New to Yurts, buying soon! Help!

[Kiki]

Hello-
I live in Santa Barbara, CA near the beach. I want to place a small yurt in my back yard (surface currently is tanbark.dirt. I am looking for 14 - 16 foot diameter. i have a lot of questions and hope the experienced folks can get me started.

The use of my yurt will be mainly for lounging in, evening entertaining, and occasional sleepovers. Not too much rain around here (especially lately). Coldest temps in winter are around mid-50s at night, warmest temps are around 80 (summer days). Thus I do not think

insulation

is a big priority, but I am wondering if i should forego

insulation

altogether? I would like as much light as possible but I also don't want it to heat up too much inside during the day or to feel every breeze. Thoughts? I also want at least two windows that can be left open most of the time and hope to have a design that can accommodate a double door arrangement (e.g. double-hung french doors). I have looked around on line and see there are lots of manufacturers, and don't know how to narrow it down (other than perhaps by proximity to my home to reduce shipping costs). Any input on that would be great. Lastly, I think i will have my handyman build the deck, maybe using discarded pallets with a 1/2 to 3/4 inch plywood topping. Would that be a good approach?

[Bob Rowlands]

In that mild climate insulation is unnecessary IMO. If it gets too hot inside, just roll up the outside cover a foot or so and tuck it into the low tension rope. Open the top vent. It will be cooled off shortly. I just did that a few hours ago on my own yurt. Was much cooler in a few minutes.

As for decks, if you have the money build a bonaficde

yurt platform

. Pallets and ply is a make do situation for those that either don't have the funds, or just don't want to put money into a real platform.

I would discuss your ideas with the big dogs that advertise here. They can build whatever you want for a very reasonable price. Good luck.

[Jafo]

I agree with Bob, not necessary. Besides, when you don't use it, you can get the yurt roofs with the banner system - a roof designed with a clear strip in it for letting in light. If you can put in at least one standard glass window, you leave the option to easily put in a window AC unit if necessary.

As for the deck, I would use something more finished and less likely to give you splinters.

[Bob Rowlands]

Good point about splinters Jafo. If you have carpenters build a deck for you, and you have some money to spend, have them install TREX decking, or other composite. No splinters, no checking, no water treatment, and in your case in southern CA, no termites or rot. Everyone uses this stuff for decks now, I can't remember the last time I saw a real redwood 2x6 deck. Good luck.

[Bob Rowlands]

I did use construction common 2x6 lumber in my

yurt platform

. However, I am a carpenter and there isn't a snowballs chance in hell I would have used lumber with splits or wane on the deck. My grandkids and I go in there sometimes with bare feet before crawling into sleeping bags. With good lumber, in the shade of the yurt, and two heavy coats of thick paint rolled out, that floor is very safe. It remains in the same exact shape as when I built it in oct 2013. But man I gotta tell you mere thought of a splinter kicked into the foot is cold sober pause for thought.

[Kiki]

Hi-
Thanks for this great input! Especially about the flooring. That input makes good sense. Will just want to make sure whatever I use does not have the dangers associated with it from formaldehydes and glues that some laminates have. In a deck, that is less of a concern than a semi-enclosed space. Do vendors usually offer construction plans for the floors so I can have it built locally?

Can any of you offer suggestions on vendors that I might get started with? I am thinking it would make most sense to use one in the West (e.g. Rockies and westward) to cut shipping, though that might not make too much difference. Basically, who offers a good "recreational" model with some of the customizing that you talk about (I love the idea of the bannered ceiling/roof!), that is well built but need not withstand snow and big winds?

Appreciate your wisdom!
KiKi

[Jafo]

Colorado Yurts

and

Pacific Yurts

are out your way so you will save on shipping I suppose, but really all of the sponsors here are Class A manufacturers.

[Colorado Yurt Company]

Just a note on the clear strip on a roof: We discontinued that options for several reasons.

1. The clear vinyl doesn't last as long as the roof vinyl. So, those roofs were wearing out more quickly.

2. They really add heat to a yurt in all climates. The

dome

lets in plenty of light, and we'd recommend more windows- rather than messing up a perfectly good roof.

[Pacific Yurts]

The Solar Arc (translucent fabric integrated into the the top cover) is a great option for adding more natural light to the yurt, but only if you have a fully shaded site. Otherwise you will definitely have more heat gain and should not choose this feature. If your site is in full sun I would recommend that you consider adding at least roof insulation to reduce solar heat gain, but you can also add it at a later date if necessary. On a small yurt the roof insulation can be retrofitted in a few hours.

The longevity of the solar arc fabric will depend on the material it is constructed from. We developed this feature back in 1981 and the durability will not be a problem if you choose to add it.