Site Search
If you found the information useful, consider to make a donation:
| |
written by Rene K. Mueller, Copyright (c) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, last updated Sat, January 3, 2015
UpdatesFri, December 18, 2009: Last update, moved to France and describe with a bit longer entry
.
Sun, July 6, 2008: Photos from the take down, which I finally put up - with these the yurt diary also ends
.
Sun, April 20, 2008: Last days, concluding total wood usage for winter season 2007/2008, and larger skylights grids finished
.
Sat, April 5, 2008: Skylight grids further refined, with some photos.
.
Sat, March 22, 2008: Various skylight supporting grids with willow bows made, with photos and an illustration
.
Mon, March 10, 2008: Milder days, storm aftermath with a few thoughts how to prepare for a storm
.
Sat, January 5, 2008: Added PVC to seal brittle older PE wall cover - concluding longlivity of PE for yurt usage after apprx. 24 months
.
Sat, December 22, 2007: December solstice, past days trying to dry the insulation which got wet before winter returned
.
Mon, October 29, 2007: Roof thermal insulation put up, roof extension over the door and also a door frame extension covering junctions.
.
Tue, October 23, 2007: Replacing door without taking down the yurt, and putting up the thermal insulation of the wall.
.
Thu, September 6, 2007: Cooler weather, higher temperature range in the yurt, attaching stove pipe again, and looking at compost as heat source.
.
Sat, August 4, 2007: Built a quick attached room with existing lattice-wall of 12m length.
.
Sat, June 30, 2007: Kind of picked up the diary again, and updated it with various entry, weather diary, fixing small things on the yurt, meeting stone age enthusiast.
.
Sat, April 28, 2007: Yurt is taken down, and on the existing floor the geodesic dome has been moved with a preliminary setup.
.
Tue, January 2, 2007: Visiting Chris Aeppli and his 7.5m yurt and new photos of the interior.
.
Thu, December 14, 2006: Skeleton of travel yurt finished, first erection
.
Sun, November 26, 2006: Finishing thermal insulation setup, new PE rain cover - ready for winter 2006/2007.
.
Sun, November 5, 2006: Further updates on progress thermal insulation with straw filled jute blankets
.
Sun, October 22, 2006: More updates on progress of new place and its setup
.
Mon, October 9, 2006: After couple of weeks I updated the diary with new entries (Fall Approaching, New Place Found, Preparing Moving etc)
.
Sat, September 9, 2006: Visited Claudius Kern, a few photos of his two level yurt
.
Fri, July 7, 2006: More photos of door construction (vertical laths based)
.
Wed, May 31, 2006: Photos of two wheels / toonos I'm working on (not yet finished), and a couple of wonderful fotos of a sunset of the last day of May 2006
.
Fri, April 21, 2006: Updated diary with few photos of repairing skylight (dried tape replaced)
.
Mon, March 6, 2006: Interior photos and a video-clip added
.
Sat, January 7, 2006: Added more pictures, added more insulation layers.
.
Fri, November 25, 2005: More photos, first real snow, roof cover construction photos added as well
.
Tue, November 8, 2005: Updated the last days with photos, yurt erected with raincover and thermal insulation, preparing the interior
.
Sun, October 23, 2005: Added photos to the last days entries, toono, roof cover, and door construction
.
Mon, October 17, 2005: Rain cover done, toono cover finished with clear PVC, and sew main cotton roof canvas, and attached cords on wall canvas to bind them.
.
Fri, October 7, 2005: Premiere yurt put up, without cover as of now
.
Wed, October 5, 2005: Making of crown-wheel (toono) and its cover
.
Fri, September 23, 2005: Making of the khana
.
Sat, September 17, 2005: Starting the yurt diary
.
|
Welcome to my Yurt Diary.
I spent the summer 2005 in a tipi, and prepared myself a shelter for the winter 2005/2006: a yurt - which this diary started.
A friend of mine joined me to build a yurt in fall of 2005 - we acquired some material together, but actually build our own yurt separately.
As of November 2005 I moved from my tipi to the yurt, which I erected with thermal insulation. Then I prepared the interior with stove, bed, tables and infrastructure to live and work in it - I was using WC, shower, washing machine and kitchen in the nearby farming house.
As of October 2006 I moved to a new place, apprx. 500m to a neighbouring farmer with a great place, a bit exposed to winds but on the other hand a great vista. At this place I have running water (spring, cold and hot), and I'm able to use WC and washing machine from the neighbour; kitchen and shower I build now myself.
As of April 2008 I took the yurt down and no longer update this diary anymore, but keep it online.
