I’m a carpenter. I know how to build things. Nevertheless, there was a lot I didn’t know going into the project of building our yurt home. In my frustration I even dubbed one of the yurts “Matthew’s Folly” and the other the “Yurt of Hurt”. We’re not just happy-go-lucky hippies who do weird things because we think we’re cool or enlightened. We would have much rather built a house. The reasons we decided on yurts are, first, that we could afford it, and second, because it seemed like a good way to get away from moldy homes. One of the things I hoped would be a great benefit is that everything in a yurt is accessible - there is no crawlspace or wall cavities to quietly harbor damp and mold. Mold is the main reason we were forced out of our previous homes; mold hiding somewhere that would have cost a fortune to find and mitigate. However, the minimalistic building style has some challenges, and they mostly have to do with weather. I like to tell people that we are very close to nature. There
is no question if it is raining, snowing or blowing, because the canvass transmits the information passionately. We are also acutely aware of the outdoor temperature without even going outside. Now, in our third year living in the yurts, I am still figuring out what to do to mitigate these problems, while at the same time maintaining the benefits of the unconventional construction and not breaking the bank.
Challenge #1: Heating
According to code, because we do not comply with the insulation requirements, we have to use a renewable source of energy to heat our home. The only practical source for this, of course, is wood heat. We have an in-floor hydronic system with an outdoor wood boiler. All in all it works ok in maintaining a base temperature. Spring and fall are very comfortable without any additional heat source. However, because we don’t have more insulation than the standard bubble wrap, on cold or windy winter nights it can get chilly inside. It takes something more to bring the temperature above 65 degrees. In the 20 foot yurt, a small electric space heater is usually enough. A pellet stove in the 30-foot yurt works ok but I would really prefer to install a wood stove, which I believe would be all that would be needed to keep it cozy. However, firewood, bark, sawdust and ash are full of mold, and avoiding mold is still the number one reason we chose to live in a yurt in the first place. Still, we are considering a wood stove because the pellet stove just isn’t very effective and the space heaters are very inefficient. Possibly if we keep all the firewood under cover outside and only bring in an armful at a time, we could keep it clean inside the house.
Challenge #2: Cooling
During the winter it is nice to have the sun heat up the canvass and warm our home. But not so in summer! We run fans in the windows pretty steadily, but it still heats up. I tried opening the dome as is recommended, but haven’t found it to make much difference. We have a portable AC unit that is way undersized for what we demand of it. I definitely don’t want to get a bigger unit. I believe running AC at all is kind of crazy since our house leaks like a sieve. Really there is only one answer: we need to insulate the roof. I am currently trying to figure out the best way to add insulation without causing other problems, especially trapping moisture and causing mold growth. I see most people with yurts are insulating between the rafters and covering it with paneling. This would be the easiest method and would keep out the hot and cold. However, I am worried that with no air gap, the rafters would act as thermal bridges, cause condensation and would grow mold on top. It would not be able to breath, and I would never be able to find the problem until it grew large. Rather, I am trying to figure out how to add closed-cell foam on the outside of the rafters. This way, they do not act as thermal bridges, and I still have access to their entire widths from the inside. I am considering peeling back the outside canvass and either gluing foam board to the bubble wrap or else spraying a few inches of foam. These ideas have challenges, cost hurdles, and may simply not work, but I’m not happy with other options I’ve come across so far. Some people are putting on steel roofs with an air gap. This of course would be great, but if I had that kind of money I wouldn’t be living in a tent in the first place. The day might come when I tear down the outer walls, square off the foundation, and build something less interesting. But that day is not today - or any day in the foreseeable future. So I am working with what I have.
Challenge #3: Condensation
I don’t mind a little discomfort. I grew up in Northern Wisconsin and lived several years in the tropics. I know that if it’s cold or hot, eventually it’ll swing the other way. But my biggest battle with the yurts has been dealing with the condensation. On cold nights the air inside condenses on the canvas, dripping here and there, and running down the rafters. The danger is that the ends of the rafters get soaked and begin to grow mold. Thankfully since everything is exposed I’m able to go around with vinegar and clean up problems I see starting. But it is not a fun thing to climb around with a towel rubbing down the ceiling and walls each night. The dome also has been problematic. I have tried a number of things to prevent it from building condensation. The first winter when the concrete floor was still green, we had a steady precipitation from the dome. In fact, it was so bad that I thought I had a leak somewhere and spent a lot of time patching the roof seams and around the dome. I cut a circle of plexi-glass for the bottom of the dome and sealed it as best I could to provide an air buffer. Bugs and moisture still found their way in, though, and I had to take it down. Since the plexi-glass has broken from the jostling I’ve been using window plastic which I just tape up and occasionally pull off to clean up the drips and bugs. It doesn’t work great, but at least it’s better than anything else I’ve tried. We do our best to keep moisture under control with vents in the bathroom and kitchen. We open windows when weather allows. But again, really the only solution is to beef up the insulation – especially in the roof.
Challenge #4: Curves
Putting up the yurts was easy. After all, we got a kit and it all went up quickly. Nevertheless, figuring out everything inside has been difficult. Interior walls, pie-slicing living spaces, turning square furniture this way and that – nothing seems to fit right. “Never build anything round,” I’ve often advised unsolicited, “it’s so stupid.” Yet what do I continue to do? I build a spiral staircase, a curved bookshelf, next on my list is a curved counter-top (after all, I can’t just buy a standard rectangular counter – it doesn’t fit my wall). The loft joists don’t run parallel either, but angle towards the center of the circle, making it a challenge to hit with screws. I’m pretty sure the plumber cussed me out, under his breathe, constantly figuring out what combination of fittings he needed to curve through my foundation.
I often find myself arguing my case for building yurts instead of a rectangular building, even when no one has issued a challenge. I don't mean to be a glutton for punishment, and I'm tired of reinventing the wheel. It would be far easier to just go by the tried and true ways. Still, our reasons stand for choosing yurts, and there are many great things about how we built our home. It’s just more complex, and it won’t turn out looking, or acting like a normal home. That just comes with the territory of trying something unconventional and a little weird.
Written By: Matthew Rhody
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