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Do It Yurtself
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- SkyPuncher 7y agoThis was on /r/DIY earlier this week. I was a heavy critic to say the least. The post just didn't feel like a genuine DIY project. ------ OP is a very talented videographer/photographer and it definitely pushed this out of feeling "DIY" for me. I'm glad to see that OP removed some of the forced marketing content to focus purely on the DIY side of this project. I don't really get the whole yurt thing (especially on cost compared to a more traditional route), but it's a neat project.
- djsumdog 7y agoEven though parts of it were kit, it looks like they designed and built a lot of the interior themselves. I wonder if either one took off a sabbatical from work or if they did this all on weekend or after hours. It's pretty neat and a lot of work, even if not entirely DIY. I mean, at some point you're going to buy pre-made parts. It's not like people grow their own trees, cut them down and cut their own planks. It's not a log cabin.
- txcwpalpha 7y agoI don't agree with the negative comments, but I do understand them, and I don't think it just has to do with the use of a 'kit'. A common theme I see on r/DIY is that for a project to be popular with other DIYers, the project itself has to seem like something that can be reasonably accomplished by am average person with only a little bit of help here and there. For example, something like remodeling a bathroom is still a popular DIY project even if you use a 'kit' for stuff like the shower and sink. The big appeal though is that installing new tiles, lighting elements, sinks etc are something that a lot of people can look at and say "yea, I could do that!" This post, on the other hand, has a very "professional experience required" feel to it. From the use of heavy machinery, to having help from friends who are professional designers and hiring professional electricians, to the professional-grade photography, and even just the scale of the project itself, this definitely doesn't seem like something that an average person could reasonably expect to be able to actually "do it yourself".
- nine_k 7y agotl;dr: man builds a home out of 30ft yurt, with modern amenities, in the countryside. The post is a photo report.
- simplecomplex 7y agoI don’t get the fascination with Yurts. It’s a tent. People stopped living in tents as soon as they could, because they don’t stay cool, don’t stay warm, and don’t stay dry. They only work well in gentle, temperate climates. The one advantage to tents is mobility, but Yurts are pretty much permanent tents. They’re the worst tent. If you’re a nomadic group in the plains with not much wood around and a herd of animals it makes sense. Build tents with skins, burn the poo for fire.
- oh_sigh 7y agoHow much house can you build for 65k all in?
- rbritton 7y agoDoing as much as possible yourself, you’re around $80-100/sq ft finished in normally-priced housing areas. Source: my dad’s a builder.
- thekhatribharat 7y agoWhat about when you hire professionals? $200/sq ft?
- MrLeap 7y agoQuite a lot in rural Missouri. 16x40 tiny house built by the amish costs 16k delivered. Includes 2 lofts for beds. Exterior completely done, interior is up to you (that includes wiring, sheetrock, carpet, insulation appliances etc.) 49k gets you quite a lot of interior. Total square footage is 6x this yurt. Pretty though.
- niij 7y agoA fellow Missourian! Have you had one of these tiny houses built by the Amish? Feel free to email me if you want, email in profile.
- tprice7 7y ago
- aaron695 7y agoYou can set up plants in you bedroom like that today. Why haven't you done it? The yurt changes nothing, it's just a normal bedroom. If you don't want to install a skylight it'd be possible with leds in a subtle/attractive/fancy way, go the HN angle Anyway, point is, they have added bedroom porn to the yurt to hack you brain, you go wow awesome bedroom, but it has nothing to do with a yurt. If a yurt actually interests you look at the shell and costings only. Not the interior design. The plants will also be dead soon enough, is there a Tumble of these plant gardens after a year? Hard to setup, but impossible to keep going. There's a startup idea, pretty indoor/vertical gardens that don't die.
- starpilot 7y agoSome terrible, hyper-critical comments so far. A 3d-printed concrete cube with a fridge full of Soylent would be vastly more efficient for productive techies. Can't we just admit that this is an incredibly creative hybrid of old & new. The end result is breathtaking.
- tty7 7y agoSome terrible, hyper-critical comments so far. A 3d-printed concrete cube comment with a fridge full of Soylent would be vastly more efficient for productive techies writing comments on HN. Can't we just admit that this is an incredibly creative hybrid of old & new commenting. The end result is breathtaking comments.
- oh_sigh 7y agoI think people are turned off by the near professional quality of the photos for some reason. The one of the guy using the router in slo mo could be out of a Craftsman commercial.
- jszymborski 7y agoIt does indeed kinda feel like guerilla advertising...
