Building the Yurt at Straw Hollow

There are two major components in a yurt... the wooden framework and the canvas covering.

The wooden framework consists of the walls (called the "khana"), the door, and the rafters which radiate from a central, circular hub.

After deciding on the size of our yurt (we chose an 18-foot diameter) we purchased the lumber: thirty five 8-foot 2x4's for the khana and door, and nine 10-foot 2x4's for the rafters.

We cut each of the 8 ft 2x4's down to 6 feet, then lengthways into quarters, to create a total of 120, 6-foot 1x2's. You might wonder why we didn't just buy 1x2's in the first place. Good question. We were just trying to save some money, as 2x4's seem to be about the cheapest dimensional lumber available.

Now, drill holes in the 1x2's using a 5/16" drill bit. Starting from one end, drill holes at 4", then every 16" until you get to the other end. You'll end up with five evenly spaced holes, and 4" spare at the other end.

For the rafters, we cut the ten foot 2x4's down to 9'4", and then lengthwise in half, to create a total of eighteen 2x2's. The rafters require a 5/16" hole in one end, where they will be bolted to the hub, and a notch at the other end, where they will fit onto the cable at the top of the khana.

Make sure that all the lumber you've cut is straight... any warped or cracked 1x2's or 2x2's should be discarded. Cut yourself a few extra lengths of lumber as spares.

The "hub" is the circle to which the rafters are joined. We used a piece of scrap plywwod, and used a jigsaw to create an approximate 3-foot diameter. The rafters radiate from the outer edge of the hub, and are attached by metal brackets commonly known as "cling-ons". These have to be slightly modified. Firstly, enlarge the middle "arm" holes by drilling through with a 1/4" drill bit. Then bend the bracket forward, as shown, by about half an inch. Then screw your "Klingons" equally around the hub.

The door frame is an integral part of the wall, and you need to be fairly precise in the frame dimensions. Using the remaining 2x4's, create a door frame which has an internal width of 3', and an internal height of 5'2". Make it as sturdy as possible, using a combination of steel mending plates and wood glue. There should be two upright 2x4's on each side of the door frame... the wall canvas ends will ultimately be routed between these uprights. Within the frame, create a lightweight door. We used scrap 1" lumber for the door, and a bunch more mending plates. Finally, stretch and staple a piece of canvas around the door, and attach the door to the frame with hinges. (door frame photo credit: Michael Powers)

The next step is to take your 120 drilled 1x2's, and with 300 1/4" x 2" hex bolts, 300 nuts and 600 washers, join your 1x2's together in a criss-cross pattern to create your khana. For ease of construction, it's better to split your 120 1x2's into three groups of 40, in order to create three smaller khana's. They will be joined together later. This is a fairly tedious task, but once done, you have the entire wooden framework of your yurt complete. Time to take out the sewing machine!

We searched all over for a reasonably priced source of canvas. Our yurt called for about 150 yards of water-resistant, treated canvas. At an minimum price of CDN$10 per yard, the total price tag would be very steep, so we found a low cost alternative: heavy duty painters canvas dropcloths! We found a 12' x 15' size at CDN$40 each. That works out at about CDN$1.50 per square yard. So despite a slight variation in quality and weave between each of our seven dropcloths, we saved a good chunk of cash.

The next step was to figure out how to use our sewing machine. Having never encountered such a contraption before, there was some trepidation. But it really isn't too difficult to master. Get a friend to show you the basics, or as in our case, just try to follow the owner's manual.

The first thing sewing job was to sew four of our seven tarps together to create one HUGE square tarp. We then drew a 25' diameter circle on it, cut it out and hemmed the edge.

So far so good. Except we ran out of thread already. This is a very thread-hungry project... you'll need to buy about 2 kilometres of strong nylon thread altogether.

We then cut a "V" shape in the circle, so as to create the ultimate cone shape of the roof.

