Nomad Shelter Yurts

[MattyIrie]

Hey All,

I was reading thru some of the posts on the forum and i thought Nomad needed their own thread. I own a 24'er and here is my review:


I purchased a 24' yurt from them (SUCCESSFULLY!!!) 3 years ago to put up on some remote property i own in northern Nevada. First and foremost I will vouch for this company to anyone. Jess and Lee are top notch people...period. I had my fair share of hiccups in getting the yurt from homer AK to Northern Nevada (WHO WOULDN'T?) and they went above and beyond every step of the way. My story goes as follows (short version): I drove up to Tacoma, WA to pick up the yurt (that is where they were shipping it first to get it to the lower 48) only to find that it hadn't shipped and somehow that got lost in communication. The reason shipping was delayed was because i was trying to get it down here during fishing season and trucking companies apparently have a contract with fisherman that what ever spoils in transit gets eaten by the trucking company so fish take priority over everything else (or something to that effect..anyhow it makes sense). SO since neither nomad shelter nor myself were aware of this, what did nomad shelter choose to do? ship the yurt to my door (practically) at no cost to me....wow. over $800 worth of shipping and i didn't pay a dime.

Now the Yurt:

The yurt is a SOLIDLY built 24'. everything they say, that is what was delivered. the center skylight is gorgeous and the stove pipe hole thru the center of the skylight was perfect. the stove was the center piece and that was perfect for us. I opted out of their offered

insulation

package and chose to build my own. I used recycled denim

insulation

(R30ish) sandwiched between the outer cover and muslin. It gets -30F at night and 0F during the day during the coldest months (Dec./Jan area) and i used 1.5 cords of wood total during that year. another neat feature is when it snows, the roof pitch is steep enough that it cleans itself. I would wake up in the morning to the sound of snow sliding off the roof and further helping to insulate the yurt (SWEET!!) i never once brushed snow off the roof.

The only downside to dealing with Nomad is that they are deep in AK and I was deep in the 48. Even still, communication via email or phone was right on. I think maybe once we played phone tag for a couple days but other than that they are quick. Shipping was somewhat of a hassle but i really didnt expect it to be easy and they were more than helpful in that regard.

The bottom line is this: I got my yurt (everything that was promised) and I never once felt abandoned by the crew at nomad. I would deal with them again in a heart beat..but i probably wont need to because my yurt is going to out last me so......

any questions, dont hesitate to email!

[Jafo]

MattyIrie,

Thank you for the EXCELLENT review! When I was shopping around for yurts, I saw a few of those with the stove pipe through the center. My question about that is, can you still open the

dome

at all or no? In my Pacific Yurt, there is a crank handle that you can open the

dome

up slightly to let hot air out in the summer (and

moisture

too). It is one of my favorite features!

Shipping is the big issue with ALL yurt manufacturers because you are dealing with such heavy materials and are stuck with trucking companies that basically have you at their mercy.

Would love to see some pics if you have time!

- Jeff

[NomadShelterSales]

True, an EXCELLENT review! Thanks so much, MattyIrie! :-) Glad Jess and Lee were able to help you get things up and working smoothly.

Jeff, the domes have vents, they are attached to a cable that runs down to a convenient, reachable level for opening and closing the vent. You can also run the stovepipe out elsewhere - through a wall, if you want.

[Corinarose]

MattyIrie,

Thank you so much. Where did you get denim insulation? And then what did you put up to go over that? Have you had

moisture

problems? I have thought about using roxul and then putting T&G over that (or something).
Corina

[hakalugi]

Corina,

He mentions using "muslin" so my guess is:

Outer wall
insulation
muslin
lattice

Matt, my question is along those lines - how thick is your insulation to get to R30? the denim i've seen at 2" = R8, so are you really using 8" of insulation to get to R30? how did your stock cover fit? Did they make it assuming you'd be doing a winter insulation package so it would have been very loose without any insulation?

Like Corina, what did you use for vapor barrier - anything other than the muslin between your living space and the insulation? (so you're not freezing your breath in the outer layers of the denim)

I've hunted north of and near Pyramid lake in December, it does get cold around these parts.

"NomadShelterSales" = can you reply on the antecdotal info of this post regarding shipping/trucking and priorities of load types? During what months is this the case?

[HawaiiYurts]

Colorado does the recycled denim insulation. It meets most r-value codes.

[frontierjeanne]

Loved seeing this review, as we're looking to purchase and have tentatively chosen Nomad Shelters. We live in Alaska, and plan on hauling the yurt ourselves on a trailer pulled by a 1-ton truck. I've got a question: how does your yurt hold up in the wind? We lived in Skagway in Southeast, and the wind blows mightily here!

[Corinarose]

A couple of years since my question about insulation and two years living with 6" of insulation in the walls and ceiling. The ceiling was a bear to do.
The walls are exterior, interior company insulation-reflectix- the 6" of Roxul between 2x4's 24oc.
Moisture is a problem but not bad.
This year I will put in a moisture barrier and possibly a "real" roof.
Minus 30, with year round living (showers, laundry etc) you need consistent ventilation.
The other critical issue I found is fresh air. I was having trouble with health issues this year and it was proposed that I needed more fresh air circulating.
I opened my doors daily for twenty minutes (drastic measure) and some of the critical fatigue issues went away!
Working on a different plan for this next winter

[Luvsexytrstno1]

We live in a 30 with an attached 16 in Chugiak alaska. We have in floor radiant heat in the cement pad and a gas stove that we've only had to use a couple of times this winter. We have electricity and plumbing with a septic system. This is our primary residence with the loft being our daughters "room" and the attached 16 yurt being min and my husband's bedroom. The 16 does get cold at night and I would definitely go with a minimum of a 20 if I were to utilize in floor radiant heat. We run a dehumidifier at night and during the days when we are gone. We have a "mud room" at the entrance with an outer door and an inner door. We will probably go up to a 50 at some point in the future with a 20 for our daughters room and the 16 as our room. The biggest issue I have had is the lack of closets and ability to hang things from "walls", but other than that we love it. I agree with others that stress traditional windows and a second door. Those would be nice additions to have.

[Old Man Oldman]

I'm glad to read these positive reviews of Nomad yurts as they are currently building me two yurts: a 24' and a 16' that will be connected. Can't wait!