- dakna 7y agoAs someone who tries to build things myself, I think of it as a valid way to monetize what you have learned as passive income to make up for the time it took you to do it. Another well done example is https://faroutride.com/ https://faroutride.com/ . They have a very detailed and highly useful journal of their camper van build.
- jszymborski 7y agoI might be missing something here, but I'm not sure this makes any sense to me. Why should you be owed more than a yurt should you decide to build a yurt? If you're making a post to advertise a service, all I expect is a notice disclaiming as much. Otherwise, it certainly feels dishonest.
- irrational 7y agoIs this Portland Oregon or Portland Maine? I thought it was Portland Oregon, but then they mentioned the footings were 12 inches below the frost line, and there basically is no front line in Portland Oregon since the winters are too warm and rainy. But I assume there is a frost line in Portland Maine.
- oh_sigh 7y agoThe exterior shots look way more like Oregon than Maine. And Portland OR government regulations list the frost line as 18".
- irrational 7y agoThat's crazy. In the 2 decades I've lived in Portland, I've never seen more than the top inch or two freeze, and that's typically only for a few days to a week when a real cold snap sets in. Then it starts raining again and quickly thaws out. I can't imagine it has been cold enough for long enough to freeze down to 18" since the last ice age.
- cloudwalking 7y agoPerhaps at a higher altitude?
- Rediscover 7y ago1996. https://www.oregonlive.com/weather/2014/11/notable_winter_storms_in_orego.html https://www.oregonlive.com/weather/2014/11/notable_winter_st...
- oh_sigh 7y agoThe problem is you can't have your buildings destroyed every 30 years with freak weather. So the frost line for building is set at X00 year depth, and then a little extra.
- maxerickson 7y agoThe website says the Pacific Northwest.
- BooneJS 7y agoHow do you stay warm in the winter? The drafts must be intense.
- justinator 7y agoThe photos of the wood stove may be a clue.
- fastbeef 7y agoAs far as i can see there’s zero insulation and basically no thermal mass to buffer the heat. They’re going to need to keep a fire going 24/7.
- el_benhameen 7y agoI spent a few nights in a yurt in Mongolia. You are correct. Our fire went out at about 4 am one night and I very quickly got cold enough that I wondered for a bit if I was going to die (spoiler: it was fine).
- duncanawoods 7y agoI had the identical experience - so cold! The smell of those horse dung stoves are amazing. However, the most memorable thing arriving in Ulan Bator was seeing two different yurts on fire. Fabric buildings containing wood (dung) burning stoves and chimneys have not looked tempting since.
- stult 7y agoOregon is a pretty warm climate. Just eye balling the terrain, they look to be at a pretty low elevation and probably won't see more than a few weeks of below freezing weather per year. Not sure this would be practical in a more punishing climate.
- fastbeef 7y agoA common misconception is that insulation is about heating only. It’s not, it’s about keeping the indoor climate as steady as possible, which means cool in the summer. Even a moderate summer will be balming hot in a tent.
- lostlogin 7y agoThere is reference to the posters taking a week of peace to help out. How much leave is the statutory minimum? Is just one week common?
- jazzyjackson 7y agoIn USA there is no law requiring paid leave, 2 weeks is common in salaried / full time positions, 4-6 weeks is uncommon.
- irrational 7y agoThere is no law regarding time off. At my work I get 10 fixed days (christmas, thanksgiving, etc.) + 1 day per pay period - so about 36 business days off a year. However, the days can roll over from year to year and I hardly ever take time off because I enjoy working. I currently could take off about 3 months of paid vacaton. Every 5 years I get a 6 week paid sabbatical.
- ehnto 7y agoMake sure you check your state laws around paying out acrued leave. You won't feel like it now, but eventually your current job will come to an end and if it's during turbulent times for the company you may find yourself really missing that 6 weeks of pay if they don't pay it out. I am the same, typically accrue a bunch of leave then when I move to a new job they have to pay it out. But I have been burned before.
- oh_sigh 7y agoThere's a major oversight on the design. How can Maya get to the bedroom?
- justinator 7y agoMagic.
- Tepix 7y agoIt's a feature
- war1025 7y agoThey had one of these (Sukup Safe-T-Home)[1] at my hometown county fair this year and it seemed like a very interesting take on the yurt. It's basically a grain bin that they've modified slightly to work as a shelter. Definitely spent a few minutes fantasizing about having one of these as a cabin in the woods someplace. [1] http://www.safethome.com/Safethome http://www.safethome.com/Safethome
- devenson 7y agoLooks pretty rugged. Cost is roughly 7k.
