Any Yurters in Minnesota

[r_alan22]

I know that this thread is older and wonder how your yurt project has come. I’m in Montana, so I know about the cold winters. What I like about yurts is how versatile they are. Whether living in the desert, mountains, or in the city there’s a yurt that will work for any and every location.

I’ve had my setup for almost two years now and it’s been great for living off the grid. The one thing that I highly recommend getting is an

insulation

and snow kit. It’ll keep you nice and toasty in the cold winters. I added a wood burning stove (make sure you vent it properly, the last thing you want is your yurt catching on fire.) The added benefit is that if you don’t run electricity you can cook on it. I used that for the first year until I ran power.

The cool thing about yurt living is there really isn’t anything that you can’t add to it that you’d have in a traditional home. I added some solar panels (they have to go on the ground. If you built your own yurt you could make it strong enough to put them on top) and a generator for backup so I have lights.

I went with a 1213 sq ft yurt from simpleterra.com/yurt-kits/, which is more than enough space for my wife and daughter and myself. I added walls for two bedrooms and a bathroom for privacy. I’ve added cabinets for the kitchen, and a sink.

I dug a well for water and ran plumbing to the yurt. The plumbing and electrical both come up through the wooden platform that I built for the yurt to be on. I also put in a septic tank last year. Before that I was using a composting toilet.

Really, whatever you can dream up you can add to a yurt. Or you can keep it simple.

[sailonfriesians]

Hi. My first time posting here on the forum. I purchased our first yurt August 2012. 24' Colorado Yurt via an estate sale out East of Harrisburg, PA. We have some acreage just North of Wolf Lake, MN (the 'Golden Triangle' between Park Rapids, Detroit Lakes and New York Mills) and set up started fall of 2012 with the platform. We completed the platform / deck Memorial Day weekend 2013 and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, quite a few friends and family came over and helped with the yurt erection. This yurt is 7' tall wall, 2″x 4″ perimeter stud under each standard 2″x4” yurt rafter with CORR brackets on compression ring. We added on our own a vertical center post with a horizontal 8" x 4" board that rests just under the oculus or

dome

for potential snow load. As I write this, I am in the yurt (hanging out while the men are deer hunting) with 3 electric heaters running and with todays temps of around 35 degrees (feels like 23), winds at about 17 mph out of the WNW, the yurt is very warm. We are still deciding on our heat source. Wood stove? Wood pelleted or corn burning stove? I have, in good condition an old wood cook stove that may be just the ticket for heat source +. At this time, we are here mostly on weekends with intention of spending more time as we work on retirement. This will be our first 'long nights time' spending a bit of time in our yurt in Minnesota. It has been a dream of mine for nearly 30 years now (so be careful what you wish for!!!) to live in a yurt. It has been an interesting journey so far. Keep life simple and walk lightly. BEST PART for me... the land the yurt rests on is the land I grew up on ~ full circle. !!!

[Yooper Jim]

Does your username mean you are a Friesian or that you like Friesian horses, etc.? I am a descendant of of (human) Friesians who settled in Michigan. Their family name is Elzinga.

[sailonfriesians]

Originally Posted by Yooper Jim

Does your username mean you are a Friesian or that you like Friesian horses, etc.? I am a descendant of of (human) Friesians who settled in Michigan. Their family name is Elzinga.

Hi Yooper Jim... The Friesian part of my user name is that we care for our Friesian horses that live with us. I love them ~ such great personality's!!!
The Yoop is stunningly beautiful. I spent 10 days in Eagle River and surrounding area summer before last. Ready to go back for another adventure !!! The Elzinga name does not sound familiar. A dream vacation would be to visit Holland during Stallion Keuring.

[Jafo]

I always figured radiant heat to be the best heat source for a yurt. Pellet stoves are general forced air heat.

[Marshall Eppley]

At RECENT COUNTY FAIR I SAW A PELLET FIRED BOILER WISH I WOULD HAVE TOOK THE TIME TO COLLECT SOME MORE INFO ON IT.BUT MY SON WAS IN OVER DRIVE THAT DAY.

[Jafo]

A pellet boiler would be an option, especially if you have radiant floor

heating

. I have a regular pellet stove in my home and love it.

[TORV]

hey jim, havent been to bohemia in several years...and commercially we had all sorts of challenges, mostly due to being in remote locations with no power. all the customers loved the yurts but their attitudes could quckly change when you try to explain that your out of this or that for the day, or all the diet cokes are frozen. also we had no internal walls so youre very mixed in with the customers which can be good and bad. the dinner yurt was setup nicely with a seperate tent for cooking, bring a group up in a snowcat, their food is pre-ordered, feed em, and bring em back, all the while hoping the pine marten doesn't come out from his hiding spot under the counter...

[SeverTheTether]

FriarScott,

PM me your email.

[LindseyLee]

Hey! Looking to Hire someone to help repair a beautiful pacific yurt that was assembled by volunteers and is in serious need of help. The fall wind is slowing peeling back layers and we would like to hire ASAP before full winter hits!

Anyone in the northern MN area who would be willing to quote a price for the work- we are looking to have it done right by someone knowledgeable! Contact me at [email protected]. Thank you for any help/referrals or suggestions!