Wrong Platform plans

[Longtallkellie]

Hello, wise people. I am in desperate need of guidance...
We purchased our yurt from a family member, and they included the folder with the platform plans that the yurt originally came with, supposedly.
Long story, short- the platform schematics were for a different sized yurt. My poor husband, followed the directions to the letter, and got a platform that is 24’. Our yurt is 21’.
After the initial shock and outrage subsided, Kevin is extremely frustrated and assuming this is going to cost us tons of money to redo. Someone suggested just using L-brackets on top of the existing platform to connect the walls, which seems unstable to me, as there won’t be any tension to speak of.
We could really use some input on what our next steps should be, and any ideas on how to fix this problem without breaking our bank.
Thanks in advance!

[Bob Rowlands]

I use homemade 'ell' brackets made from 3/4" mild strap steel bought at Depot, to hold my lattice to the platform. Cut to 6" bore a 1/4" hole and a 3/16ths hole. Bend 90 degrees so 4" is up and 2" flat. The lowest lattice cross bolt goes through a 1/4" hole in the bracket on the inside of the yurt, and the bracket is screwed to the deck through the 3/16ths hole at every cross. It is a bombproof connection. Wanna see the connction go to google images:

Bob Rowlands home made yurt

Mine is the green door rustic yurt several detail shots of it including ell bracket.

As for drainage around the perimeter of yurt on the oversize deck, hmmmm.... one idea is simply bore 1" holes every half foot or so just outside where the cover sits. To absolutely stop water from entering, erect the yurt on a cheap tarp and fold the edge up under the outside cover and secure with the lowest tension band. Run the ell bracket screws through the tarp. This makes a bathtub floor under your yurt. No water no bugs no drafts.

Alternatatively elevate the yurt 1.5". Cover the platform with 2x laid flat. Cut the curve at 21 feet. Attach the bottom plywood band to that. Do weep holes as above. Just some ideas. Probably better ones out there but there you go. Good luck.

[HawaiiYurts]

Much better to be too big than too small...
What is preventing just cutting the circumference of the platform to the correct size? Move back any support posts and blocking underneath? It sounds like it should be a relatively simple 'back up', not a total scrap. Trust me when I say the extra work to get this part right will pay for itself in triplicate.

You do NOT want to try to make a yurt fit your diameter. Yurts are a specific diameter and that sets the dimensions, it never ends well to try to flip that equation. Everything will be off and tweaked. Paramount to get the circumference correct.

It doesn't typically end well to rig things on a yurt either. Consider strength in winds and weather as well as potential water entry.

Who is the manufacturer?

[anvarzos]

I suggest you use a hand rotate saw and cut a track line 21' circumference. Let your walls reside in the groove

[pablo]

Wow, so sorry to hear about your mishap. Yes, it seems like you could make a compass, draw a 20' circle and then cut your platform smaller. You would have to redo the skirting and some of the perimeter blocking. You may even have to move some of the vertical support posts which seems like the hardest part, especially if they are sunk in concrete. Perhaps you could get away with replacing concrete footing with a sit on top of the ground concrete pier? I had a whole yurt sitting on those for 20 years. Worked fine, but not ideal for certain climates/soils etc... Anyway, easy for me to say, but overall, it seems like the problem is fixable w/o having to start from scratch.

[Bob Rowlands]

Redoing the platform framing is at the bottom of my list of 'fun'. My platform is 16'. I downsized big time and now have a 12'6" yurt sitting on it. That leaves about ~20" of exposed decking all around. Even though I caulked the gaps between the deck boards when I first built the platform, I rarely have water enter the yurt floor during storms. We don't get hellacious rains here as a rule. The minimal exposure basically drains right off. There is no perimeter band to hold the water on the deck. If I get water inside it is generally due to snow melting on the exposed decking and leaking inside. But that doesn't amount to squat as a rule. I never drilled perimeter holes, nor added another layer of 2x, or installed a bathtub liner. If I lived in there I might view it differently though.

[Bob Rowlands]

The ideal platform has the outside wall cover extend below the interior floor and be secured to the edge band. That's as good as it gets- for a permanent install. As for nomads setting the yurt on the ground, the bathtub floor idea is a good one as well. I have seen nomads tear down their yurt and rebuild it on top of a tarp placed on the ground. No deck. Same deal no water no bugs coming in from below. No ell brackets, no screws, drill driver etc. Just dismantle your home, move it to another place and erect it on a tarp. Then get on with life.

[Bob Rowlands]

In fact I have watched on youtube Mongolian families tear down and erect a big 6 meter or bigger yurt in one day. Friends and family help. Then start cooking inside the yurt and feeding everyone that day. Tough life but they are up to it.