- dewey 7y agoLooks a bit more optimized for Instagram aesthetics than being practical [1]. It seems like it would get pretty warm in there especially with the bed being at the highest point of the whole yurt. [1] https://www.instagram.com/youdidnotsleepthere https://www.instagram.com/youdidnotsleepthere
- jsonne 7y agoThis looks really incredible! While I see a lot of cynicism in the comments I think this is a really neat project and would love to live in something like this. I love how remote work and self employment let arrangements like this be a viable way to live.
- cwkoss 7y agoWow, imgur has really ramped up the ads and user hostile UX, I wonder if they are going broke.
- puranjay 7y agoI straight up quit halfway through because the videos/GIFs would take forever to load. That and the ever present obnoxious prompt to download the app.
- dajohnson89 7y agohow could they not be going broke?
- bhtru 7y agoImgur for a while has been hostile to non users for a while but never enough for me to outright dismiss a link simply because it's Imgur. They ride the line between functional and hostile tightly.
- 0xdeadb00f 7y agoThey've crossed the line for me by redirecting direct image links to the post. Eg: When I click an i.imgur.com/xxxxxxxx.png link I expect to be taken to the image file, not be redirected to the horrid, slow and bloated mobile UI.
- prepend 7y agoI’m on a slow connection. The ad images loaded first before the actual content. The company is prioritizing ads over user content and I can see no world where users desire this.
- llampx 7y agoThe "users" are the ad exchanges that are buying ad space on imgur. They probably have contracts and SLAs about how slowly ads are allowed to be loaded. In a pinch, ads will always be loaded first. Happens on every site.
- cwkoss 7y agoBeautiful build! I haven't seen a yurt with a raised bedroom like that before, very clever.
- jukik 7y agoBut i think its just some of the best img host
- Abishek_Muthian 7y agoLooks great! For anyone who wondered like me whether the top hole can be closed, it is a closed clear dome[1]. [1]: https://i.imgur.com/JwAMOsG.jpg https://i.imgur.com/JwAMOsG.jpg
- nabaraz 7y agoNeat project but no hard hat?
- cryptozeus 7y agoAmazing job. Wish the plants were real. Pic from the glass roof of the starry night is a must.
- quelltext 7y agoThe plants are real, it's just that they are not directly planted in a planter with soil but the plants remain in their plastic pots (which do have soil in it).
- dvh 7y agoI wonder what is carbon dioxide concentration before sunrise, it must be quite high.
- dvh 7y agoThis is second time in a row I posted factual, on topic information and I am being downvoted. It is well known fact that oxygen level is lowest just before sunrise [1], [2]. In the first photo there is absolutely ridiculous amount of houseplants for such a small room so obviously CO2 levels before sunrise are concern. What are the numbers? Did they measured it. Few plants are fine but so many plants? I would do the measurement just to be safe. [1] https://www.picotech.com/library/results/plant-measurements-during-day-and-night https://www.picotech.com/library/results/plant-measurements-... [2] https://www.quora.com/Is-the-level-of-oxygen-maximum-in-the-morning https://www.quora.com/Is-the-level-of-oxygen-maximum-in-the-...
- cthalupa 7y agoBecause you're linking measurements to small enclosed containers to try and make a point and it's simply nonsensical. A small dog will put out significantly more CO2 sleeping beside your bed than all of those plants will. A person even more - if it was a single person, would you caution them against having another person sleep over due to co2 production? What if they were bringing in a third person to spice things up? Or more pets? Friends crashing on the couch downstairs? We should pay more attention to CO2 levels than we do, especially in offices and particularly enclosed meeting rooms, but plants expire so little co2 in comparison to animals that there's really no reason to worry about them in anything regarding a normal situation.
- skybrian 7y agoIf you want to read about the drawbacks, they're explained here: https://doityurtself.com/is-it-for-you/ https://doityurtself.com/is-it-for-you/
- krn 7y agoTo summarize: living in a yurt – no matter how modern it is – can have the same drawbacks as living in a tent.
- eps 7y agoWith this particular project the con list also includes a compost toilet and the need to climb up and down the ladder to get to your bed. It's OK for few days, but I can see it getting very tiring really quickly.
- ansible 7y agoI don't know about the compost toilet, but I climbed up and down a loft bed during college for years, it didn't bother me in the slightest. Of course, that was decades ago...
