Yurta 17
10’ peak
11’ peak
Available in two models:
- 17.86 - 7’ wall height with an 11’ peak
- 17.72 - 6’ wall height with a 10’ peak
The 17’ Yurta is the essence of minimal footprint and the best expression of what a yurt is meant to be. The frame is fully assembled in our shop and sets up like an umbrella with a single cable and two pins. Two people deploy the Yurta structure by joining the ring, the frame and the door without turning a screw or hammering a nail in about 15 minutes. The remaining installation of felt and covers takes an additional 2-3 hours.
The 17’ frame is “bottomed-out” : It’s as light as we can make a structure that can still withstand snow and wind load extremes. Unique in North America today, Yurta is a structural circle - the cone-shaped roof is hard-connected to the lattice wall, which acts as a spring. The hardwood frame’s geometry is uniform and it becomes monolithic during setup. This allows the structure to share load exceptionally with an extremely minimal footprint. This is the genius of the traditional design.
Minimal but strong, Yurta has survived hurricanes and Arctic extremes! It is still designed to be packed up and moved as needs change. With some forethought, the 17’ Yurta can be fully installed with round floor and deck in less than a day, and moved anytime without ever rebuilding a thing or disturbing the soil. Keeping it light makes this possible.
We have been making the 17 since 2004.
Yurta 21
12’ peak
Available in one model:
- 21.86. - 7’ wall height with a 12’ peak
The 21’ Yurta is necessarily much heftier than the 17’ yurt and is nearly three times heavier. The frame is partially assembled in our shop and is joined into a monolithic whole by a crew of at least two people in about 90 minutes. There are no screws or nails, but some assembly onsite. The remaining installation of covers and felt takes an additional 3-5 hours.
The roof rafters of the 21’ are 2”x5” thick and showcase the stunning beauty of the grain in white ash. They are stunning! The frame slots together into a faithful yurt: cone-shaped roof, fixed to a heavy lattice wall. Although it lacks the flexibility of the 17’ frame, the same load bearing efficiency and the heft of the frame makes it all the stronger.
The 21’ yurt is a much larger scale yurt than the 17’ yurt. The accompanying infrastructure of floor and deck is also much larger, making a 21’ yurt project a significant increase in effort overall. The result is a superb long-term shelter suited to bigger groups and more uses, but that still fits into the back of a pickup truck.
Because of the size of the yurt and the intensity in the production of its parts, we only offer the 21’ yurt on a strictly limited basis. It is made-to-order only since 2016.
Floors + Decks
One of the chief advantages a yurt offers is minimal footprint. Yurta 17 is a lightweight structure that does not require permanent footings or ground disturbance. It can be placed on a well-anchored, adjustable platform or directly on the ground surface without pouring foundations. Yurta 21 is a heftier structure, and we recommend solid footings for a deck of this size.
Yurts do not require a deck, strictly-speaking. A deck is a practical addition to your yurt project because it provides a level surface from which to fully access your shelter for maximum use and care. In this case, any deck is suitable, as long as it is at least one foot bigger than the yurt you install.
To create a micro-climate for all-season use, yurts need a round, raised floor. Yurta’s fabric wall wraps around this round floor to form a near-perfect seal for the yurt. There are many ways to build a round, raised floor. The plans we include are just a starting point.
We offer an optional slotted, insulated floor made of custom SIP panels. Nineteen insulated panels use a tongue and groove system to slot together. Made of birch plywood, they are unfinished for use as subfloor though its minimal grain makes it ideal for staining when used as a finished surface. This floor is not structural and requires a level deck for support.
The Octopad is a floating deck kit with necessary hardware and plans. Users add the lumber to make a free-standing, portable and self-leveling deck that is designed to sit directly on the soil. It requires no poured foundations and minimal site preparation. Once eight triangular modules are built, they can be installed or dismantled in about 2 hours with a proprietary bracket mount and screw jacks. Each module is individually leveled on uneven terrain while it is installed. There is no effort of leveling a deck frame first. Later, if soil should heave or give in any location, one or more of the Octopad’s screw jacks can be adjusted up or down to return to a level surface in minutes.
Placing a Yurta or platform directly on the surface this way allows the ground to recover quickly and leave virtually no trace. This makes the Octopad particularly valuable for setups that will be moved again after setup.