Update October 2009: I relocated from Switzerland to France and pitched my yurt a new grounds.
It has been a wonderful experience so far to live and work in the yurt.
Some who know me personally may miss my spiritual perspective on this all, but for now I like to keep this Yurt Diary rather informative for yurt builders than for people who know me personally and like to know what I'm doing these days and so forth.
![](/view/Pics/2006.Yurt/gruben-panorama-2006-10-22.jpg-w500.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Panorama, Oberduernten (Switzerland) 2006 |
- 2005: Oberduernten (Switzerland), in summer living in a tipi, in fall moving into the yurt
- 2006: Oberduernten (Switzerland), in fall moving to a new place nearby, upgrading yurt, and a colleague, joins me with her yurt placed nearby yet wishes not be documented here
- 2007: ditto, alone on the location and spending winter 2007/2008 still here, spring 2008 moving to a new location
- 2008: took yurt down by April 2008 and moved on
- 2009: moved to Midi Pyrenees (France), pitched the 6.4m and the 4.0m yurt as storage room
![](http://static.flickr.com/2487/4123863323_b3f3be33ba.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Midi Pyrenees (France) November 2009 |
![](/view/Pics/2005.Yurt/img_0066.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Roof Poles on Lattice Wall / Khana, Closeup |
- diameter 6.40m (19.4')
- circumference 20m (67')
- 64 roof poles
- wall height 1.50m (4.5')
- wall geometry
- roof poles/junction width 31.4cm
- hole distance 21.2cm, first hole 6cm below top
- 10 holes/junctions
- roof tilt αroof apprx. 26°
- total height apprx. 2.77m (9.2')
- crown-wheel diameter 1.22m (8 segment polygon)
- area roof 38m2
- area wall 30m2
- door width 94.2cm (3 poles wide, 3 x 31.4cm), 150cm height
- wall/khana: 2 sections each 30 1/2 twin laths
Calculation done via yurt notes I collected.
![](/view/Pics/2005.Yurt/img_0067.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Roof Poles into Crown-Wheel / Toono |
- roof poles: 64 bamboo poles 3.05m long, diameter 2.6-2.8cm (thicker ends)
- 40 poles 2.0cm (narrow ends) and toono holes
- 24 poles 2.3cm (narrow ends) and toono holes
- for a quarter of the toono of 16 poles/holes, 10 x 2cm + 6 x 2.3cm, evenly distributed as far possible: 1+0+0+1+0+1+0+0+1+0+1+0+1+0+0
- wall poles: 142 bamboo poles, 2.12m long, diameter 2.0-2.2cm (thicker ends)
- rain canvas: polyethylen (PE), 8m x 8m (roof) and 20m x 2m (wall)
- insulation: two layers of 1cm thick bubble wrap (roof & wall)
- inner canvas: white wholesale cotton, 6m + 7.3m + 7.5m + 7.3m + 6m each 1.5m wide lanes, sewed together; 2 sections each 10m long and 1.5m height with cords sewed on each 1m.
Total cost apprx. CHF 1000 or € 666 or US$ 800, apprx. 6 work days work to assemble.
- Additional insulation CHF 180 (2x two layered bubble wrap) I added later around January 2006.
- Additional straw based insulation CHF 230 (apprx. 150m jute plus 13 strawbales) apprx. 4 days of work to assemble, as of November 2006.
During 2006 I started to work on more yurts: 2x 6.4m, 1x 8.4m and 1x 9.5m yurt, where doors and crown-wheels are done. Due to limited space I started a small 4m travel yurt, where the skeleton is finished:
The Numbers
![](/view/Pics/2006.Yurt/img_0573.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Travel Yurt Skeleton (4m) |
- diameter 4.0m (12.5')
- circumference 12.5m (37.9')
- ground area 12.56m2
- 40 roof poles (1.82m long)
- 8-segment crown-wheel 0.9m diameter (6cm thick)
- roof angle 28°
- door frame: 1.0m x 1.5m (3 poles wide)
- lattice wall:
- wall height 1.5m (using 1.82m lattice wall laths at 68° crossed)
- lath: 7 holes/junctions 28cm apart, 14cm left (2x 7cm), junctions: 7cm, 35cm, 63cm, 91cm, 119cm, 147cm, 175cm
- 1 section: 37 junctions + 3 poles on door = 40 poles
I intentionally used 1.82m long (15-18mm diameter thicker ends) bamboo sticks: 40 roof poles, apprx. 82 lattice wall laths = 122 bamboo poles. See diary entry around 14. 12. 2006 for more details and photos of the travel yurt.
