How to seal up--yurt platform/skirt details?

[hierony]

I am curious how others have sealed up their yurts to prevent drafts around the perimeter. I've seen a few photos here and there, but couldn't find much but sparse hints via searching the forums.

I have a traditional-style yurt, 6 m diameter (~20 ft). I used a circular straw bale foundation with 3/4" T&G OSB screwed into 1x3" rough-cut poplar laid flat running perpendicular to the sheet length--nice & stout, except where I missed a joint. I cut the OSB to 2-3" outside a 19.7' dia circle. I have a liner & heavy canvas and am currently working on getting some

insulation

(likely several layers of wool-blend blanket material if shipping isn't too expensive) with a layer of tyvek between the canvas &

insulation

. The lowest 18" of the canvas is plastic-impregnated, ~12" of which hangs below the OSB.

My main aim is to weatherize/seal up my yurt as best as possible while insulating so as to not have a horribly cold & drafty yurt like Bob :P

My question: what layers does your yurt have, does your platform have a lip/skirt that goes above the platform a little, which layers are inside/outside said lip, are any layers attached to anything & how?

Thanks & hope everybody's nice & warm,
Jeremy

[Jafo]

On my yurt, we put a layer of thick foam weatherstripping (1 inch), that was sticking on one side. The sticky side stuck to the skirt, and the foam side faced the wall fabric. The Pacific Yurt walls have grommets built in to the bottom of the wall fabric where you can screw the fabric to the skirt. This make a pretty tight seal.

[hierony]

Jafo--Clever. I assume your skirt comes 1" above your decking, as in the

Pacific Yurts

platform plans, to match your 1" of foam weatherstripping. Are the grommets at the level of the weatherstripping, so it compresses the fabric shell to the skirt?

I am of course interested in how Bob (and any others) might have managed the skirt/fabric shell junction and how well they think it works.

My yurt doesn't anchor to the platform (tradiational form) and I haven't put a skirt/lip on my platform yet, either. I should though--don't want the wind knocking it off the platform... I was thinking of doing the following: cut the platform to straight sections ~2' long, screw a 1x2" underneath the 3/4" OSB for good attachment of hardboard/plywood. Any recommendations on how high to make the skirt for a traditional yurt?

[Jafo]

Yes, the weatherstripping is just above the grommet so it compresses.

[Bob Rowlands]

No authority on yurts here. Two yurts from scratch makes me a yurt rookie in fact. I experiment, and go with what works. I pass along info here, but folks need to understand I'm no yurt expert by any stretch. Really, I make it up as I go.

That said, my 16' yurt is anchored by 'ell' brackets to a 2x4 platform covered with 2x6 deck boards. The platform is 5" tall, and the deck height is one step up off the ground at the door.

In the winter I have my wall canvas snugged under the lowest wall tension rope that lays about a half foot up off the deck. Since the wall cover is several inches taller than the khana, the cover drapes down over the deck platform by a few inches. The cover is very effectively sealed from the rope up, but the bottom is just draped over the platform, and not secured. That works OK, but it's my man cave not my residence. If I lived in the yurt I'd have the cover secured to the deck fascia in the winter.

One way I'd consider doing that would be to sewn loops on the bottom hem of the cover every foot or so, and rope that to screw eyes in the deck platform.

But see- since I've never done it, it's just a guess. There's probably a better way that the pros have.

Good luck.

[Marshall Eppley]

You sound like me Bob i have done all sorts of strange things to my yurts to try things out i set one up for a whole winter with just the roof cover on to see how well it stayed put. I ran rope from the tension rope to those screw in anchors for dog walks to keep it in place. I even had trusses come off the wall with no bad effects to the roof or collapses. I did have the cover blow off once or twice. But through all the tinkering i found that my yurt was pretty stable and the changes i made did make a difference in the design.

[TalkingTrees]

Hey..

I have my 7m yurt sitting up on a square wooden deck, and experimented with using coolroom panels clicked together, with cement sheeting ontop, cut into a circular shapre slightly bigger then my yurt as an insulated and waterproof raised floor.. the cement sheeting was for laying down a slate floor - but i havent got that far yet.. has worked really well, except i had to cut the circle smaller as the yurt skirt didn't quite reach over the edge enough... coolroom panels are pretty cheap second hand

[Stea]

On my Shelter Designs yurt I opted for the perimeter hook and loop.

It's 1 1/2" wide heavy duty velcro that sticks to the skirt and to the bottom of the wall fabric. Scews are also ran through grommets around the bottom of the fabric through the velcro. Real tight seal. It also allows for readjustment of the tightness if the fabric. I plan on readjusting mine next summer when it warms up.

[Saltedbeardman]

So living in the PNW we get Gale force winds and I noticed lots of drafts. I tried many options but found if you take 1/2" foam pipe wrap (pool noodles) and cut them in half that works the best for the skirting at the drip edge. I also took the same pipe wrap but left it whole and tucked it up under the top cover. I also used it around door frames and in front of the rafters above the door frames.

[Jafo]

I put those foam strips around mine before I screwed down the side wall. Works good.