Tiny House Blog

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.
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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 »

A friend of mine recently purchased a 20-foot Pacific Dome to be used as a meditation and yoga space for her and her husband’s spiritual group. I was surprised at how light and airy it looked, yet it’s sturdy enough to withstand our winter winds. I thought it might make a great tiny house.

Their Pacific Dome is attached to a temporary insulated foundation and the entire structure took about four days to erect. Currently the dome does not have insulation, but they plan to order a special cover to be used in the winter. A solar fan is attached to the outside to provide air circulation during the summer. So far the structure has been very sturdy…even in our area’s notorious winds and heavy snows. Unfortunately, a few neighbors reported the dome to the local building department and the department now wants a set of structural calculations about the dome which will be supplied by the engineer at Pacific Domes. 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!”

Bruce Sargent contacted me about a Yurt building workshop he will be holding in Shaftsbury, Vermont this summer.

Bruce say: I built two 12′ yurts last summer each, with 12 students, and each, in two days, start to finish and up. I’ll be offering the lessons learned in a workshop this summer. Course details at http://www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com.  Minimal cost on a sliding scale $225-$185. The 12′ yurt design is simple and uses ordinary lumber and simple sail maker technology to make a waterproof roof (polytarps cut to shape and jointed with double sided carpet tape hammered down with rubber mallets). Material cost of each 12 foot yurt was $421.83 using Pex for a dome or about $771.83 using a plastic dome. There are pictures of the classwork at the blog at older posts from the workshop announcement.

Yurts have sheltered people since Heradotus wrote histories 2000 years ago. With minimal woodworking skills, a home of complex and magical beauty can be made at an amazingly modest cost, (roughly one tenth of the cost of a Yurt kit). In this workshop, you will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt of any size and any design. This course will lead you through building walls, door frames, rafters, roof rings, roof ring supports, domes, tension bands and coverings. You will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt that meets you needs and matches your dreams.

Workshop Objectives

To learn how to build an ultra simple, green, sustainable yurt
To learn simple power and hand woodworking skills necessary to build a yurt
To experience the magic of wall rods, under tension, shaping walls
To experience the ease and joy of lifting the roof ring skyward and fitting rafters to ring and wall
To see how a yurt cover plays with light
To gain a knowledge that allows you to create your own yurt

Build Your Own Dream Yurt.
Memorial Day Weekend, Friday 4 PM To Sunday 4 PM, May 27-29
Click here for all the details: For Love of Yurts

Kim discovered this company recently and sent me the link. I made contact with the owners of this new yurt company based in Colorado. This yurt is unique in the fact that it is not canvas but it is easy to take apart and move to another location if necessary.

Isaac Murphy the owner of Turtleback Nomadic Yurts says this one is 16 foot in diamater  or 200 square feet. It can be put up or taken down in two hours. 6 ft. 8 in. interior eve height and 10 ft. interior center height at hub. The basic package includes 7 windows and is made from pine and aspen wood. Insulation R-value approx. 5. No flapping canvas, solid and stable. $8000 basic package.

We are located near Dolores, Colorado, about 30 miles northeast of the four corners. Aside from what you can see on the blog, we are also working on a fully insulated model, slightly heavier and beefed up for winter living. It will be slightly larger, 18ft. diameter, and use 2×6 rafters as opposed to 2×4 on the one see on the website. We do all the manufacturing ourselves in our little shop here on the property, from lumber we purchase from the lumber yard. Eventually, we’d like to buy wood from one of the local mills and cure it ourselves, providing a good local source. Continue Reading »