Yurt Designs

[Belos3602]

Hi there I'm new to the forums as I am new to the whole prospect of yurts.

I am looking at attempting to build one from scratch for a portable vending space for festivals but I am getting hung up on a few things as I continue my progress forward. If there are some good resources for figuring out dimensions of lumber and estimated needed rafters that would be nice to be pointed towards. Most of my, well, guesstimates are coming from references of smaller sized yurts. My big deal with the design is I semi want it to be modular in its ability to adjust to the situation of different allotted sized lots. so my max sized I'm thinking of building is potentially a 40ft(Diameter) yurt but I also want to be able to have size adjustments for 30ft and 20ft.

At this point in my thinking I was theorizing using interlocking rafters as the roof support, building separate rings for each size I would need it to be. Then either, having the lattice expandable or having segments of lattice that could be attached via latches to increase the size. My curiosity and lack of resources wouldn't be so much the know how to build such adjustments however more dimensions for my lumber.

As for canvas I'm looking around it seems to be the most expensive piece of this whole endeavor. I'm curious if there are recommended people to reach out to for estimates, I am aware of the Beowulf Sewing partnership from browsing through here some. I've also contemplated dying my own white canvas to try and reduce costs some but sorta one of those extra insanities I'm wondering if I should go through as much fun as i think it would be.

[Bob Rowlands]

IMO 30' and 40' yurts are inappropriate for festival as they are WAY the heck too big, unless you have a number of roadies to help you erect them. Two smaller yurts in the 20' range would be a whole lot more doable.

As for various yurt diameters, say 6 to 7 meters, traditionally those are a series of khana expanded, lapped and lashed together at the laps. You can add or subtract panels for various yurt diameters.

Forget 'latching' them that's reinventing the wheel. You could go three, four, five, six panels etc. You could have three rings, each with appropriate holes or slots for various yurt diameters. I'd go with a rafter on top of each lath cross, just like Mongolians do. I would 'not' have a slot in the rafter that lays on a cable. Buts that's just me.

Canvas yurt cover, good luck I have no resource to suggest. If you want a long term bomb proof cover, the manufacturers on this site might be able to help. Good luck.

[Yurtman]

The only part of this endeavor to make a modular type yurt would be the lattice and perhaps the door frame. You could have multiple lattice wall sections with the big yurts and then remove sections to make smaller yurts.

With the different yurt diameters comes different length roof rafters so they can’t be modular. As Bob said, for a 30ft + yurt will need some thick rafters as the span is so big.
You would need separate roof canvas for each yurt because they just won’t fit each other. The wall canvas might be able to be reused, but generally, you would be better off with different sized yurts.
You could use the same roof ring, but a ring for the biggest yurt will have many more holes it it for the rafters, so using it for a smaller yurt would have lots of empty holes and woukd be a bit oversized. You are better have different sized rings for each yurt.

I have yurts that I sell and rent to festivals and events. 20ft is the biggest I generally go as it’s the most manageable. I have a unique 24ft yurt with horseshoe shaped doors and Art Nouveau style bent roof poles, but it takes up a lot of room to transport. You might perhaps get away with a 30ft yurt, but because you want it to be as light weight as possible for easier set up and transportation, it will be more susceptible to wind etc. You can beef everything up, but then it becomes very heavy and hard to set up requiring lots of people and time.

You have to be very careful as you will have a public space with people entering these structures, the last thing you want is some sort of collapse or weather related issue where someone gets hurt. You will get sued. Believe me “weather related issues” are common at festivals.

I woukd suggest making different sized yurts for the different uses. It makes life much simpler

[Bob Rowlands]

Spoken from the master builder. Thanks Richard.

[Bob Rowlands]

Imo buy or build one yurt at say 16-20' and learn from that. Then you'll form an opinion based on real world experience, and not guesswork. You'll know 'what's what'.

That's what I did. I made three, a 12', 14', and 16' from scratch. And that's the ONLY reason I feel qualified to give so much advice on this site. Bigger yurts I back away from advice because I don't know squat about them. It's speculation only.

At any rate good luck.