yurt vs house

[newt]

Hi
We are a family for 4 with 2 dogs. Kids are 5 and 7. We currently own some property and are living in a 29 ft rv on the land. We have hopes to build a house some day but are considering a yurt for the interim. Do we just build the house or do we put up a yurt and build the slowly? Looking for some pros and cons to building a yurt vs building a small house. Are we just adding a step by building a yurt then house....spending money that does not increase equity. Time is an issue as well. We have been plugged into to my in laws house for over a year and are starting our 2nd winter in the camper. Let your thoughts fly and thanks in advance.

[Jafo]

Well, first of all, where in the country will this be?

[newt]

PA.... on our farm.

[Jafo]

Well, the first issue will be of course, how are you going to heat this? It takes a lot of wood/oil/gas/coal to heat a yurt. While the heat is on, they are great, the minute the heat is off, they get cold. If you have access to to a lot of wood, this may not be an issue for you. For a 30 foot yurt, expect to burn all of 10 full cords, and probably more, depending on what part of PA you are in.

Obviously, the most cost effective way is to stay in your RV until the house is built, but if that is not an option, then a yurt (as small as possible) will not be a bad idea. A good quality yurt will last more than a life time, though you will have to change the roof every 20 years or so just like any other house.

[Knecht]

Originally Posted by Jafo

For a 30 foot yurt, expect to burn all of 10 full cords, and probably more, depending on what part of PA you are in.

I'm not familiar with your wood measuring, but as I'm just expecting my first winter in a yurt, it concerns me quite a bit. What shall I imagine as 10 full cords? And is that just for winter, or a year?


As for the original topic, how about learning from the way Mongolians do this. As I've read and heard, many of them who live in cities have a yurt on their property, plus a house. The yurt is bedroom/living room, while the house provides a safe lockable storage, bathroom, sometimes kitchen, etc..
So you could do something like that, maybe build the house by parts, adding slowly. Start with the kitchen and bathroom, plus some place to keep valuable items, also guns and such. Of course, I'm used to think about the kind of house we mainly have here, that means brick houses. Those are quite easy to add. Not sure how about those timberframe constructions you guys have, those may require to be built whole at a time. JMHO. If I have to move any time soon, this may well be the way I'll do things.

[Zelig]

Originally Posted by Jafo

expect to burn all of 10 full cords, and probably more, depending on what part of PA you are in.

10?! In Pennsylvania?! Good god, I can't imagine what that would translate to in my climate.

[newt]

Heat is not an issue. Plenty of wood on the farm. More than I think I could ever use. We struggle with spending 20,000 + on building a yurt and not having that $ for the house. I think a yurt would be way quicker than a house to construct. The house we plan to build would be a Timberframe using wood from the property. 1500 Sq ft or so. How do yurts do on the resale mrket or do we just keep it and make it guest living?

The yurt would have electric (public), composting toilet, and wood stove heat maybe with eletric base board back up for when we are away. Looking at a 5 yr living plan for the yurt.

[Jafo]

They resell okay. You will take a loss, but not a huge one like you would with an RV. We sell a lot of them on the yurt classifieds on this site.

[Bob Rowlands]

I hate to say it on this site, but without question I'd suggest building a small ranch house over an unfinished basement. You can do that while you are living in the RV. It would take you a year or so to build, depending on how experienced you are, and how many pro tradesmen you use. If it was built by pro tradesmen just a few months probably four if the house is quite small.

Keep the plan small and simple. The 3 bed 2 bath rancher is what most older American 'boomers' grew up in. They are superb homes.

Interest rates are still unbelievably low.

I love yurts don't get me wrong, but a small house is WAY better investment and WAY tougher than any yurt. BTW I've been a carpenter for 41 years and can speak with authority on this subject.

[Jafo]

Bob, never feel like you can't say what you want here.

I think what newt was getting at, was not WHICH to live in, but would living in a a yurt WHILE they build their house and whether it is feasible. A lot of people have asked that question on here. I for one would rather live in a yurt for a couple years while building my house than an RV.