Now, despite our fabulous savings on canvas, we knew that even the lightest rainfall would leak right through, so we bought a large, 5-gallon bucket of 100% acrylic paint on sale, and painted both sides of the roof canvas. This created a watertight, plasticized coating.

We then erected the roof structure on the ground, placed the canvas on top, and pinned where the "V" cut edges would be joined together. At this time we also cut off the pointed cone that stood above the hub, and in its place pinned, then sewed, then painted, a 3' diameter circle of canvas.

The final step in sewing the roof canvas was to sew reinforced loops around the perimeter of the roof, which will ultimately help anchor the roof canvas.

Next step is to sew the walls. We cut, and laid out the panels on the ground. It's very easy to get confused while sewing the walls, and end up sewing panels or windows back to front and upside down, so laying them all out on the ground keeps things visually in order. The tops and bottoms of the wall canvas are hemmed, and then the top is again folded down a couple of inches, and sewn vertically every ten inches, in order to create "pockets" or "hangers" for the finished wall.

We decided not to bother with plastic "windows", electing to use bug screening and canvas flaps instead. In order to create the windows, cut holes in the canvas in the approprate places (think about views and cross ventilation) and then pin them as shown, folding the edges of the netting under the folded edges of the canvas. This gives the final result a neat, clean and professional look. You could simultaneously sew in clear PVC at this point if you choose.

Finally, we sewed together all the wall panels, making a sixty-foot long wall. As with the roof canvas, the walls required waterproofing. We decided that we didn't want the thick acrylic colour coating like the roof canvas, so we opted for three gallons of tent canvas waterproofing, letting the walls "breathe" while giving them water, mildew and UV repellancy.

That's it! The canvas is done!

Before we put everything together, we needed a place to site our yurt. Our first choice was a wood deck, but the cost of lumber was prohibitive. So we opted for the next best thing... concrete. Not pretty, or energy efficient, or environmentally sound, but it gives a good, level base for the yurt. It's 4" above grade, with an 18'4" diameter. It's located just a few steps away from our straw bale cabin.

Here's the reward for all that hard work. Take the three sections of khana and attach one to each side of the door assembly. Some cutting and trimming is required to make them fit. The third khana is then attached to make a circle. Make sure that the circle is the correct diameter, then attach 60' length of cable around the top, using a turnbuckle. The cable will support the rafters, amd simultaneously prevent the rafters from pushing the top of the khana out.

It's a good idea to have a few friends at hand when you put up the rafters. In a yurt of this size, the hub is about twelve feet above the ground, so with one person perched on a ladder, supporting the hub, the other three people place the notched ends of the rafters on the cable. It is possible to do this with only two people... we're the proof of that... but it's certainly not recommended. It's very easy to damage the hub if it's dropped or twisted.

Next, we put the roof canvas up. With one person inside the khana, perched on a ladder, and the other outside the khana, pulling on ropes attached to the edge of the canvas, it is fairly easy to pull the roof over the top.

If it's a windy day, it's advisable to temporarily tie down the roof to pegs hammered into the ground while you put up the wall canvas. Besides possibly losing your canvas to the wind, it might also cause rips or punctures in the fabric.

The walls go up quickly and easily. Hook the pockets around the top of the khana, thread the ends of the wall canvas through the gap between the vertical 2x4's of the door frame and attach the ties to the inside of the khana. To secure the roof, you'll need to wrap a 60' piece of nylon rope around the base of the khana. This should tied at 5' intervals to stakes embedded into the ground. Then thread about 300 feet of nylon rope between the reinforced roof loops and the base rope circle.

So that's it! The yurt is complete! It took seven days work, mostly sewing and painting.

The yurt serves as our food preparation, storage, and dining area, and also doubles as a guest room.

The directions we followed were from the book "BUILDING TIPIS & YURTS" by Blue Evening Star. The book has excellent photo's and clear, step-by-step instructions.

Another great source of yurt building info is the article "The Construction of a Yurt" by Ellisif Fkakkari. HAPPY BUILDING!