall appears plumb, but in fact the laths have to be bowed to pull off that look. The laths on a forty five degree angleare bending from top to bottom because they are on erected on a circle, not a line. I like squares that is a fast reference when erecting the yurt wall to proper diameter. To my jaded eye diamonds don't look traditional.

Google Mongolian yurts on youtube, as a rule they have steam bent laths and look GREAT when erected. Also there are a couple yt vids on steam bending. I can't emphasize enough how nice a steam bent wall appears in comparison to a hyperbolid wall. Have fun. Glad you are a woodworker, that will be a HUGE advantage when building your place.
 
How much of a bend do you put in the pieces?

Whats the ratio to roof poles to lathe "notches"? Is there a ratio or does a 16' yurt just need a certain number of roof poles that are evenly spaced along the wall.
 
Never bent wall lath. Just watch a yt vid and eyeball the steam bend setup, and just go for it.

Use the pythagorean theorem on your lath centers. The hypotenuse gives you the horizontal distance cross to cross on the wall. Divide that into the yurt circumference, round up or down to a whole number, and there is the number of rafters. That includes the two or three over the entry door that are odballs. That's for a trad yurt with a pole on every cross.

To really get a detail on yurt build, read the Kaminari plan carefully. I read it several times before I built my first one, to really get the procedure set in my head. Good luck.
 
I have built one using plans "Building a mongolian yurt by Sir Orgami Akira" But recently have been inspired by utube videos ,search "Yurta" I will be building another.
 
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