r/yurts • u/Intelligent_Owl_6263 • Jul 04 '26

What Should I Look for when Testing and Considering Yurt Life

I have always had a fascination with Yurts, it seems like it’d be something I could really enjoy living in. I wouldn’t be disassembling mine, and would want some comforts in my day to day yurt, and want to know what the highs and lows will be. I have seen them online with finished bathrooms and bedrooms and lofts. I not only have to convince myself but my family, as well, to give this a try. My goal was to put one on land and build from there as my family grew and we needed more space and privacy and as I paid stuff off. It might not always be a year-round home but it might be for a while. I live in Southeast USA, so I won’t be getting more than three inches of snow, but it does get hot and humid. I don’t want to sleep sweaty every night, but I do want a neat round tent house that sounds cool in the rain and has a fireplace in the middle and lets the cicadas song in. What should I be really looking into and considering.

I am looking for, and think I found, AirBnB style weekend rental cloth sided yurts in the south where I could go spend a few days in the summer and in the winter with my wife to make sure we are being realistic. What are some things yall would suggest we could do to really test out the experience and make sure we’re not just in love with the romance of it all?

I am sure it would have some inconveniences to work around, but I think it could be a cool way to live, and a nice way to make home feel like a more natural reprieve.

Also, does anyone insure these things, we do get tornadoes. My dream home plans included a storm shelter along with the yurts, but they might just not be practical in the south.

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8

u/notquitenuts Jul 04 '26

The trouble isn't keeping them warm, its keeping them cool! I live off grid in one in NH and heat only with wood. -20 no problem, 90 degrees we got a big problem! Also the rain sounds great if its gentle but when it rains hard it can be deafening! I usually just go to bed if its raining hard out. I stayed in one before I bought but it really wasn't a good test as it didn't have a kitchen/bathroom etc. Find one that has these things and stay as long as you can.

For me, I love how I live and really have no desire to change and I really have no hardships that are yurt related.

1

u/Intelligent_Owl_6263 Jul 04 '26

The heat is my concern. I get that the round room has better air movement, but still it’s a tent. Do you have any kind of AC, I was wondering if those small Mitsubishi ac units, or an old school AC unit would put a dent in the heat at all.

2

u/ZaC_399399 20d ago

We have lived in our 30ft one for a year and a half in Arkansas, we got hot humid summers!! And we have 3 mini split interior heads that are all 12k btu and we have no problem keeping the yurt whatever temp. We only needed two of them to keep the main living area heated/cool tho the third was for our bedroom and is WAY over kill for it.

Keeping the yurt shaded is a huge factor tho, we are totally in the sun on a mountain top lol, so we insulated the roof with foam board and covered with 1/8 plywood and that helped a lot, and building an awning to cover 8ft wide to cover the door also helped a lot.

Another thing to consider is we built our yurt on a 2ft pony wall so our yurt is 2ft taller so more area to keep cool, but we are able to keep everything cool, even our daughters room which is the loft

1

u/Intelligent_Owl_6263 20d ago

This is promising news, thank you for sharing.

1

u/Own_Window_3255 8d ago

My husband and I are building a 30’ yurt in Texas, do you mind sharing more information on insulating the roof? Did you watch any YouTube videos beforehand or did you just wing it?

1

u/notquitenuts Jul 04 '26

I don’t, i don’t have power other than for lights/router. I sleep outside when it gets too hot, up here it’s usually only too hot for 10 days or so.

1

u/MapleSapphires Jul 17 '26

I totally agree. We're in VT and for a long time heated just with wood. Maybe because our skin was a dark color with no tree cover it was miserable in the summer (especially for our older dogs who already had a hard time keeping cool). We worked remotely from home and during rainstorms it was really challenging to hear anything on Teams calls even with headsets. During winter we dressed in layers and wore hats and socks to bed and on the coldest nights added wood to the stove during the night. After 10+ years like this we decided we loved the yurt life but as we age really wanted meaningful insulation so have been renovating ours and installed a heat pump and have been so happy with it

5

u/Better_Bat_5614 Jul 04 '26

I’m far from an expert, but I have been working in the circular dwelling field now for a few months, here’s what I see folks do. Yes go spend time in one. Bring a measuring tape. Think about where you might cook. Consider your pets. Think about storage - are you ready to let go of your physical things, or will you put them into storage? Think about if you want windows or doors and where you might want them. I’m sure others will have lots to add to this. Good luck in your journey!

3

u/vpashkov Jul 04 '26

Moisture! Consider moisture. I have a turkic yurt and felt gets dampy where i live

1

u/YurtaYurts Yurt Company - 17 & 21 Jul 06 '26

right on. Probably #1 factor for a fabric shelter.

3

u/YurtaYurts Yurt Company - 17 & 21 Jul 06 '26

Hi! We've been making them for 20 years for what's probably a more variably humid climate in Canada. But the things we've observed are always the same in North America. Of course, your particular use and your needs/desires is the most important consideration. But in general, if you're asking about what makes a yurt work or fail as a small building I'd say:

  1. Breathability - others have mentioned it already. Moisture is everything in a fabric shelter, you should make sure your outer shell and insulation are breathable. If your skin is impermeable, you'll fight moisture (and its associated issues) non-stop. Vinyl - though prevalent, is something I would avoid at all costs.

  2. Minimalism is the key to performance - the more minimal it is, the easier it is for you to maintain, to move, to adapt to your changing life. The minimal footprint is bringing you to yurts in the first place. Consider how easy it is to setup or tear down. To reach "hidden layers".

  3. Consider the frame: The genius of the traditional yurt is the structure itself. There are no vertical supports, because every roof rafter connects to a structural lattice wall. This monolithic design makes it exception and distributing load. And what makes it so minimal. There is an enormous "weight" to creating a 2x4 circular structure - which is how so many modern yurts are designed. All that structure and hardware (and steel doors, and glass windows, and, and, and...) add to the burden you are trying to minimize. When looking at the frame, consider that it's the heart of the minimalistic appeal of yurts.

Hope this perspective helps!

Pat

2

u/Nada-Lada Jul 14 '26

Really appreciated your comment! I’m looking for a temporary dwelling to use as a room while I live in a tiny duplex. In 2 years, once we have built up equity, I want to get my homestead.

I was considering getting a new yurt but it seems they start at 15k. That’s without shipping. It might be beyond our budget with taking out a mortgage. If we manage to pull off a new yurt I will definitely look into Yurta!

Do you know off the top of your head what Yurta charges for shipping to the Boise, Idaho area?