choosing a company

[Bob Rowlands]

The dude telling you to get a trailer, this is why I don't like gov't. Not only do we pay his salary, and his retirement, and have to follow their regs, then we have to listen to his BS about what 'we should live in.' That kinda stuff honks me off.

If he is referring to a free standing trailer, his common sense thinking is matches the idiocy of the building dept. in general. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell a free standing trailer, the type I used to work on decades ago, could withstand 150 mph wind. They are rectangles. He must be referring to a double wide modular home, that is bolted to a standard residential foundation.

Ever seen an eighteen wheeler crosswind to a 70 mph blow? From the side they are similar in profile to a standard 70s era trailer, although a few feet less wide. They rock to beat the band. Double that wind and there wouldn't be any rocking. It would blow over immediately.

I have been inside our home in probably 75 mph wind and it hasn't shaken. But, I could tell the stress on the building nonetheless. You can sense it through the seat of your pants so to speak. Double that and I expect anything could happen. 150 is tornado strength wind. They destroy everything they touch short of missle silos. Of course those are also paid for with taxes.

If the yurt guys say their dwelling withstands 142, good for them.

I don't believe computer models. If they are perfect, new designs would never need to be tweaked.

Good luck.

[hierony]

It looks like Florida does indeed have some pretty high wind speeds. Mind you, some of those numbers are for maximum wind gusts instead of sustained speeds. See here for more details.

Knowing a little engineering, there is likely a good number of modifications to the wind load. Things like building height, building/material smoothness, shape, site wind exposure, occupancy type, etc would all modify the actual final wind speed/load. For instance, trees/bushes can significantly reduce wind speeds for a distance five times their height; also the wind speeds on the map are at 33 ft above the ground. An experienced and knowledgeable professional engineer familiar with Florida wind considerations is in order here.

As with Bob, I'm not sure if you're talking about a manufactured/mobile home or an RV/5th wheel trailer. In either case different rules probably apply than for typical residential construction (manufactured homes have HUD, trailers are usually temporary dwellings). I'm going to guess the county guy just meant it was _easier_ to permit the trailer, not that they'll actually stand up to the wind. And that would be bureaucracy.

A simple concrete foundation could actually be pretty favorable. If you were in a cooler climate, in-slab

heating

would be nice. In florida, in-slab cooling might be more appropriate But if you're sitting on the ground directly, the thermal mass might be enough to keep you cool.

[Bob Rowlands]

My yurt sits on a very low ood deck attached to 48- 12" x 4" thick concrete piers, that rest on top of the ground. By 'building regulation' I could not install in ground piers, or it would be considered a permanent structure. Again the gov't telling me 'what is what'.

Each of the lowest lath crosses are joined with 1/4"x20 bolts, that also pass through holes drilled in custom made 'ell' angles screwed to the deck. You can see that detail in one of the online photos. That's 33 angles in all screwed into 2x6 deck lumber. That frame can't possibly detach from the deck. But, make no mistake, 150 mph wind would totally destroy the yurt in a heartbeat.

FWIW my first 14' yurt was destroyed in a winter snow storm that I doubt hit 70 mph. The yurt wasn't anchored to the ground in any way. That storm literally picked up the entire yurt like a cup and tossed it twenty five yards. It landed in a heap and blew to smithereens. Looked as awful as a crashed WWI bomber. Canvas and wood parts sticking up out of the snow. By God that was depressing. Eight full days of work trashed in an instant.

Moral, anchor your yurt to the ground, the deck or the slab, or whatever. Figure something out. High wind WILL destroy it. I guarantee you.

[Bob Rowlands]

Ground level wind has less velocity than wind up at 33 feet that is unrestricted. Air has mass, and friction with the ground slows it. Aside from that 150 mph wind is gonna take out any yurt I'm familiar with. I've been in my yurt with wind at maybe 60 mph and lemme tell yuh it had my undivided attention. 2.5X? Not a freakin chance.

[Colorado Yurt Company]

Give us a call. We have our Alpine Yurt, which might be able to meet that wind load requirement (depending upon the site and the exposure). Colorado Yurt Company 800-288-3190

[Telmen]

Originally Posted by groveladderfarm

I'm finding it very difficult to know which company to buy our yurt from. How do folks decide? It would be one thing if I could visit all of these companies and see and touch the yurts (unfortunately thats not really an option due to financial and time constraints, not to mention the fact that I have, like, a million babies! haha)

I've never made a purchase this large at a distance. I've never even been near a yurt in person, so I have to rely entirely on internet searches.

We live in Florida so among our primary concerns are safety in strong winds, keeping the yurt cool and keeping bugs and mosquitos out! Florida is extremely buggy in the summer. We are moving 2 full sized people and three mini people into the yurt, so we will choose a 30' no matter what.

I think I've narrowed it to Rainer, Pacific, and

Blue Ridge Yurts

(which happens to be the closest). I hear wonderful things about all three companies- I am not asking for someone to tell me which company is "best" since they are clearly all wonderful. But I would love help knowing which yurt might be best suited for us given our particular needs. And I would love to know how others made their decision!

Thanks so much!

I live in Mongolia. If you want original ancient style Yurt. You can contact, and i will guide you to possible yurts.