Baby in a yurt?

[yurtgirl]

I'm thinking about living in a yurt, but I have some reservations. Would it be possible with a little baby? Are they safe? My husband is worried about a yurt being easy to break into or burn down or something. He worries about us being there alone. Any sage advice?

[Jafo]

Originally Posted by yurtgirl

I'm thinking about living in a yurt, but I have some reservations. Would it be possible with a little baby? Are they safe? My husband is worried about a yurt being easy to break into or burn down or something. He worries about us being there alone. Any sage advice?

The structures are safe IMO. Are they easy to break into? Well actually you are kind of surrounded by a large lattice wall so I don't think that is easy to break through. I suppose someone could cut a hole in the roof, but I guess they could just break a window in a regular house too.

Most of the manufactured yurts are fire retardant so I wouldn't say there is any more risk for fire.

What part of the country are you living in?

[Jafo]

Here's a thread you might also be interested in:

http://www.yurtforum.com/forums/yurt...ldren-209.html

[yurtgirl]

I live in Ohio. Thanks for the link to the previous post! Very helpful.

[Bob Rowlands]

First comment, get a dog.

Secondly, keep the yurt door locked at night or while you are away just as in a conventional home. IMO, any maladjusted miscreant that is moronic enough to attempt unlawful entry into your yurt at night should be greeted by the sound of a pump shotgun having a shell jacked into the chamber, a flashlight beam pointed their way, and "Halt right there!". You'll immediately have their full undivided attention I guarantee.

As for "Is a yurt appropriate for young children?", consider that untold generations of children have been successfully raised in Mongolian yurts.

As for fire danger, a wood stove can be very safely installed in a yurt.

FYI, yurts aren't like conventional homes where you cannot hear what is going on outside. You basically hear everything that is going on outside the yurt.

Good luck.

[yurtgirl]

What about severe weather? What do you do if there's a tornado?

[Jafo]

The yurt handles high winds in most weather just fine due to its round shape. If you are in a tornado prone area, I would suggest a storm cellar of some kind though. That goes with any structure in those locations really.

[Bob Rowlands]

Last year I happened to be in our home when a weird roaring sound suddenly came out of nowhere and got louDER AND LOUDER!! in just a few seconds. Then EXTREMELY LOUD!!! We live immediately adjacent to the Air Force Academy flying field, and I thought a jet plane was about to crash.

Well turns out it was a whirlwind, a mini tornado. It went directly across the roof of our home, making a heck of a racket. I jumped up and looked out the back sliding door just after the whirlwind jumped off the roof, and !!! made a beeline for my yurt. It went directly over the top of the yurt-I saw it plain as can be with all the debris swirling in the vortex. My yurt jumped up a few inches and instantaneously inflated like a balloon, then dropped down and resumed its normal shape. All this took maybe two seconds.

I'm glad I wasn't in it. It would have scared the bejabbers out of me. If that yurt wasn't roped down solidly to ten heavy concrete anchors buried in the ground, it likely would have been way more seriously damaged than just the few laths that busted.

I lost my first yurt in a blizzard due to not having it tied down. The second one I built got solidly anchored. Now, it is anchored to a wood platform. Even so, a real tornado would totally waste it in a heartbeat.

Moral, if you opt for a yurt, at the very minmum, anchor it solidly to the ground, or better yet, a platform solidly anchored to concrete piers.

Good luck