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Yurt sizes.....16 vs 20 ft or?

S

Sasquatch

New member
Hello,

I am in the market for a yurt but have some questions to ask and decisions to make. I am chosing to put this in the building instead of buying section as I think there is simply going to be a lot of building involved

Anyway i own land up in the mountains by a ski area in Washington state and i am looking to put something livable up there and quit the rat race.

I have several design ideas as far as what to build, whether it be a 10x20 cabin with a large loft, a 12x16 or 14x14 A-frame cabin or a yurt. I have been going back and forth on the A frame vs yurt for quite some time...

My yurt choices are either a 16 foot pacific or a 20 foot pacific.... My county rules yurts as tents/membrane structures and are subject to a rule 400 square foot or more needs a permit versus a building like a cabin/tiny house is limited to 200square foot with out a permit, so the yurt is the natural choice for most bang for the buck.

Ive had very little luck finding any good images of a 16 foot yurt with a well laid out interior. The 20 footer is what i WANT but its a lot of money for me once platform and everything else is factored in so the 16 footer seems like a more manageable size once its all said and done.

I plan on selling my sailboat to finance this endeavor, but would really love to hear the 16 footer versus 20 footer argument from real yurt people.

Where my land is at, it tends to rain a TON but i have had over 4 feet of snow at one time so i want something tough, with a warranty which is why im pretty set on Pacific yurts as I can just hop in my truck and run down to Oregon and pick it up and pay less taxes than anything in WA and get that 15 year warranty on the roof

Id love to see any pictures of a 16 footer you have. My idea is to put a queen sized bed in there and essential furniture like a dresser table/desk etc and am thinking perhaps a large loft bed might be best? I have a few other small buildings and a small (like 14x8 sqr ft) cabin already on property so not everything is going to get crammed inti a small space but I already live in a 380sqr ft house, so its not much for me to downsize

16 seems small but I think it may work.... I know 20 foot will but that realistically is just outside my budget a hair or two

Id love to hear input!
 
I have a 30' and all I can add to this is, you can't make a yurt any bigger once you buy it. So if it were me, size would be the most important factor.
 
I’m a retired carpenter. To see pics of my rustic homemade 16’ yurt, go to google images: Bob Rowlands homemade yurt

Mine is the rough looking canvas yurt with green door and rafter or lath either side. I also built a 12’ and 14’ no pics though.

If you are planning on living in the yurt 20’ is a WHOLE lot better than 16’.

That said in a wet climate I strongly suggest you build or buy a shed because the cover will not be cloth. 12x16 or 16x20 with sleeping loft would be about 280 to 400sq ft.You can add basic amenities down the road if money is tight. I lived in a 400 sq. ft. apt. decades ago, and it was adequate.
 
If you opt for a yurt >do not< repeat >do not< get a canvas cover! Spend the money and get a vinyl 15 year cover. Trust me on that. The pacific nwest is NOT canvas country!
 
Lastly, totally forget A frames. Why? I have worked on a couple. Angled ext. walls absolutely suck for installing cabs, bath, wall coverings, trim and actually everything else. A really pathetic stick frame design for a small ‘vacation cabin’ if there ever was one. Besides being a pita to build, you lose massive amounts of space because the walls slope in. You can’t stand next to the wall, like you can with even a short 4’ walled Mongolian style trad yurt. I hate A frames. lol rant over.
 
Bob Rowlands said:
Lastly, totally forget A frames. Why? I have worked on a couple. Angled ext. walls absolutely suck for installing cabs, bath, wall coverings, trim and actually everything else. A really pathetic stick frame design for a small ‘vacation cabin’ if there ever was one. Besides being a pita to build, you lose massive amounts of space because the walls slope in. You can’t stand next to the wall, like you can with even a short 4’ walled Mongolian style trad yurt. I hate A frames. lol rant over.
Click to expand...

Yeah canvas is a no go, i live in the land of rain moss 100 foot tall trees more rain snow and rivers and well....its sasquatch country!

Why an A-frame? Simple. I grew up in one, although it was a 3 bedroom house more than anything, but nostalgia I guess. That, and ive never built anything (land based structure wise), built boats but never a cabin or house and it seems comparable in.price to a yurt once you factor in.platform and base and foundation. But it very well may be a solo build so ease of construction is another consideration

BUT

This the yurt forum so lets talk yurts!
 
Forgot to say there already is a cook shack, outhouse, pumphouse and a few other misc structures on site so im not thinking whatever yurt or shack i build is going to need more than a gravity feed small sink and a wood stove and a good cast iron pan because i already have some features in place.


Anyway the 16 footer......seems like it would just be an elevated camping experience....balls.... I could fit by bed in there and not much else....probably just need to see one in person

My go to camping set up is a 12x12 outfitter tent, which is 144 square foot so.... 200 (16 footer) isnt much more.....round takes some getting used to considering we live inna square world....
 
