Nice article about yurts and Shelter Designs

[Jafo]

Yurt business thriving as people search for simplicity - Daily Inter Lake: Local/Montana

Here is a snippet:

When Beth McDonald wanted to downsize from a 3,800-square-foot home in Massachusetts, she chose the simplicity and portability of an ancient form of living space — the yurt.

She purchased her new home, which she said took approximately eight hours to put up with the help of friends at a yurt-raising party, from

Shelter Designs

of Troy, a growing yurt-production enterprise located about 15 miles west of Troy near the Idaho border.

“I researched the companies and they had a good reputation,” McDonald said. “They make a really nice yurt.”

Hays Daniel, 33, and Vince Godby, 45, are the owners of

Shelter Designs

.
“We’re extremely remote,” Daniel said. “People are always surprised to hear there is a busy manufacturing business in the middle of nowhere. It’s very fitting for what we do and the materials we use. We work with a lot of local sawmills, and local people help to supply lumber for the yurts.
“Shipping is difficult, but we manage. We’ve become well-versed in crating and freight logistics.”

The shipping component to their business is important to master, as Shelter Designs’ yurts have been shipped to Tazmania, Australia, Hawaii and all over the continental United States. The yurts are delivered as kits, and the company has just finished creating a setup video along with a 30-page book of instructions.

It’s not too complicated to erect a yurt, though, Daniel said.
“You only have to make some small cuts, and you can use mostly hand tools,” he said. “When you set up the wooden frame, everything is sanded and oiled, the doors are hung and ready to go. There’s no shimming or trimming. Even on our largest yurts, a crew of three to five people can have it set up and done in one or two days.”