Intro and thanks
 

Hi all

Thank you everyone for your input here - questions and answers all! I've seen questions here I've not thought to ask as well as the usual ones.

I'm interested in putting up a lightweight but permanent structure in West Texas desert land. The place is pretty far off the beaten path so I'll be off the grid for certain.

I've stumbled upon this site and forum after someone suggested I look into yurts. So here I am.

I'll do the polite thing and search through the forums before posting a question. If however I do happen to duplicate another's q please be kind, haha. Everyone here seems quite helpful so I've no concerns about being jumped upon for this though :)

If I do begin the path that leads to yurt ownership I'll certainly post pics and provide info for others to learn from, even if it's a lesson on what not to do. Heck, we can all learn things from even the Titanic, haha.

Kind regards
John

Re: Intro and thanks
 

Good luck. I would think that West Texas would be an ideal place for a yurt. Looking forward to seeing your progress. :)

Re: Intro and thanks
 

Yay thank you for that Jafo. It'll be slow going for a while - I need to find a way to build a road to get to the land itself... :P Ol Google Earth shows dirt roads up til the last 1/4 mile or so.

Heading out there again during Thanksgiving hols to recon the place and try different routes - I ran out of daylight last time and only had 1 day to get my bearings (and no internet or mobile access). But it was a good learning process and next time I'll be more ready!

In the meantime I'll have some creative cycles to plan for home building. The land looks fairly level in spots but fairly slopey in most places. I've 30 acres to play with, so if it's affordable I'll likely build a number of structures to make for a holiday getaway for myself and the fam.

Yeehaw :)

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Texas huh? Well you'll get a nice natural cooling draft if you roll up the wall cover a foot or so and crank the roof vent wide open. What I do is roll the cover up until it fits the lowest tension rope and tuck the bottom edge of the cover into the middle tension rope to hold it up secure. I can tell you that draft feels great on a hot day.

Or just set the thermostat to 62 if yer feelin' lazy. lol Welcome to the yurt site.

Re: Intro and thanks
 

Thank you kindly Bob and thanks for the welcome :)

I'll give the first option a go - I'll plan to be using solar and wind power with propane backup, so the aircon option may not be available.

I've stayed in the El Paso area a while ago, so thankfully the climate and critters are known factors here. Coming from Houston I know I'll be trading the West Nile mozzies, flying cockroaches and water moccasins for scorpions, black widows and rattlers :D

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I had an uncle that lived in El Paso for about 30 years, and they loved it. Its high desert, hot and dry much of the year but surprisingly cold in the winter. With little moisture in the air it is no big deal any season. Humidity is the killer.

Good luck.

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Welcome and good luck with your yurt!

Re: Intro and thanks
 

I invite you to consider a Freedom Yurt-Cabin. Our kits come complete with house windows, a dome lifter, and floor structure (no extra platform needed).

As for the pests, I lived in Phoenix for years and found diatomaceous earth to be a great option for pests. You will also want to invest in a black light for scorpion hunting at night.

Feel free to call if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Randall Bowers
Freedom Yurt-Cabins
303-344-0499

Re: Intro and thanks
 

Hi Randall,

Thank you for that and I'll review your information. I'd read about black lights and scorpions before, so now I'll have a perfect excuse to break out my funky poster collection! Like, groovy, man.

Cheers
John