It will have only a rain cover (PE) and interior cotton, and a simple door frame, where the wall cover will cover the door as well.
A summary of upgrades and lessons learned since I started in fall 2005:
I started with two layers of single layered bubble-wrap, but it was not sufficient to as thermal insulation, so I added two double layered bubble-wrap as mentioned already, which kept the daylight still enter the yurt, but the winter 2005/2006 was long and cold which you can read on the following pages.
As a consequence I was looking for other options for the next coming winter of 2006/2007 to resolve this somehow.
![](/view/Pics/yurt-winter-setup-details-2006.png) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Thermal Insulation (Wall/Roof Setup Detail) Winter 2006/2007 |
As of 2006, while moving to a new place, I discovered the roof bubblewrap totally porous already, which meant it wasn't UV resistant - I had to dispose it.
Also my PE rain cover got already after 1 year porous a bit which resulted in 30-40 tiny holes leaking rain already, both very revealing observations regarding material. I keep the PE rain cover but use additionally bubblewrap as 2nd rain cover beneath the PE cover, knowningly it won't last.
For the wintertime 2006/2007 I made blankets with jute and filled with loose and open straw, apprx. 10-15cm thick.
- wall: blankets 7x 3m long, 1.6m height
- roof: pieslice-wise setup, 12x slices, 3.0m long, 1.6m -> 0.3m wide
and expect much better thermal insulation than 4 layers of bubblewrap (2 layers of single layer & 2 layers of double layer) I had for winter 2005/2006.
![](/view/Pics/2006.Yurt/img_0467.jpg) 2006/11/04 15:52
![](/view/Pics/2006.Yurt/img_0493.jpg) All 13 segments put up ... 2006/11/25 12:59
![](/view/Pics/2006.Yurt/img_0500.jpg) Finished straw insulation with new PE rain cover 2006/11/26 13:59
One quick upgrade I did was attaching an external room using lattice wall of the travel yurt (4m in diameter otherwise):
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0360.jpg) 2007/08/04 14:34
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0362.jpg) 2007/08/04 14:35
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0363.jpg) 2007/08/04 15:53
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0371.jpg) 2007/08/04 15:57
and covered it with PE left-overs. The floor I did with 'one-way' palettes, with some cardboard covered.
![](/view/Pics/yurt-winter-setup-details-2007.png) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Thermal Insulation (Wall/Roof Junction Detail) of Winter 2007/2008 |
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0567.jpg) ![](/imgs/blowup.png) Roof Extension over Door |
It turned out a bit cumbersome when I like to work on the yurt, as I first have to partially disassemble the attached room before I can untie the yurt - so it's really a very temporary solution. Unfortunately I can't put up another yurt at the current place, otherwise I would prefere a separate yurt instead of an attached room, or find another way to attach a room where the building dependencies are significantly smaller, which is a kind contradiction given "attached room".
This year I used an additional bubblewrap layer on the roof as moisture blocker and dust blocker from the straw insulation, which gave a slightly better insulation, apprx. 0.7°C/hour drop instead of 1°C/hour drop of last year (temperature difference 15°C inside to outside).
I also extended the roof for the door, in order to protect the door from rain and extend its usage this way.
Finally also I made a "classic" wider door frame, to cover up the junction where thermal insulation and rain cover approaches the door frame.
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0568.jpg) Wooden hinge on door frame / extension 2007/10/27 16:25
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0569.jpg) Attaching extension 2007/10/27 16:38
![](/view/Pics/2007.Yurt/img_0570.jpg) Extension detail (1 of 3) 2007/10/27 16:38
I also was able to conclude following by January 2008, after 27 months using PE as yurt material:
- roof PE cover (120g/m2) lasts 12-16 months, then it has significant holes leaking rain through; putting up and down and fold the roof rain cover reduces lifetime
- wall PE cover (120g/m2) lasts 24-28 months, then it becomes brittle, and becomes wet itself and leaks thereby
As another skylight upgrade I used willow sticks as spokes and formed a supporting star between the two layers of PVC preventing heavy snow pushing the cone inside which only happened a few times (2-3 times in the winter); often the snow slided or even melted when I was heating the yurt, but the few times it happened it was early morning when I usually didn't heat yet.