My 16’ yurt was about 200 sq ft. I had two cots, two chairs, a woodstove under the ring, a wheelbarrow to hold stove wood, and a 6’ picnic table in it. That was totally full. It fit me, grandma, and our three grandkids for somemores and the kids laying down on cots, two on one cot. They were little kids then. Nowhere near enough space to partition off. But you could partition a 20’ yurt, which is 313 sq. ft. Put a small kitchen with power and water on one framed wall. Bathe elsewhere that’s too much moisture inside. imo
 
fwiw a 6 meter yurt is very close in size to a 20’ yurt. From what I have read it used to be a common yurt size in Mongolia. That being the case, untold numbers of families must have been raised in them. One Spartan tough young man in a 20’ yurt is certainly doable.
 
$$$$ spent building yurts in about 2013, including platform was under $1000. I’m kinda hazy on the exact numbers. Of course I did all the building and including making and sewing wall and roof cover I had two full weeks in making everything. The wall and roof coverings were all made from tarps. Uninsulted and drafty yurt to the max. That’s all for me. I have hundreds of posts here in the archives if you want to learn someting read them. I’m done with yurts. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info....

Ive been going back and forth on cabin designs for years, and yurts have always been at the top of the list however ia not single and i have a dog. Fortunately my girlfriend isnt able to have kids so i dont have to ever worry about that and it simplifies life immensely as it allows us to live and stay living tiny/low impact. Fwiw she was living in a 16ft tipi when i met her. I was going to sell my sailboat to finance a yurt however we decided we are going to keep the boat and use it as a work week apartment in town, and build something up in the mountains that will fit most needs. Im a diesel mechanic and i can find work anywhere but specialize in yacht engines. Im close enough to the ski area that its only a 20 minute commute. Although my land is 100 miles from our current jobs keeping the boat allows for flexibility and for budget and time constraints I think we are going to go with a 14x14 A frame as that is something that works in the short term to get us out of renting a house that allows us to have jobs to pay rent. The end goal still is a yurt but without a time constraint it allows for better decision making and planing. An A frame is low risk and can be done over a few weekends in the summer and fits the budget whereas a yurt to buy outright (not comfortable with a fabric structure in the mountains especially winter DIY style) with a warranty it might require going to a bank and we dont use or believe in credit. My prior lifestyle as a commercial fisherman in Alaska had some perks like having hard cash for big decisions.

So no yurt for now but the dream house is a 20 or 24 footer. Considering we dont really have any bills beyond insurance and phone gas property tax and food its just a matter of time at this rate

We just want to be out of the rental game by fall
 
I have a 24’ yurt, and am happy with that size, so 16’ gives me a headache. But, I think some Yurt Manufacturers have a taller wall option that gives you more room for a loft? I think most Yurt Manufacturers give 15 year warranty on the vinyl roof, we got ours from White Mountain Yurts in Tax free New Hampshire? I agree with Bob about A frames. We like, not love our Yurt space, however if that was not a thing, i would have built a cabin. I hear lumber is expensive now? When we put up our Yurt, I am pretty confident I could have built a small cabin at 3/4 the cost of the Yurt, with better insulation and structural Qualities. On another note, not sure about 16’ , but when you opt for the snow load option ( seems like everything is an option these days) the roof rafters will be larger from the manufacture, but i would purchase and install the wall studs separately , save a few dollars.
 
Fortunately here in WA we have a mom-n-pop sawmill that sells directly to a local lumber yard however, i called to price out 36 16 foot long Douglas fir 2X6s and that came in right around 1000$ which is still cheaper than any of the big name stores and better quality. Ive seen a 2x6x16 go for upwards of 45$ at some places.

Pacific yurts have an almost 7 foot wall height which is why i like them. Im 6 ft tall so.... Plenty of head room. I like to be able to stretch in any direction and not touch a wall or ceiling. My current house I rent is 380sqr ft so im not too concerned with tiny.

Frankly i really want a yurt because of the open layout however 36 2x6s costing 1000$ wouldnt even cover building a platform or deck to set said yurt on and given my current situation those.36 boards are the roof rafters for the little A frame. I still fully intend on getting a yurt but i need to be inna position to do so and right now i just gotta get there first.
 
Well this is an old thread however life’s changing once again and I’m revisiting buying a yurt

I quit my job of almost 5 years last week and packed up, and am heading for Alaska next week to spend the summer commercial fishing (season #10!) made the decision completely on a whim, but whatever, it’s what adventures are made of

Part of the yurts major appeal is it is impermanence. The goal is a 16 footer, if I can get that great, anything else is a bonus and will try to build as large as budget allows

Lumber is too spendy to build something permanent. If I built a yurt and wanted to take a job mining gold in the Yukon or some sort of adventure in Alaska or move out to Montana or whatever, even if I got a job on a ship somewhere worst case scenario the yurt can be boxed up and put in storage with my things

The idea of being mobile and not being tied down by a physical house has major appeal these days
 
16' would be fine. If it is just for the summer it will light since you won't need wall studs and your rafters can be light. I would look at something like Groovy Yurts or some other such portable yurt. They generally take a while to order though and I don't know of any yurt company that will give you a week turnaround.

You may want to check out our Classifieds:

https://www.yurtforum.com/classifieds/
 
16'er is in your future. I had one for 5 years. Dynamite size for a single dude. Portable affordable comfy. Cot, two 6' tables set side by side with wash bin and gas stove and water tainer on them, two chairs, a wood stove in the middle, two storage chests, and a wheelbarrow with stove wood will fill it full, but fit OK. Get a 15 year with a window or better yet two windows if you can afford it. Set up and tear down in a couple hours. Easy to transport. 18 foot would be a bit more roomy. Good luck and enjoy life up there.
 
To see my 16'er on google images : Bob Rowlands homemade yurt

Mine is the rustic yurt with rafters either side of a green door.

I built it from the 16' basic plan found here: BUILDING A MONGOLIAN YURT-SOLARIPEDIA
 
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