- newnewpdro 7y agoIt's not really an issue for a fit person, and serves to preserve one's fitness. When you configure your surroundings for maximum convenience and minimum effort you're more likely to grow fat and lazy sooner than later, it's basically accelerating the aging process.
- sbierwagen 7y ago> If you assume—like I did—that your yurt could be built on leased land and moved at a later date if necessary, you are entering yourself into a world of pain. My biggest regret with this project was building the yurt on land owned by someone I barely knew. If I had waited patiently until I could purchase land of my own, I would probably feel quite the opposite. Wow, I'd like to know more about what happened there. He installed all those concrete pilings on land he didn't own?
- anthony_doan 7y agoThat's pretty neat, I was hoping for a Mongolian style Yurt. But this is a nice take on a modern Yurt.
- jalgos_eminator 7y agoI'd be interested to know where this is when they say "20 minutes from downtown".
- pnako 7y agoTed Kaczynski did it before it was cool.
- purplezooey 7y agoHoly...128 80lb bags. I poured a single footing in my backyard with a 4-5 of the light 20lb bags and said, never again.
- bickfordb 7y agoNo idea why they didn't have conrete pumped. Probably would have been cheaper
- m0zg 7y agoNormal house tax structure: $800k land / $400k structure. This: $800k land / $150k structure. What's the point?
- quickthrower2 7y agoI guess the point is people like different architectures. They have different opinions of what feels like home. And what's with the $800k land? Maybe in cities.
- m0zg 7y agoNope. Seattle area suburbs.
- quickthrower2 7y agoWell that sounds like near a big city.
- bzbz 7y agoWould you agree with the following sentence? “Nothing unprofitable is worth wasting time on.”
- m0zg 7y agoNo, but this looks way too unprofitable (you can't really sell a yurt, so it's much like flushing money down that composting toilet) and very little fun. At least to me.
- saberience 7y agoWell thank god everyone in the world isn't a clone of you then!
- m0zg 7y agoI agree. Suckers are a necessary part of the economy. :-)
- olefoo 7y agoCurious as to why Pacific Yurts didn't make the yurt companies page. https://doityurtself.com/choosing-a-yurt-company/ https://doityurtself.com/choosing-a-yurt-company/ if you've ever stayed in an Oregon State Parks Yurt they were built by https://www.yurts.com/ https://www.yurts.com/
- whimwell 7y agoPacific Yurts is the only company that declined to complete the company questionnaire that I created. Maybe if enough people email them, they'll change their mind :)
- sbmthakur 7y agoI got lost somewhere there. How much all this cost him?
- SergeAx 7y agoHappen to have the answer in my clipboard buffer: "Our yurt came in around $65k which included all the building materials, furniture and appliances."
- speedplane 7y agoIs it just me, or are yurts currently popular just because they have a funny sounding name?
- thekhatribharat 7y agoHow does the construction industry work in the US? Do many people DIY? Do many people get hands-on with building homes while still hiring experts where needed? Is it common for city people to own farms/land nearby? It seems it isn’t really that costly to build a nice 1000 sq. ft. place complete with appliances and modern amenities. The construction industry in India is shitty - carpenters, painters, plumbers, masons, general contractors have little to no professional training and eff up projects often, the tools aren’t modern and renovation work is infrequent because of the poor quality of construction services (and non-existent DIY culture and ecosystem). Also, it’s probably looked down upon in the Indian society if a house owner goes DIY with any construction work (gardening is an exception).
- jmspring 7y agoIn the 40s-60s, one could get a kit home and build it yourself. They were of decent enough quality where existing structures in the Bay Area are selling for over $1m. Contractors are supposedly licensed and bonded. They may employ others. There are some very good ones - they are all booked out years in advance. The shady/shitty/marginal ones are easier to find.
- froindt 7y agoI was surprised to learn you can still buy kit houses from Menards, a major store similar to Home Depot and Lowes. They have a catalog you can look through to make your choice.
- turtlebits 7y agoThe value of expensive property with old houses is 90%+ in the land. My 1950's house is valued at 6% of what the land is.
- yardie 7y agoI looked into building our home. Unless you can self fund you’ll need a loan. If you need a loan for new construction the banks will require a general contractor. If you already work as a general contractor you’re all set. If you’re not you’ll need a GC to shepherd the project through. But going completely DIY is extremely difficult for most Americans.
- gnopgnip 7y agoWhat are the advantages of a yurt over a pole barn or mobile/manufactured home?
- karles 7y agoThe spiders...