Another two skylights for two 122cm diameter crown-wheels I made using skinned willow bows:
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0153.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rod (diameter 122cm) 2008/03/22 13:48
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0154.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rod, close up connection to frame 2008/03/22 13:48
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0155.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rod, close up center 2008/03/22 13:48
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0175.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes 2008/04/05 14:37
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0176.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes (closeup) 2008/04/05 14:37
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0177.jpg) Skylight grid: single willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes (closeup) 2008/04/05 14:37
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0150.jpg) Skylight grid: double willow rods under-aside-over (diameter 122cm) 2008/03/22 13:47
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0151.jpg) Skylight grid: double willow rods under-aside-over, close up connection to frame 2008/03/22 13:47
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0152.jpg) Skylight grid: double willow rods under-aside-over, close up center 2008/03/22 13:47
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0178.jpg) Skylight grid: dual willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes 2008/04/05 14:39
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0179.jpg) Skylight grid: dual willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes (closeup) 2008/04/05 14:39
![](/view/Pics/2008.Yurt/img_0181.jpg) Skylight grid: dual willow rods with bamboo rings & shortened subspokes (closeup) 2008/04/05 14:39
The bows are ~140cm long, 0.9-1.5cm single bow, 0.5-1.0cm double bow under-aside-over, and it will be covered with two layer bubble-wrap.
Continue to read my detailed diary on the following pages.
Next Page >>
Content: - Page 1: Introduction, My Location, The Yurt: Numbers & Materials, Numbers, Materials, Additional Small 4m Travel Yurt ...
- Page 2: Diary, 05. 05. 2010: Leaving, 23. 10. 2009 - 18. 12. 2009: Moved to France, Pitched the Yurt Again ...
- Page 3: 10. 3. 2008: Milder, Snow Gone, 5. 3. 2008: Little Snow, Temperature Drop, 2. 3. 2008: Fixing Skylight ...
- Page 4: 8. 1. 2008: Sunny January Day, 7. 1. 2008: Milder, Rain & Sunshine, 5. 1. 2008: Adding PVC Layer to Seal Wall Rain Cover ...
- Page 5: 27. 11. 2007: Winter - No Snow Anymore, 20. 11. 2007: Warmer Temperatures, Very Localized Climate, Wood Usage ...
- Page 6: 27. 10. 2007: Roof Extension over Door, Door Frame Extension, 26. 10. 2007: First Experience with new Thermal Insulation ...
- Page 7: 5. 9. 2007: Temperature Range, 3. 9. 2007: Attached Stove Pipe Again, 30. 8. 2007: Harvesting Bluebyrd Plums ...
- Page 8: 30. 6. 2007: Tipi & Stone Age Enthusiast, 27. 6. 2007: Cooler Weather, 21. 6. 2007: Summer/Winter Solstice ...
- Page 9: 29. 4. 2007: Fixing Door and Crown-Wheel, 28. 4. 2007: Yurt Taken Down - Dome Raised ...
- Page 10: 24. 1. 2007: Winter Arrived Finally, 18. 1. 2007: Another Stronger Storm, Still Mild & Mouse ...
- Page 11: 26. 12. 2006: Winter/Summer Solstice & Humidity, 14. 12. 2006: Skeleton of Travel Yurt Finished ...
- Page 12: 25. 11. 2006: Roof Thermal Insulation Put Up, 17. - 20. 11. 2006: Mild Days in November, Finished Roof Segments ...
- Page 13: 3. 11. 2006: First Snow Flakes, Straw Filled Blankets, 2. 11. 2006: Freezing Cold, 31. 10. 2006: Preparing Winter Setup ...
- Page 14: 18. 10. 2006: Preliminary Setup, 17. 10. 2006: Finishing Floor & Yurt Skeleton Errected ...
- Page 15: 9. 10. 2006: Sunny Fall Days, Reusing Bubblewrap, 4. 10. 2006: New Place Found, Preparing Moving ...
- Page 16: 28. 7. 2006: Bamboo Splitting, 24. 7. 2006: Hot Days, 5. 7. 2006: Door Construction, 25. 6. 2006: New Concepts & More Details on Crown-Wheels ...
- Page 17: 26. 5. 2006: New Wheels / Toono, 22. 5. 2006: New Beginnings, 30. 4. 2006: Cold Night, Warm Day ...
- Page 18: 5. 3. 2006: Spring Time, Not Yet, 27. 2. 2006: Warm Inside, 12. 2. 2006: Still Winter ...
- Page 19: 16. 12. 2005: Winter Storm with Rain, 1. 12. 2005: Cold Nights, 25. 11. 2005: Winter Arrived ...
- Page 20: 10. 11. 2005: More Photos, 7. 11. 2005: Minor Adjustments, 6. 11. 2005: First Night, 3. 11. 2005: Errected Again ...
- Page 21: 24. 10. 2005: Door Finished, 22. 10. 2005: Door, 15. / 17. 10. 2005: Cotton Interior, 14. 10. 2005: Toono Cover & Rain Cover ...
|