Tiny House Blog

SunTime Yurts imports traditional handmade Mongolian Yurts to the Pacific NW (WA, OR, ID, and MT). The Mongol Ger (Yurt) has been an essential dwelling place to the history of Central Asia. Ger-like structures have been used as far back as 3,000 years ago. Many structural attributes contribute to the Ger’s long-lasting existence. The circular shape and heavy weight make it ideal for strong winds and harsh weather common throughout Central Asia. The hand painted rafters and natural wood latticed walls covered with a clean white wool felt create a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. The thick felt mutes outside noise, holds heat in the coldest of winters, and insulates against heat in the hottest of summers. Mongolia gets as cold as -50 degrees in winter and as hot as 100 degrees in summer, quite an extreme environment. The Mongols live comfortably in their Gers year round.

How SunTime Yurts Came to Be

Last March, I bought a one way ticket to Mongolia to develop my independent film making career. My success can be seen and read at www.suntimefilms.com. My 7 months in Mongolia were filled with adventure, friendship, generosity, nomads, food poisoning, and falling in love with the vast open landscape whose horizon is dotted with little white yurts. My friend Amaraa who lives in Ulaanbaatar helps run SNS Yurt, a small manufacturing company of the traditional Mongolian yurt. Each yurt is handmade out of Mongolian natural products. The only materials not from Mongolia are the tight weave canvas (for rain) and paint (no led). Amaraa has worked with “The Authentic Mongol Yurt,” in the UK for over 5 years and Peter, the owner, has been continually pleased with Amaraa’s service. Continue Reading »

Malcolm White contacted me about a new ebook he has written on how to build a new prefab he calls the TenYurt. I recently had the privilege of looking his plan over and it looks very doable for the average person. I am going to let Malcolm tell you more about it. (at this time this is only a concept, Malcolm is building a prototype soon)

For a long time now I have been interested in almost everything related to residential design and construction. If you looked at the bookmarks in my Internet browser you would find that category to have the most pointers by far. While most of my career has been in the semiconductor industry I have spent a fair amount of my spare time and occasionally my full time designing or building things.

More recently I have become increasingly interested in looking for ways to help ease homelessness both in this country and potentially abroad. Partly with that end in mind I have been thinking about how to build very simple structures that could be used for housing. I am also very interested in prefabrication techniques so I was naturally drawn to the idea of simple prefabricated structures.

My new eBook titled “TenYurt – A Simple DIY Prefab Shelter” details one such structure. A TenYurt is a simple 10-sided yurt like building that encloses about 118 square feet of floor space and is about 12 feet from side to side. In its prefabricated but unassembled for easy transportation in a pickup truck. I have included lots of drawings, accurate dimensions and complete how to build details. You can build a very simple basic structure or you can enhance it in most any way your needs and budget suggest.

For more information about my eBook and for information about how to order you own copy visit diy-prefab.com.

Laurel Nest Yurts is offering a workshop in the beautiful mountains outside of Santa Cruz, California and you are invited to join them to get some hands on experience in building a yurt.

Laurel Nest Yurts is offering a “Complete Yurt Building Experience” and a DIY Yurt Building Workshop.

Laurel Nest Yurt building workshops give you all the skills you need to:

• Build the platform
• Plan, design and build your walls, roof and tono.
• Install framed and mesh windows and skylight
• Sew your yurt cover out of Canvas
• Erect the yurt

The cost for the workshop is $125 to help cover costs incurred by workshop (snacks, materials, instructors, printing of the manual, etc.) We will have a limit of 10 people at our workshop, snacks and camping available.

You can get the complete details here: http://www.laurelnestyurts.com/ blog or use the following contact information:

For more information or registration contact:
Adrian
831-338-8300
[email protected]

Sarah one of my readers brought this new yurt to my attention. It is very unique and I think has some real possibilities. A company based in Colorado called circHouse has designed this visionary shelter that could be used for many activities, but I see the potential of a tiny house and a very modern take on the old fashioned yurt.

One of the issues with yurts that sends many people away is the fact that they are made of canvas or wood and usually have a lattice skeleton which blocks your view. A serious concern if you are in a beautiful area. circHouse has taken the age old shape of the yurt and put technology to work creating an innovative new structure. By utilizing polycabonate and acrylic wall structures, a recycled steel frame and natural wood paneling they have created a modern looking structure that is compact for shipping and that can be assembled in a few short hours.
Continue Reading »

Happy Independence Day! With summer fully upon most of the country, let’s celebrate one of the best tiny houses for enjoying the outdoors. We’ve covered numerous yurts in the past, but Becky Kemery a.k.a.”The Yurt Lady” and her book, Yurts: Living in the Round, shows how these structures can be comfortable and elegant while still letting in the outdoors.

Becky has lived in yurts for many years in the mountains of the American Northwest. Her book was completed a few years ago while living in her own portable fabric yurt on a permaculture homestead in Idaho. She has also created an educational website called Yurt Info, a newsletter and a Facebook page for other yurt owners and fans of the wood and fabric buildings. The Yurt Info site offers information on how to buy or build a yurt, and includes a forum and links to numerous yurt videos and photo albums. Continue Reading »

The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre in North Wales has been building small, natural dwellings for their residents and visitors since 1989. This intentional community is located in the best of what nature can offer: in the woods, by a river, near a lake, at the foot of the mountains and within sight of the sea.

Cae Mabon’s principal creator is Eric Maddern, who was inspired to create the community after spending time with the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, Australia. He wanted to create a place that was not the ostentatious beauty of the wealthy but the humble beauty of the simple and natural. The buildings he created are mostly made from timber, stone, reed, straw, grass, lime and clay and they blend in with their surroundings. Continue Reading »

Laurel Nest Yurts will offer their next yurt building workshop from April 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

Workshop location: Laurel Nest Yurts 264-1 Marlowe Dr. Mills River, North Carolina

We will be teaching people how to build all yurt parts. All participants will leave the workshop with knowledge about building their own yurt, sewing the yurt cover, the complete yurt building manual, and a roof ring that they assembled and finished on their own. We will offer lots of tips and suggestions, and participants should leave the workshop with first hand experience and knowledge about how all yurt parts come together.

We feel that because the roof ring is the most challenging frame piece to build, it will benefit all participants to make it on site. In the sewing studio, we teach how to make windows, assemble the walls, and cut and sew an entire roof! Some of the participants have helped with the sewing.

The cost for the workshop is the cost of the ring plus $100 to help cover costs incurred by workshop (food, materials, instructors, printing of the manual, etc.) We will have a limit of 8 people at our workshop. Deadline for registration is April 11! Check our website www.laurelnest.com for prices and other information. We will also be posting information on our facebook page, so sign up to get updates!

We had some other positive feedback, and testimonials, and they are below… thanks to everybody who made the workshop a success!

”I don’t know where I could find a better value in a sustainable shelter or a more helpful group of people to facilitate my dream of building my own yurt, then at Laurel Nest Yurts.”

“The workshop was awesome! people had a great time and learned a lot..no matter what level of know-how they came in with. There were people who already knew a lot, and people like me who were total beginners, and everyone was comfortable and got a chance to learn. Thanks Hal, Charlie, Asia and everyone for a great weekend!”

“I loved the hands-on options. Thanks for the background, so that personal modifications [to the yurts] can be made… I would recommend this workshop to others!”