- meerita 7y agoI have some concerns. Doesn't seem too resistant to winds. The plants inside the house, specially on the bedroom part, not a good idea. I wonder how good is that house to keep warm on winter and fresh on summer.
- jokoon 7y agoI'm more curious about the state of that yurt in 5, 10, 15 years. Heating, humidity, insulation, energy bill, insects, hygiene, maintaining the toilet and the hygiene issues that come with it. Building codes don't exist without good reasons. Health and comfort don't happen by snapping finger at good ideas. I would really be interesting if construction engineers seriously studied yurts. I have to say this looks pretty nice and it's pretty cheap, but humans did not start building with hard materials without good reasons. Even without fossil energy, humans still started to use stone, cement, etc. I guess brick has a very long lifespan, it's worth the time spent, but I don't know if it's cheap.
- hn_throwaway_99 7y agoBut in the state of 5, 10, 15 years, the beauty of this is that most of it is easily replaceable, assuming the foundation and flooring is solid. I mean, there is just not a lot to "go bad", so to speak.
- aurbano 7y agoAbsolutely, I have done no research on this but on his website [1] he claims: > Strength: The fundamental principles of a yurt’s design creates a structure that is surprisingly strong. The compression and tension of the walls and roof can hold thousands of pounds of weight from the snow. The round shape allows high winds to be diverted gracefully around the structure. Unlike a normal house, a yurt doesn’t rely on rigidity to be stable. Because of its flexible nature, a yurt can better withstand natural disasters like earthquakes. So maybe it's true and they are actually sturdier than it seems? [1] https://doityurtself.com/is-it-for-you/ https://doityurtself.com/is-it-for-you/ (scroll down to "The positives of yurts")
- mikeg8 7y agoI think from a structural engineering perspective, yurts are strong for their weight/materials but most construction failures don’t involve a structure falling, it’s matrierials/joint failure from water/UV exposure and penetrations. Yurts were developed to be semi-permanent structures for nomadic peoples. I would not expect them to last more than 15-20 years because of the toll the water and sun will take on their “cheap” materials and simple construction methods.
- jotm 7y agoI'm always intrigued by the way Americans build the foundation. I've seen it before, seems to be rather standard. Concrete pillars, OK, but then it's raised on wood and the whole house is placed on it? I can see some benefits but it doesn't seem good for the long term. Around here we pour the whole thing on the ground, with rocks and concrete, the whole ground is covered, then the house is built on that.
- Gibbon1 7y agoThat foundation isn't really standard. At least for houses. More typical are. Footing and stem wall construction. Basically a perimeter concrete wall with a treated lumber mud sill. Fairly common for wood framed houses. Advantage is you can get under it to repair electrical, plumbing, and heating vents. Disadvantage : You probably don't want to if you hate small spaces and spiders. Slab foundations on grade. Probably more common in newer construction. Cheap. Disadvantage: Sadness when you realize a leaking water pipe has created a spring in the middle of the living room floor. And there are basement foundations. Common in areas where the ground freezes. Basements are either concrete or cinder block.
- bickfordb 7y agoThat is the convention for the US. These pillar footings are commonplace for decks. Which is what this structure essentially is: a deck platform with an expensive tent.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- amos19870630 7y agoThats so awesome. I love it! I need it! I hate renting.
- Timucin 7y agoI may have missed but it seems nothing discussed for the amount o plants in the comments. Is having that many plants around your bed safe? Can they release enough CO2 to effect your sleep quality or is it a myth I remember from my childhood?
- filleokus 7y agoRelease co2, to the air? Wouldn’t we expect them to sequester co2 and release oxygen? Or is my mental model of plants maybe to simplistic?
- dna_polymerase 7y agoIt's reversed at night (absence of light).
- puetzk 7y agoIt depends, [CAM succulents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassulacean_acid_metabolism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassulacean_acid_metabolism) do their gas exchange at night, and then close their stomata and do the photosynthesis during the day. It's a dry-climate adaptation, to lose less water in the process of exchanging the previous day's O2 for fresh CO2.
- playing_colours 7y agoThey release oxygen during photosynthesis, which requires sunlight. Apart from it, there is respiration process that is going all the time that uses O2 and produces CO2 and energy for functioning. Under the sunlight, the production of O2 is significantly higher then the consumption. The amount of produced CO2 is AFAIR fairy small to introduce any problems for people sleeping in a room.
- olau 7y agoIs suspect you can search for this, but here's a quick shot - how much living material is inside them? Let's say all the plants weight the same as one human. And they don't need to keep warm. So most likely they're not respirating more than one extra human. And I don't think having three people in a bed is unsafe.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dsego 7y agoIs it safe to have plants in the bedroom, don't they use up oxygen at night?
