Building Yurt to Permit in Los Angeles

[Eilmcg]

hi bob -

i think it is a bit more complicated than "the government has no right in my yurt!" having just jumped through all the hoops (as far as i know, we are the only fully permitted yurt for full time living in a cold climate in the US), i can appreciate the sentiment that there seem to be many arbitrary regs.

however, our yurt IS our house. we live here year round - through the long and cold montana winters. i am very grateful for the warmth and the efficient use of fuel. (we have a propane boiler and radiant floor heat). i am also very glad for the guard against the very hot august sun.

more than the comfort level and ease on my purse, i had no problem getting fully insured with the COO in hand. Plus, if and when we get too old to live on the mountain in the woods and want to move to town (missoula - 25 minute drive), we have a great house to sell. it is an investment.

that said, the problem, in general, with building codes is that the building industry controls them and the deck is stacked in the favor of their profit. for insulation, that means that b/c the industry is invested in the R value paradigm, which may not really be the best way to measure how heat stays in a building envelop. and it hinders alternative approaches. and may not be the best anyway. we are very tight in our yurt (actually, we have 3 connected yurts), and need to crack a window or two to make sure we get air exchange. (the building official overlooked our lack of a mechanical devise for that purpose - he should have made us put one in).

you want to differentiate between a house and a yurt in terms of building code applicability. my measure of that difference is not the design or materials used, but the function of the building. our yurts function as a house. it doesn't matter that it is made with fabric.

and i say all of this in support of codes after serious challenges faced with our building officer. i was the GC - and had no experience at all in buildings. i worked on it half time for 6 months and full time (during construction) for 3 months. not for the faint of heart.