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natural light in mongolian vs modern yurts

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darcyoh

New member
Hi all!

I'm currently researching and planning to get a 15' to 18' yurt for full-time living in Missouri (and potentially Ohio or Maryland, as I'm still likely to move every year or 3). I'm pretty interested in traditional yurts (a la Groovy Yurts) because of the great felt insulation, mostly. But I'm leaning towards buying a modern-style yurt, simply because I think I'd suffocate without windows and lots of natural, ambient light! (And perhaps I'll source some felt/other insulation for the modern yurt -- I don't want to lose all my heat as soon as the fire goes out!). The first thing I notice when I step into any kind of house, the thing that makes me feel comfortable or uncomfortable, is whether the room is sunny and well-lit.

Anyone who is living in a traditional-style yurt -- what's the light situation like? Does it feel dark when you enter?
 
I have a 16' unimproved uninsulated yurt. It is very bright inside, but it isn't insulated. You are wise to get it insulated. I absolutely wouldn't consider it any other way for full time living.


Regarding size, I'd go with the 18'er over anything smaller for full time living. FWIW Mongolians favor the 6 meter yurt, which is about 20', and I think that's the size I'd go with if I lived in one full time.

If you're considering a seperate bath and bedroom, with 2x framed partition walls seperating the living area from bed and bath, and are thinking plumbing and electric, 20' would definitely be absolute minimum IMO. I also suggest a window at the bath and the kitchen for both ventilation and light, and an operable vent at the dome.

If you are a single guy batching it in your yurt big tent 18' would be fine. I wouldn't go smaller though based on my 16'er. Good luck.
 
Several tricks for lighting--use a light colored liner to spread the light some. The thick felt will dampen noise and light penetration through the outer canvas. Look at how large the crown ring is--this is your main light source. Some are tiny (2 ft diameter), some huge (6 ft dia).

The traditional yurts have a canvas cover that goes over the crown ring in bad weather--you may have to fiddle some with a clear vinyl piece to keep light in those situations or get a dome or some sorts. Some people put glass in their crown ring.

Artificial lighting will be needed when the sun goes down, obviously. Depending on what you're doing (fine detailed work, or just generally seeing, or reading). You're needs there could vary from 1000 lumen to 20,000 lumen. Mind the color temp for a more natural feel.

My 20' traditional yurt with ~5' dia crown ring, with a dark green canvas, can be sunny on sunny days, but I wouldn't say there's enough light for detailed work unless you're in the sun spot. But I haven't had the cream-colored liner up for a while and this was during the winter.
 
Oh, was also going to mention a really neat way to get diffuse light into the yurt: if you use a adobe/cement platform, build a raised lip for your walls. In this lip, put glass bottles. This will give you taller walls (traditional yurts have 5' or so walls) and allow light in all around the edge. Suntime Yurts has some pictures of this (see here and here). You could probably adapt this to wood, too--just make sure to seal between the bottles & wood.

Only problem with this technique is that the interior wall perimeter is a great place to put things like beds, desks, storage, etc which would effectively block the light...
 
Thanks for the tips! The raised wall/bottles idea is very cool. I am pretty keen on your strawbale plan, actually, Hierony. First stage of the yurt is non-permanent platform, with perhaps something heavier later on.

I think I will go with a more modern structure, because between the short walls and lack of windows I think I will feel a little too dark and cramped. I have friends who raise alpacas and may try to raid them for DIY wool insulation.

Also, Hierony -- I read about your wool blanket method in another thread. Have you been able to try that out in cold weather yet? I'd love to know how it worked!

Thanks y'all.
 
Yurts are supposed to feel close and warm and cozy, like a good cave (some say natal womb) :p Too many windows and you'll loose insulation. Have you been in the Missouri state park yurts? There might be some forum members in your region, too.

Some Tiny Houses have similar square footage to 16-18' yurts--have you looked at those? I recall 5 years ago their DIY estimates were lower (10-15k). A lot more work, but a little more portable and culturally acceptable than a yurt. And lots of windows!

Looking at the Groovey Yurts webpage, they offer a lot of options. It looks like the regular wall height is 4.5', but there's also a Super Ger/20' that has 5.5' walls--the way the roof poles slope, that'd probably make for 6' clearance a foot or two away from the wall (most people don't really walk/lean against walls much). They also offer extra windows/doors. If you asked, there's a good chance they could refer you to somebody in your region with one of their yurts.

One thing about the strawbale platform: I wouldn't exactly call it sturdy. It can be made sturdy--thicker plywood, more 'joists' tying things together, more care in leveling the ground/bales. This can be important for modern yurts, which usually have the lattice attached to the platform in some way. Wood frame platforms are 'portable', just maybe more work to takedown/setup and a little spendier.

Also in the traditional vs modern yurts debate--takedown/setup time. My 20' traditional yurt takes 1-3 hrs to take down/setup completely by 1-2 people (not including platform: est 1.5 hrs). A 25' modern yurt I helped take down took all day for 2-3 inexperienced people & 1 guide; I've heard similar times for another modern yurt. Don't know about the smaller sizes or with experienced (dis)assemblers though.

I haven't had my yurt up for the last two months (ie, since I finished sewing the roof piece), and I'm also waiting for a large enough area to sew the side piece (my living room <<<60 ft, or even 30 ft). So I haven't been able to test it, sadly. Probably won't get below 40 F until the fall now.

As for wool--I know a family with sheep/goats in Northern Idaho. I was tempted to use their wool (maybe $4/lb, really cheap!) but didn't want to mess with figuring out how to use it (washed/unwashed, moth protection?, picking?, felting or batts or quilting/sewing into pillow cases into blankets?). Depending on the markets for alpaca wool, you might be able to get a steal ;)
 
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