Ad

Permitting a yurt

I'm in Montgomery County, Ohio, a.k.a. Dayton plus a little around the edges. We're on the westernmost side of the county.
Our yurt is solidly [ha ha] in the field of temporary structures, since it's sitting on wood posts that rest on Dek Blocks. Through our zoning board member we found that such a structure wouldn't need a permit.
I don't know if that would still be true for a property without an existing permanent structure on it, though. (Ours has a beat-up old house.)
 
You're right, Dan. That's the clincher for a lot of structures in most places... if there is one permitted residence on the property it opens the door for many loopholes, like temporary structure, accessory structures, etc.
 
I have made the first post of this thread that Melissa started a checklist of what you should need when starting the permitting process. Please feel free to suggest other items for the list.
 
Wind kits are a good upgrade to get in a yurt, even if you aren't in a windy area. The posts allow for electric outlets and switches to be placed at convenient heights and wire for overhead lighting can easily be trimmed out along the posts.

For permits you will need the following:
-Tall walls, 6'9" or higher at the door.
-astrofoil doesn't meet r-value codes. Ask the manufacturer for insulation that does where it is required (typically only in colder climates).
-Egress is a common requirement, so an extra door or an operable window will be needed.
-Fire ratings
-Architect stamps (find a local, licensed architect to review your platform plans and give his wet stamp. The local architect or a plans router will route them through the system. These services are usually fairly cheap in the scheme of things, and WELL worth not bungling it up as an inexperienced building department novice).
-For a residence or detached bedroom or anything with plumbing, you will also need wastewater plans. Engineered septic or cesspool designs or plans showing how you will route into an existing system.
-For a residence you will need to show your water supply, refrigeration, cooking means and a shower/toilet/sink. You will need to provide a floor plan and a full site plan, locating your waste water, set backs, driveway and house/yurt.
-If it is not a residence, then get the help of a local router and make sure it is called something else. Most places will not allow two full kitchens to be on one property, thereby making for two full residences. You can have partial kitchens, but typically only a single sink (not a double chamber) and a hot plate or the like.

That should be enough to get started...
 
Thanks Melissa, I have updated the first post in this thread. I think it is coming along nicely! :)
 
permits/codes, fww

We are new to this, but in our experience in Upstate NY, a yurt can be to code. We were "found" by the code guy and he wasn't happy, but willing to work with us. In this county as soon as you sleep in a building, it's a residence and needs to meet code. Our yurt is on a deck. We needed a permit to build the deck, build the yurt, put in septic (which we didn't want but now have to have), and for the wood stove. Once we apply for permits we can get approved and move forward. Here's what we have learned, if it's helpful.

The deck has it's own codes to follow - railings, joist hangers, etc.

The yurt was to code, we have the snow load winter pakacge from Colorado yurt COmpany and that meets code here. CO sent the architect stamped plans quickly and we could send these to the code guy.

We cannot have small propane tanks for anything - we have a small heater for a shower, and for our stove. We have to get a bigger one from a standard company to meet code.

Insulation in a yurt is not to code, but our guy overlooked this. He actually read something from the NYS code book that residences must be kept at 64 degrees or above at all times! (ha)

We can't have grey water, have to have septic even though we have no plumbed toilet.

We can have a composting toiler if it's a commercial model (eg. Sunmar)

Wood stove pipe has to be 3' taller than height of roof.

Any water in - we are collecting rainwater - has to be potable at the tap.
 
lizsteve -

i've read posts like yours on the small cabin forums - if they had to enforce the insulation rule not sure much would get built. bummer about the septic requirement and no graywater, even after you had a composting toilet.

thanks for sharing.
 
lizsteve,
Question: Are you sure you can't have an engineered/stamped gray water system along with a composting toilet? That's what code says here, and they were sticklers about anything other than cesspool or septic until recently. Just a thought. In my experience, the graywater engineered filtration was about as much as a septic anyway when it was all said and done. ;) Danged if you do, danged if you don't!
 
Thanks, but here, it's county to county dependent. The county literally across the street from us does approve grey water systems if they are drawn by an engineer. but our county does not have an engineer on staff to design or approve apparently. We asked if we could hire the neighboring county engineer to design it and get it approved by the state DEC, but we were told no.

As far as composting toilets, the only one that can be approved here is the commercial SunMar or similar.

There are some details we have figured out that I'm not comfortable posting here. But it seems there is some wiggle room in the system if people are creative and smart. :)
 
In New York State, greywater has to be treated in a certified septic system. This is stupid, but the rules. They allow composting toilets, but only commercial certified models and say that the waste has to be disposed of in a septic system of landfill.

All that and still the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a website telling people to use greywater systems and how great they are. So you conflicting opinions, but the health codes apparently pull rank in this case.
 
Has anyone successfully obtained a Building Consent for a Yurt in New Zealand, in Canterbury in particular?
I would be keen to hear from anyone who has done this. I presume most of the Yurts here are unconsented.
 
I know that Colorado Yurts have shipped yurts to New Zealand. They had a vendor there for a while, not sure if they still do or not. They'd be a good source to connect with.

