Insulation

[Jafo]

Here is some more information about the denim

insulation

:

Bonded Logic - Manufacturer of Environmentally Friendly Insulation and Padding Products

[Jafo]

Corina, you probably did, but just to be sure: did you add weatherstripping to the sidewalls where they overlap the skirt? See below:

http://www.yurtforum.com/forums/buil...0.html#post128

[Jafo]

Bob over at Juicymaters has an interesting article about this:

» Yurt living: More thoughts on how-to stay warm

[cmwingfield]

Hello,
I'm new to the forum but I've lived for five years, full-time in a 24' Colorado Yurt. I heat with wood and the first couple of years were kinda cold, but for the past few years things have been fine. I have the shiny/bubble wrap

insulation

in the ceiling and I also installed the foam sheathing panels over the insulation and hold it in place with insulation stays. (If you're not familiar with insulation stays, they are pieces of stiff wire you cut and they fit between the rafters and hold the insulation without permanent attachment. For the walls, I used the thin

moisture

barrier that comes in sheets from Lowes. I then went to Academy Sport and bought 24 polyfill sleeping bags that I slid behind the wall lattice next to the thin blue insulation. I used those little clip things that are used to hold up curtains and zip tied them to the compression cable. They clip to the top of the sleeping bags and keep them from sagging. I can take the sleeping bags down and wash them and then put them back up. The sleeping bags cost 8 dollars each and I got all the green ones so the colors are the same! It looks good and it holds the heat. I also insulated the floor which made alot of difference. I'm open for questions as I feel my description isn't very clear.

[Jafo]

Ok, you may just get the Yurt Forum most creative insulation award with that sleeping bag idea. That is most awesome. It has me thinking, have you ever thought of stuffing the sleeping bags with something? I dunno, shredded clothing maybe? That might bump up the R value a little.

Do you live by yourself in the yurt or?

If you ever get time, we would love to see some pics of your setup.

Thanks for sharing and welcome aboard!

- Jeff

[cmwingfield]

Thanks! I haven't felt the need to stuff the sleeping bags. They are the kind that unzip which makes them approx. six feet square. I have them stacked two deep so there is about four inches of insulation. I live in Arkansas, so we have rather mild winters, but it still gets down into the twenties on many winter nights and the sleeping bags seem to work well. As for pictures, I have many but I don't think I know how post them. I live alone with my Boston Terrier Marty. I'm retired and have been for the past four years and I consider myself to be a young 60. I have tried solar, composting toilets, hauling water by hand, and many other successful and unsuccessful yurt living experiments. I can say after five years that living the my yurt has been the best thing I could have done for myself. Thanks for the welcome!

[djspn]

cmwingfield..............Thanks for sharing your experience, I hope we hear more of your other successful and unsuccessful yurt living experiments.

[cmwingfield]

Ok, here's an obvious problem solver, yet not so clear in the beginning. Insulate your floor when you build the deck rather than after the yurt is pitched. I did it the hard way and laying on your back under the yurt is much more difficult. By insulating the floor I was able to raise my winter temp. inside by at least 10 degrees all things being equal. I used fiberglass bats that I acquired from a commercial construction site. They were being thrown away as excess so I got it for nothing.

[Jafo]

I think so many people forget about the floor when it comes to insulation because we just naturally think of heat rising. You're so right. Insulation the floor in ANY home will bring an improvement, but especially when the floor is on a deck above ground. I also think that if you blocked airflow under the deck in the winter, it would help mitigate heat loss from convection.

[cmwingfield]

Here's another suggestion that has worked for me. In the heat of the summer, the sun bearing down through the

dome

can really heat up the inside of the yurt. Where I live, air conditioning is not an option as it gets really hot and it is miserably humid. I tried a number of ways to mitigate the sun through the

dome

. I have the screen that is suspended under the dome so I tried putting reflective materials on the screen to block out the sun, but I didn't like how it completely blocked the light source. I found the best solution by taking three medium hoola hoops, laying a line of silicone around the hoop then stretching one of those survival blanket things that are shiny yet translucent over the hoop. You can lay them like Olympic rings on top of the screen, they are light enough to offer limited stress to the screen and they are great to reflect the heat yet some diffused light comes through and you can still see through them to the outside. It works!