setting up yurts in florida - need advice

[modhobo]

i'm in the process of getting some undeveloped land on which to place some yurts.

i'm thinking of one larger yurt (20+ ft diam) and a smaller 'guest' yurt (12 or 14 ft diam).

anyway, i'm looking for advice on whether to buy them new, have someone build them with me (i don't have the skills but am willing to learn alongside someone), or buy them used.

any suggestions?

regards,

modhobo

p.s. thank you for creating this forum.

[Jafo]

You might want to start with a new one so you get used to how they go together. I have never built a yurt, but after I put my new one up I gained a lot of understanding on how they went together. Florida is known for hurricanes, so you are probably going to want to make sure you consider that when building your own.

Welcome to the forum!

[Surely Yurts - Steve]

Originally Posted by modhobo

i'm in the process of getting some undeveloped land on which to place some yurts.

i'm thinking of one larger yurt (20+ ft diam) and a smaller 'guest' yurt (12 or 14 ft diam).

anyway, i'm looking for advice on whether to buy them new, have someone build them with me (i don't have the skills but am willing to learn alongside someone), or buy them used.

any suggestions?

regards,

modhobo

p.s. thank you for creating this forum.

_____

Agreed, Thanks for starting this forum Jeff!

My suggestion, if you are orchestrating your own yurt installation project, is to talk to a local carpenter before you do the floor install. They will likely give you alot of information about techniques, materials, & possible codes issues.

In my opinion, buying a (good quality) used yurt is the best way to learn on your own. By the time you get done refurbishing it you'll feel alot more confident if you do decide to build your own in the future. Buying a new yurt is great, but it will tie up alot of your assets that could be otherwise used for your peripheral installations.

There are also traveling yurtsmiths (like me) that could come onto the site and teach/help you build your own yurt to begin with. This option would still be cheaper than buying a new (brand name) yurt & give you the skills to build more.

Now that Jeff has setup this forum you will have no problem finding answers to many questions that we all run into whilst on our yurt quests.

-Cheers

[Dan R-M]

I'll second both opinions from my experience. My father in law, a past contractor, helped immensely with platform assembly. I could, theoretically, have done it without him. But I would not have ended up with as nice a finished product.
If I could do mine over again, I don't think it would make much difference (outside of $) whether the yurt was new or used, so long as it is from a company with a good record. And if you can, get someone who knows how a yurt is supposed to look when it's being put together, especially if it's a used one.
Good luck!

[Yurt]

New guy necro'ing an old post, but it ranks in Google for "Yurts in Florida"

As everyone here knows, Yurts are often times in a weird gray area between permanent and temporary structure but usually fall into the 'residence' regulations if you live in it full time. Some places in FL have opinions about them, others do not which means they exist at the discretion of the building official and if he doesn't like them, you may be in for a fight if you want to build one to live in, or you may have to prove that you aren't living in it full time if you do erect one under 'camping' or 'tent' regulations.

I bring this up because the Florida Building Code is the Mount Everest of Building Codes and Yurts don't even begin to be compliant with very little chance of receiving an exemption. While the FBC is a PITA, its not entirely without merit; Yurts wouldn't stand a chance in a major hurricane.

Further, a lot of municipalities in FL *do* have hard and fast rules about tents and I know one person (me) who just ran face first into them in a Yurt context. We're working on a solution that hopefully doesn't involve lawyers but as alt building enthusiasts either learn in advance or learn the hard way, there are limits on what you can do.

Florida is not a very alternative-building friendly state which is really a shame since the climate and growing season couldn't be any better but it is what it is. Can you have a Yurt in Florida? Its a great big maybe, maybe not.

[Molson]

Hi thanks for these posts. We are new to this and wanting to move to NW FL is that just plain stupid? Also what is it costing to have wells drilled out there? Anyone know of a yurt friendly or tiny house friendly town on the Emerald Coast?

[Yurt]

Identify the counties you are interested in living in and contact their building department.

Be prepared for a "Wut?" Then be prepared to receive potentially bad advice.

The thing with things that exist in bureaucratic gray areas is that you are at the whim of 'bureaucratic discretion'. So, if your chosen county does have statutes or rulings regarding Yurts, its cut and dry. The answer is either no, or yes, per rules. If they don't have Yurt specific rules, then you're operating in a weird netherworld of maybe's and kinda-sorta's and if they want to annoy you, they probably have the code to do it (remember, Florida is *the* wind zone state and if you're living in that Yurt full time, it's a residence and must be to the Florida Building Code, with which counties have a big of local control and discretionary application but not much and any given Yurt is going to be radically non-compliant)

Well costs can run anywhere from a couple grand on up-up-up depending on depth, diameter, etc. Most places in Florida aren't quite as drastic as some of the well depths you get out west but its not uncommon to have to go between 100-200 feet.

[denbob4369]

Having lived here all my life, and worked both in construction as well as building dept issuing permits, I totally understand the hurricane issue. However, the way I found out about yurts to start with was on DIY with the #1 yurt builders in Hawaii. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Hawaii have hurricanes??

[Yurt]

Originally Posted by denbob4369

Having lived here all my life, and worked both in construction as well as building dept issuing permits, I totally understand the hurricane issue. However, the way I found out about yurts to start with was on DIY with the #1 yurt builders in Hawaii. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Hawaii have hurricanes??

Hawaii doesn't have the Florida Building Code.