lattice depth

[pier]

Hi everyone!

I'm starting to plan for building my first yurt.

I'd like to know how thick/deep the lattices pieces must be. I've seen yurts with very thin and flexible wood used, and more permanent yurts with lattices as thick as 1 inch.

I want to build a semi permanent yurt to put in the garden and use as an extra space to do yoga and such. We will be moving the yurt, once we move to a different house at some point. I'm thinking a 6 meter diameter (about 20 feet).

We live in Mexico so the yurt will only protect against sunlight and rain. No snow here, and in winter it only gets as far a 6ºC (about 43º F) in the middle of the night.

Considering the yurt will have no

insulation

at all, how thick do you think the lattices wooden pieces must be?

Regards

[Jafo]

I am going to leave this for some of the yurt builders here. I think you should get as thick as you can reasonably afford. 1" would be overkill in my opinion.

[pier]

Originally Posted by Jafo

I am going to leave this for some of the yurt builders here. I think you should get as thick as you can reasonably afford. 1" would be overkill in my opinion.

It's not only a matter of price, but also portability and efficiency.

Why use half inch when a quarter could work?

[pier]

This guy for example, used 6mm slabs for the walls.

[Bob Rowlands]

I've built two 'camping' yurts from scratch. A 14' and 16'. BTW a 6 meter yurt is the perfect size.

I ripped all my lattice strips from 2x stud lumber I selected at Depot. They are all 5/16ths thick and unplaned. When ripping strips that thin from studs, you need to be >really picky< about the lumber you intend to rip the lattice from, or you'll get 75% wood stove tinder.

If you opt to proceed this way, buy the clearest, straightest 2x stock you can get your mitts on. Take your time and really eyeball the studs. After ripping, reject all rips that have knots bigger than about 1/4 the width of the rip.

A tip is to sort through a fresh bunk that the weekend warriors haven't demolished. Again, knots are absolute lath killers when ripped that thin from 2x lumber. If you get 50% usable you've done well. Fortunately 2x lumber is incredibly cheap. Depot and Lowes could care less if you dig through the bunk as long as you make the effort to restack the culls. The local lumberyard will not let you pick through a bunk. It's grab and go only there.

A $$$ more expensive, less wasteful, less time consuming alternative is to buy 8/4 doug fir boards at your hardwood lumber store, and rip your lath from that. 5/16ths thickness will also be fine. Knots are rare in the 8/4 doug fir I'm talking about. The wood is straight and incredibly beautiful. But, you pay for it.

Lastly, I highly recommend using 1/8th solid braid-not sheathed- paracord for lath ties on thin rips, because the hole can be very small and less likely to cause a break.

Good luck.

[Jafo]

Curios Bob, couldn't someone rip plywood into strips to make lattice with? I would think they would be very flexible and you could easily pick boards with little to no knots. The rivets would help keep the strips from separating.

Just a caffeinated thought that came to me while reading your post.

[hierony]

The 6m yurt I purchased has ash lattice that is ~13x27mm (1/2"x1" actual)--nice and sturdy.

Paul King's Yurt book recommends ~1"/27mm dia for roundwood wall pieces or 32x19mm (1.25"x3/4") or 13x50mm (1/2"x2") or 19x19mm (3/4"x3/4") for sawn lumber. His rec's might be overkill to keep people from getting hurt in yurts built to his design.

I tried making a 20' yurt--my crown ring design & implementation didn't survive moving/storage, sadly. However, my lathe for that was 1/4"x1.25", partially out of poplar. A bit flimsy, but if you space your lathe close (<10" maybe) it'd probably be fine for light-load conditions. Also, I would use a light wood for the roof poles (2x3" rough-cut doug-fir is pretty heavy when you got 70-odd roof poles)--1.25x1.25"/32x32mm or slightly larger is pretty common, out of pine or spruce for light construction.

I knew a family of arborists that would save some trunks when they took out a tree and mill it into large timbers to dry/store it. I was able to use some of these large timbers for free and rip them down to the sizes I wanted. If you're into doing things cheap and have the sawing equipment, it might be worthwhile to locate an arborist.

[Bob Rowlands]

You know, Jafo, I entertained the 'ripped plywood' idea before I built my first yurt. Construction plywood is good as sheathing in large panels. The flaws have little effect on overall strength because of their size relative to the entire sheet. I did look at the 3/8ths and 7/16ths plywood at Depot and Lowes and contemplating using it for lattice. My work experience using plywood overcame the urge to go for it. I just couldn't trust the glue on a 1.5" wide rip would hold up, and hidden voids in the middle core are rampant.

More detail. Quit if you are already rolling your eyes. lol The football shaped plugs in the surface layer are knots punched out and plugged. The wood around a knot thats been peeled to ~1/8th " thickness is especially weak. The interior core wood isn't plugged and there are significant voids scattered througout the core where the knots popped free as the bole is turned into veneer. Plus, the glue isn't like that in a laminated gunstock either.

Super high grade plywood I know nothing about having never used it.

However, I did read online somewhere of someone who made yurt lath from thinner 3/8ths plywood and said it was OK since the rips were painted. What can I tell ya? Maybe try a sheet and see for yourself?

I'm long winded as usual. I do know this stuff fairly well after 42 years and hope it helps others from wasting money and time.

[Bob Rowlands]

Yet more wall lattice info. Are your eyes glazing over yet? As far as lath size on a nomadic yurt that really is to be moved around camping and to various events etc, weight, 'handleability', and lack of lath knots in khana wall sections is very important to consider.

For a 6 meter yurt, 4 or 5 wall sections are appropriate for regular set up/tear down IMO. 5/16ths is certainly not as strong -or as heavy-as a 1/2" x 1.5" lath, or 3/4", but in my experience plenty strong enough if essentially knot free. Also being thin the laths bend and twist into wall shape quite nicely. Ideally if run at the typical 45 degree angle the thicker laths should be steam bent to avid the 'nuclear power plant cooling tower' look. Plus the wall section is nice and light. OK I'm done- for now. lol

[hierony]

For the construction-grade plywood, exactly what Bob said. Stuff is nasty in the details but good enough in larger pieces. Pain to work with if you're using handtools, as well.

I got a sheet of 5/8" baltic birch plywood ~7 years ago from Windsor Plywood (_not_ big-everything store--just wood, moulding, sheet and the like). Coupled with cinder blocks, I used it for shelves, a small table, and a desk for some time. I still have most of the pieces, albeit they're smaller now and repurposed There's a few voids in it, but it's 11 plys and the voids seem to be mainly cosmetic on the cut edges. Nice and stout. I would consider using it for lathes but would want to be careful how I cut it--the top veneer splinters off if it's not held down by something (a sacrificial sheet or stick?).

Cost wise, at an estimated $50 for a 1/2"x4'x8' sheet cut at 1" widths, you'd get 42 sticks (1/8" loss each cut due to saw width)--that's $1.19 each plus work/tools. Locally, I can get 1x2" pine sticks for ~$1.50 each plus the work to sort out the bad ones. Since I don't have a big fancy wood shop I'd go with the 1x2 pine sticks, hoping I got good ones that didn't split