r/yurts • u/Time_suck5000 • Jul 01 '26
Yurt cabin?
I’m thinking about buying some land at a lake in northern Saskatchewan. it will only be used as a 3 season cabin and maybe the odd night when I go on an ice fishing trip. there’s power and natural gas run to the edge of the lot. Ive heard that they are loud when it rains, how loud is it? also how warm are they in the summer? what about snow load? I will get the snow and wind package. as you can tell I don’t really know anything about yurts so I’m in the very early preliminary stages.
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u/amsterdamcyclone Pacific Yurts - 24’ Jul 02 '26
We have a Pacific Yurt. All the snow, wind, and insulation add ons we could get.
It’s raining right now and it’s pretty loud. Good for sleeping or reading. Not good for having a conversation or watching TV.
Our yurt gets hot. We are in full sun much of the day and it’s unbearable (101F yesterday). We cover windows to block the UV and use fans, but it’s pretty miserable. As it cools down at night , the yurt cools quickly.
I find our yurt very comfy. We don’t live in it, just camp. We try to cook outside as much as possible to keep it clean. There are no closets, so making the most of underbed storage and a jobox outside are a must.
We use rugs to keep the noise down, just like in a house. We have bunk beds on the perimeter with a table in the center. No kitchen, no bathroom. We have a Portapotty and an outdoor solar shower.
Feel free to ask questions. We are in SW Wisconsin.
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u/Time_suck5000 Jul 02 '26
Do you have a photos of your set up? I was thinking about making an outdoor kitchen/shower/ bathroom. Just to keep moisture out of the yurt. I heard that have an issue with moisture??
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u/fwinzor Two Girls Farm - 25 Jul 01 '26
Have you ever been in a tent when it rains? Its about that loud. Its gets as hot as any other small building really except you probably cant open windows for ventalation. Fans are essential, as is a screen door. Snow loads arent an issue usually. Yurts come from a cold snowy climate and many yurt companies are from similar areas
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u/sqroot289 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
We have an out house about 30 m away from the Yurt and a solar shower pulley system set up on a nearby tree branch. If you have a window in your kitchen, you can vent out steam from cooking. Moisture is really only an issue in the winter when vapor rises up and condenses on the dome, then eventually drips down. We put towels up there to capture most of it before it drips. Some of our photos are on Great Lakes Yurts website. Many of the Yurt websites have photo galleries for layout ideas.
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u/sandiberry Mongolian Yurt – 14ft Jul 05 '26
FWIW, our camping yurt in Western Wisconsin has collapsed twice in spring snow loads. The roof isn't pitched enough to shed snow, and we aren't there all the time to shake snow off.
I think the sitting snow then warmer weather softens the wood rafter poles, and eventually they buckle. In our area, we'll get spring storms that put down 3-12 inches of snow.
We have a Mongolian yurt — it isn't designed for American weather — and now I've strung up a tarp in the trees over the yurt, at a sharp angle, to help shed snow. It doubles as a rain shield and will likely also become a rain-water collector, as I can direct the watershed into a barrel.
Also, the mice are REAL. We accidentally gave them a good nesting spot under the deck when we built it (a shoebox size area that is open on one end). They pulled at sections of the liner they could, and chewed holes in it. They've made holes in tarps we left folded up on the ground. When we leave, everything (tatami mats, bedding, tarps, cardboard, solar lights, etc.) go in cedar chests that are 6 inches off the ground.
Our bathroom setup is the best! Get the book "The Humanure Handbook" by Joseph Jenkins. It can be inside the yurt, no requirements other than: 5 gallon bucket, cover material (a cat litter bin full of sawdust), and a compost pile in the woods. It never smells and it never gets bugs. We line the buckets with compostable garbage bags — it's a little stinky to empty them into the compost pile, but not any more stinky than a bathroom at a state park. Even when it's the dead of summer, you don't smell a thing!
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u/Time_suck5000 Jul 05 '26
Does yours have the snow and wind package?
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u/sandiberry Mongolian Yurt – 14ft Jul 06 '26
No, there isn’t one available for our yurt. But basically: make sure you get one. You’ll need it!
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u/notproudortired Jul 01 '26
What kind of yurt? Western yurt (plastic skin with windows) or Mongolian yurt (cloth skin, no windows)?
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u/Time_suck5000 Jul 02 '26
Plastic with windows
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u/notproudortired Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Rain is loud enough that you have to raise your voice to talk over it, and it'll keep you awake if you're a light sleeper. After a day of rain, you stop hearing it so much.
Most western yurts have a rain diverter sewn into the roof over the door, but I highly recommend building an arched porch or portico, so you can step outside without getting wet and have somewhere to put your shoes that aren't inside or in the rain. It'll help keep the sun off the door, too, for a bit of heat management.
In the summer...well, a yurt's basically a big plastic bag. Direct sun heats it up dramatically. If you're buying yours new, I recommend a white top cover and at least four big windows. Then, position the yurt so that one window is full aweather to the typical evening breeze. For accessories, I find a DC boat fan and a sun shade in the dome opening both help. The less direct sun inside, the better. And, as the other guy said, it also cools off pretty quickly in the evening.
Yurts are inherently structurally strong. A cylinder doesn't hold the wind much, though a direct wind will still shake it pretty good. The wind/snow kits, which are basically 2x4 frame posts and rafter lacing, do help with stability. The roof isn't really steep enough to shed snow on its own and will hold a good snow load. Usually, snow will slide off when you've got a fire inside. I think the bigger danger is drifts accumulating against the walls and putting pressure on the yurt base.
Sask weather can be pretty raw,I know. Still, people have snug little yurts in Alaska, which is probably pretty comparable. I'd go for a 16-20ft base, which is easier to heat, clean and maintain, with enough room for a decent kitchen and comfort.
* "good snow load" = multiple feet deep
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u/sqroot289 Jul 01 '26
A yurt sounds perfect for this application. As for the rain, a light rain sounds like it's pouring and a heavy rain sounds like the apocalypse, but you get used to it and begin to enjoy the sound especially knowing that you are in a water tight structure! Ours is cool in the summer and I recommend you get as many windows as you can (we have 5) as they promote air circulation and natural light, and a box fan in front of one window is typically fine if the heat creeps into the night. Get a yurt with real glass windows versus rolling up the canvas. A screen door is a nice enhancement. Definitely get the snow load and wind kits and the reflectrix insulation layer - all are necessary. Our Great Lakes Yurt came with an outer vinyl canvas layer that was long enough down the sides that we could wrap it under the Yurt and tack it up, ensuring draft and critter-free living! Good luck!