Reviews? Yurtz By Design Vs Pacific

MeganMcC · 09-22-2016, 02:14 PM

Hi all,

My husband and I are weighing options. We are looking for a 30+ foot yurt, with snow and wind support for Ontario, Canada living (minus 30).

While Pacific seems to lead the industry (no offence, this is just from googling and word of mouth reviews),

Yurtz by Design

is a Canadian company and with the exchange rate as it is, we're trying to figure out if paying more in the US is worth it, or if

Yurtz by Design

has the same level of quality.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Meg

Jafo · 09-22-2016, 02:27 PM

I can only tell you about MY experience with

Pacific Yurts

. I live in Northern NY in the snow belt of the Tug Hill Plateau. We many times rank as first or second for total annual snowfall. My Pacific Yurt has been rock solid when it comes to snow load. I have had no problem with 3-4 feet of snow on the roof before I could snowshoe in and clean it off.

As for cold, you will want to make sure you have a well designed base (deck) that is thoroughly insulated. I have been in my yurt at -30 and I had to crank the woods stove because my base is not insulated. If you can somehow get radiant floor

heating

, do it. It will save you space and heat your entire yurt regardless if you decide to section it off into rooms. Otherwise, I suggest an oversized wood stove.

The

insulation

either of these companies provide is good for radiant heat, but do little to actually hold in warm air. You may need to consider insulating the walls, however, do note that a yurt MUST breath or you will get condensation. There are MANY posts in here about that. When people go crazy and try to over insulate, they get

moisture

and mold.

Hope that helps.

Jay Aimes · 09-27-2016, 05:46 PM

Just my two cents. I've live year round in a 30ft pacific yurt. Huron County, Ontario. This will be my fourth winter. We are in an extremely windy location. Wind charts claim it's the windiest spot on the entire Lake Huron shoreline.Even thought we're 20km inland. But we've recorded 106kmh wind. When Tiviotdale got hit with the tornado this spring. Don't get me wrong. It was scary. Beams creaking. Dishes rattling. floor shaking. but it stood up. Didn't move. I suggest you close in the bottom to the ground. Insulate the floor as much as you can afford. Keep your ropes tight. And get the biggest woodstove you can find. I run an old Lakewood Unicorn. I feed it lots of wood and it keeps me toasty warm. We've had -30 for extended periods, and ten foot snowdrifts. No problem. Sometimes I think an escape hatch in the floor wouldn't be out of line. My door has been buried several times.
Check the photos of finished yurts.
Sorry my two cents turned into a nickel.

Hope that helps.
James