Raised earth foundations for a Yurt

[moosemaster]

Hello all,

First time poster, looking to move onto a croft on the west coast of Scotland and feeling my way through the yurt route. I posted this on the Permies forum and subsequently found this place so thought I'd stick it over here too:

Originally Posted by Sean Kettle

Weighing up raised earth foundation + earthen floor against decking for a yurt we hope to be living in.

The raised earth foundations I'm considering will benefit from being insulated, having thermal mass and will certainly last longer. May prove to be more expensive initially - there'll be landscaping and excavating needing done.

Excavate area, build a dry stone retaining wall:



Lay fabric membrane, fill up to ground level with foam glass:



Lay membrane, pack in earthen floor using earth from excavation. I'm thinking of screening the earth and stabilizing with lime ala Tataki floors.



View from below:



The only similar foundation I could find:



Any thoughts or ideas welcomed! Can this be pulled off? Will a dry stone retaining wall suffice? Have no experience in the matters of Yurt living or foundation building.

[grammy2joo]

How will you attach the yurt to the platform?

[moosemaster]

Aha - this took a while to get approved by admin - thought it hadn't posted so I started an updated thread here:

http://www.yurtforum.com/forums/yurt...ions-1144.html

My revised plans solve the attachment issue (I hope!).

This thread can be ignored/removed if possible... my fault for being impatient

[ecovallee]

Hey there,

That last platform is mine. I've got a few more examples on my blog, including this one I copied from Dan Kuehn's book: https://thedevolutionary.wordpress.com/?s=kuehn

I've never done a proper beaten earth floor. There have always been issues about timing, weather, drying out and cracking etc. But a beaten earth floor with underfloor

heating

would be excellent. I stick with wood flooring on joists, with no

insulation

. But if I get the chance to do one of more of my permanent yurts, with a bit of money, I'd do a sandwich with ply,

insulation

, then boards. My boards move around more than I'd like. Also, make sure the joists are dry, or they move around too. I use wood for speed - I can put a frame down and boards on it in about a week, for under €1,000 for an 18 foot.

I don't comment on this forum much - but great to see this shot from a few years ago. Here's how I re-made it a few years later: https://thedevolutionary.wordpress.c...ding-pictures/

As for keeping the walls in, if you go for a beaten earth platform... That might take a bit of thought. A second tension band, maybe?

Good luck,

Alex

[moosemaster]

Originally Posted by ecovallee

Hey there,

That last platform is mine. I've got a few more examples on my blog, including this one I copied from Dan Kuehn's book: https://thedevolutionary.wordpress.com/?s=kuehn

I've never done a proper beaten earth floor. There have always been issues about timing, weather, drying out and cracking etc. But a beaten earth floor with underfloor

heating

would be excellent. I stick with wood flooring on joists, with no insulation. But if I get the chance to do one of more of my permanent yurts, with a bit of money, I'd do a sandwich with ply, insulation, then boards. My boards move around more than I'd like. Also, make sure the joists are dry, or they move around too. I use wood for speed - I can put a frame down and boards on it in about a week, for under €1,000 for an 18 foot.

I don't comment on this forum much - but great to see this shot from a few years ago. Here's how I re-made it a few years later: https://thedevolutionary.wordpress.c...ding-pictures/

As for keeping the walls in, if you go for a beaten earth platform... That might take a bit of thought. A second tension band, maybe?

Good luck,

Alex

Hi Alex,

Great to hear from you, it was the photo of your earth foundations that sparked off this train of thought.

The woven chestnut fence looks fantastic.

I've since revised my plans in a separate thread:

http://www.yurtforum.com/forums/yurt...ions-1144.html

This is what I'm thinking now:

Originally Posted by moosemaster

Level the area, lay perimeter of foam glass filled sacks:





Pack the inside with more foam glass:



Stake in some ply formwork:



Install some kind of lime-stabilized/soilcrete/rammed earth floor:



My intention is that the yurt cover will drape over the raised earthen floor.

Earth can be bermed up against the side of the exposed poly sacks to protect them from the elements.

I have to determine what kind of earthen floor will be best to use - given that I'm unsure of the soil type on site and the climate is predominantly damp - we'd be able to stick a tarp over it but that's about it.

I'm planning on sticking the stakes in before the sacks to keep them place... the plywood form work will hopefully work as a tension band.

The yurt will be on the west coast of Scotland which is why I'm looking to avoid a wooden platform. I imagine it would disintegrate quite rapidly...

Great blog and lovely looking place by the way. Sorry to hear you're closing shop, wishing you all the best with presumably new and exciting plans!

Sean