Yurt sizes.....16 vs 20 ft or?

[Sasquatch]

Hello,

I am in the market for a yurt but have some questions to ask and decisions to make. I am chosing to put this in the building instead of buying section as I think there is simply going to be a lot of building involved

Anyway i own land up in the mountains by a ski area in Washington state and i am looking to put something livable up there and quit the rat race.

I have several design ideas as far as what to build, whether it be a 10x20 cabin with a large loft, a 12x16 or 14x14 A-frame cabin or a yurt. I have been going back and forth on the A frame vs yurt for quite some time...

My yurt choices are either a 16 foot pacific or a 20 foot pacific.... My county rules yurts as tents/membrane structures and are subject to a rule 400 square foot or more needs a permit versus a building like a cabin/tiny house is limited to 200square foot with out a permit, so the yurt is the natural choice for most bang for the buck.

Ive had very little luck finding any good images of a 16 foot yurt with a well laid out interior. The 20 footer is what i WANT but its a lot of money for me once platform and everything else is factored in so the 16 footer seems like a more manageable size once its all said and done.

I plan on selling my sailboat to finance this endeavor, but would really love to hear the 16 footer versus 20 footer argument from real yurt people.

Where my land is at, it tends to rain a TON but i have had over 4 feet of snow at one time so i want something tough, with a warranty which is why im pretty set on

Pacific yurts

as I can just hop in my truck and run down to Oregon and pick it up and pay less taxes than anything in WA and get that 15 year warranty on the roof

Id love to see any pictures of a 16 footer you have. My idea is to put a queen sized bed in there and essential furniture like a dresser table/desk etc and am thinking perhaps a large loft bed might be best? I have a few other small buildings and a small (like 14x8 sqr ft) cabin already on property so not everything is going to get crammed inti a small space but I already live in a 380sqr ft house, so its not much for me to downsize

16 seems small but I think it may work.... I know 20 foot will but that realistically is just outside my budget a hair or two

Id love to hear input!

[Jafo]

I have a 30' and all I can add to this is, you can't make a yurt any bigger once you buy it. So if it were me, size would be the most important factor.

[Bob Rowlands]

I’m a retired carpenter. To see pics of my rustic homemade 16’ yurt, go to google images: Bob Rowlands homemade yurt

Mine is the rough looking canvas yurt with green door and rafter or lath either side. I also built a 12’ and 14’ no pics though.

If you are planning on living in the yurt 20’ is a WHOLE lot better than 16’.

That said in a wet climate I strongly suggest you build or buy a shed because the cover will not be cloth. 12x16 or 16x20 with sleeping loft would be about 280 to 400sq ft.You can add basic amenities down the road if money is tight. I lived in a 400 sq. ft. apt. decades ago, and it was adequate.

[Bob Rowlands]

If you opt for a yurt >do not< repeat >do not< get a canvas cover! Spend the money and get a vinyl 15 year cover. Trust me on that. The pacific nwest is NOT canvas country!

[Bob Rowlands]

Lastly, totally forget A frames. Why? I have worked on a couple. Angled ext. walls absolutely suck for installing cabs, bath, wall coverings, trim and actually everything else. A really pathetic stick frame design for a small ‘vacation cabin’ if there ever was one. Besides being a pita to build, you lose massive amounts of space because the walls slope in. You can’t stand next to the wall, like you can with even a short 4’ walled Mongolian style trad yurt. I hate A frames. lol rant over.

[Sasquatch]

Originally Posted by Bob Rowlands

Lastly, totally forget A frames. Why? I have worked on a couple. Angled ext. walls absolutely suck for installing cabs, bath, wall coverings, trim and actually everything else. A really pathetic stick frame design for a small ‘vacation cabin’ if there ever was one. Besides being a pita to build, you lose massive amounts of space because the walls slope in. You can’t stand next to the wall, like you can with even a short 4’ walled Mongolian style trad yurt. I hate A frames. lol rant over.

Yeah canvas is a no go, i live in the land of rain moss 100 foot tall trees more rain snow and rivers and well....its sasquatch country!

Why an A-frame? Simple. I grew up in one, although it was a 3 bedroom house more than anything, but nostalgia I guess. That, and ive never built anything (land based structure wise), built boats but never a cabin or house and it seems comparable in.price to a yurt once you factor in.platform and base and foundation. But it very well may be a solo build so ease of construction is another consideration

BUT

This the yurt forum so lets talk yurts!

[Sasquatch]

Forgot to say there already is a cook shack, outhouse, pumphouse and a few other misc structures on site so im not thinking whatever yurt or shack i build is going to need more than a gravity feed small sink and a wood stove and a good cast iron pan because i already have some features in place.


Anyway the 16 footer......seems like it would just be an elevated camping experience....balls.... I could fit by bed in there and not much else....probably just need to see one in person

My go to camping set up is a 12x12 outfitter tent, which is 144 square foot so.... 200 (16 footer) isnt much more.....round takes some getting used to considering we live inna square world....

[Bob Rowlands]

My 16’ yurt was about 200 sq ft. I had two cots, two chairs, a woodstove under the ring, a wheelbarrow to hold stove wood, and a 6’ picnic table in it. That was totally full. It fit me, grandma, and our three grandkids for somemores and the kids laying down on cots, two on one cot. They were little kids then. Nowhere near enough space to partition off. But you could partition a 20’ yurt, which is 313 sq. ft. Put a small kitchen with power and water on one framed wall. Bathe elsewhere that’s too much

moisture

inside. imo

[Bob Rowlands]

fwiw a 6 meter yurt is very close in size to a 20’ yurt. From what I have read it used to be a common yurt size in Mongolia. That being the case, untold numbers of families must have been raised in them. One Spartan tough young man in a 20’ yurt is certainly doable.

[Bob Rowlands]

$$$$ spent building yurts in about 2013, including platform was under $1000. I’m kinda hazy on the exact numbers. Of course I did all the building and including making and sewing wall and roof cover I had two full weeks in making everything. The wall and roof coverings were all made from tarps. Uninsulted and drafty yurt to the max. That’s all for me. I have hundreds of posts here in the archives if you want to learn someting read them. I’m done with yurts. Good luck.