Many yurts around the world are more of a traditional design. Hand built and beautiful in their own right, but the permitting departments don't see them as being predictable. Predictability is KEY in permitting and codes.

The real quality companies that build the modern, North American variety of yurt have their engineering specs in order PROVING predictability. These are the yurt makers you'll need to work with if you want to permit. That's how we got them permittable here in Hawaii. We fought the law and... We won :D. Colorado Yurts have been fantastic in helping us modify when needed to meet changing codes.

Keep us posted. And if you need engineering done or plans, let me know and I'll give you some good contacts.
 
New York properties are often divvied up small and close together... I know upstate is different, but for state codes, it makes sense that they wouldn't want grey water systems running rampant.

That said, I wonder if there is anything in the codes that you might be missing. Many areas will say 'cesspool or septic with proper leech field, engineered' is required, but there is an accessory clause that allows for a compost toilet that is NSA approved, as long as there is also an engineered grey water system. What this ends up meaning most of the time is that there is no cost savings in planning or installation. But there's satisfaction if you're aiming at that strictly for non-financial reasons...
 
I just built a 33' yurt in curry county or. Althought I didn't initionally apply for permit I did get a stop work order from the county. After meeting with building official, he let me hinish platform and erect yurt, after I had provided him with engendered plan. His main concern was wind load and insulation issued. Bottom line was they would rather not permit structures as permanant building, instead calling it an out-building. With the understanding I "someday " will build another structure on siite.
 
I am interested in hearing from anyone who has permitted a yurt in CT. I fear I may be up against a real monster in our building permit dept in our little redneck town of Seymour.
:(
 
My yurt platform here in CO sits on 4" thick, 12" wide concrete pads laying on top of the ground. Not buried. Technically it isn't anchored to the ground by a bonafide foundation so no permit required. Possibly that would work there?
 
Dorishaktiblue said:
I am interested in hearing from anyone who has permitted a yurt in CT. I fear I may be up against a real monster in our building permit dept in our little redneck town of Seymour.
:(
Click to expand...

Its one of the most heavily bureaucratic states I've ever known, but building departments are very case-by-case.

Some of them are actually a helpful and positive entity (that occasionally have to tell people no but are mostly there to assist people) , others are authoritarian hellholes full of people who could drive Gandhi to violence.

I can't answer your question specifically but I can say that if it turns out your property is located in the latter, just sell it and move on. Life is WAY too short to fight those morons.
 
Re: Pacific Northwest Counties

mcdm007 said:
Does anyone have any information on the counties that are "pro yurt" ? That is to say I would like to build a yurt in an area that I can live in it full time. Small acreage preferably. Any help in the areas of Washington and Oregon would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...

I am very preliminary in my research but I have seen yurts in klickitat county and have spoken with the county planner - they are complaint driven county and fairly easy to obtain conditional use permits as well
 
Very glad to see this thread still alive. We are looking into putting up a 30' yurt as a primary residence in Northern OR or Southern WA (Considering counties Cowlitz, Columbia, Skamania, Klickitat.) Still looking at suitable land (what we can afford really depends on whether we have to finance a stick built house or can put the down payment on more acreage and live in a yurt for a few years.)

Does anyone have any information or know of where to find info on permits?

We spoke to several people at Pacific Yurts and they really don't know much about permanent structure permits. They might know one guy in Pacific County WA who may have obtained a New Single Family Residence permit (Hello Sir! Are you on this forum?) They said most people seemed to just put up yurts as "temporary structures" or as "non-residential structures" on land with residence already built.

Concerns (in no particular order) are:

"Temporary structure" according to code definitions can only be kept up a max of 180 days, after which the county can demand you take it down. Or so they say.

We can't be fully off-grid as we need reliable power for a home office and a suitable off-grid power system would be prohibitively expensive. Composting toilet and DIY gray water system are fine by us - but has anyone had success in getting permits? For the power, I've seen people on forums mention putting up a barn/shed structure (which we would have anyways), running power to it (with permit) and then transferring to a sub-panel for the yurt. Anyone have or know of direct experience with doing something like this? Can one really get a pole installed by the utility co to run 100amps to a glorified chicken coop?

Insulation: as others have mentioned, Pacific Yurts confirmed that the most likely sticking point is that their reflective insulation isn't designed to meet minimum R values. However, my understanding is WA building code (not sure about OR but probably similar) allows for a residential structure to pass energy efficiency inspection even if R-value minimums aren't met, PROVIDED that the thermal envelope of the whole structure meets certain overall requirements. So do any forum members know if/how a yurt can be made to meet said requirements?

Any other advice? Or has everyone gone the "what they don't know can't hurt me" route and avoided permits?

I'm not a big fan of being told what I can do on my own property if I'm heating an uninsured structure with a wood stove fueled by my own wood, but I believe in being realistic: if the county requires you to have a permit, they can make your life very difficult until you get one. Pacific Yurts rep told us about one situation in which the chief inspector decided to make it his personal mission to ensure that a customer could not put up a residential yurt. IIRC this was in Polk County (where Pacific Yurts is headquartered.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top