- ses1984 7y agoWhere did hear it's not safe to have plants in a bedroom?
- dsego 7y agoNot sure, I vaguely remember hearing or reading about it.
- txcwpalpha 7y agoIt's a common Feng Shui belief that plants in the bedroom are bad, which is probably reinforced a bit by the recent uptick in worrying about sleep CO2 levels. If you do a quick Google, you'll find a decent amount of Quora answers and blog posts asking about if it's safe or not, so it seems to be a not-entirely-unheard-of concern.
- CPLX 7y agoI think you’ve got that backwards.
- txcwpalpha 7y agoHe doesn't. Plants use up oxygen and release CO2 at night. They only do the opposite during photosynthesis, in the presence of sunlight.
- journalctl 7y ago——
- dsego 7y agoThat's photosynthesis, not respiration.
- OJFord 7y agoThis reminded me of a more traditional (but focussed on efficiency) 100% self-build (and design) that I've been following for a while, but since the last infrequent update I seem to have lost it. I don't suppose that's familiar to anyone else? I expect I saw it on HN in the first place, the URL was something focussed on the efficiency/climate aspect, though most of the content (and to be honest what I was interested in!) was just generally applicable how-to/DIY for each step. Edit: Ah! I found it: https://www.savingsustainably.com https://www.savingsustainably.com (I wasn't quite right above, I suppose perhaps the efficiency goal is a product of 'FIRE' rather than climate concern). And some more update since I last caught up with it, excellent.
- andai 7y agoI wonder if, since this roof shape can bear a heavy load, the insulation problem could be solved with rooftop plants? In some countries the government subsidizes you putting flowers on your roof, to make the cities greener. (In some parts of the city, bees have to travel way too far to find a flower, and run out of energy.) Now this yurt is way out of town, but they do seem to really like plants!
- broahmed 7y agoHey, this is the same guy who did that camper van conversion a couple of years ago! http://thevanual.com/ http://thevanual.com/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15757206 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15757206
- bane 7y agoThis is pretty cool and looks great. It has a lot of themselves in it which I think will make it a cherished place. If anybody wants to see how a traditional Yurt/Ger is put up, you should watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLO-z-XJ7_U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLO-z-XJ7_U It's quite different in some respects and the main difference is that the load is shared between the lattice walls and an interior post structure as well as the heating being centralized under the oculus.
- ravitation 7y agoI love DIY homes but, in the negatives it lists... > Poor temperature control, noise level, and not so temporary I'm wondering why you would build a yurt instead of one of the numerous more traditional wood frame green pre-fabs, which would essentially eliminate all of these negatives?
- mikeg8 7y agoMy guess is cost would be the biggest factor. Materials and construction methods in a tiny/pre-fab home are on a different level.
- ravitation 7y agoThis yurt cost $65k though. That's easily on the same level as small pre-fabs.
- jonathankoren 7y agoWhat is up with the composting toilet? All these off grid houses you see on YouTube are using composting toilets. It’s like these people have never heard of a septic tank before.
- spraak 7y agoIf you're sincere, it's likely cost and sustainability — it's much cheaper to make a composting toilet than install a septic system; and a composting toilet is environmentally beneficial compared to a septic tank. Edit: I just noticed that you also specify off grid. That as a foundational principle would lead one to simpler choices. A composting toilet is much simpler than a septic system.
- jonathankoren 7y agoIf you’re stuck with a mobile dwelling, then it’s reasonable. If you’re permanently siting it, then there’s no reason not to simply dig a hole, and put a septic tank in. It’s a proven technology, that maintains itself. I grew up with one. My parents’ house has had one for 60 years without issue. You may argue that it is more complex, but almost everything is more complex than defecating into a bag.
- rodolphoarruda 7y agoThe Photo of the bedroom strikes me the most. You filled in your sleeping Room with plants that Will release CO2 at night as any other plant would do.
- technotarek 7y agoInspiring. Love the thoughtful design touches. My only immediate practical issue would be climbing that ladder in the middle of the night to wee! Regardless, the builder and family should be incredibly proud. Enjoy.
- jay-anderson 7y agoThe 'Living Big In A Tiny House' youtube channel put up a video of this yurt today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f05NYU3kmFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f05NYU3kmFs.
- rapjr9 7y agoYurts can be insulated and have wood walls, windows, rafters, and metal roofing: https://www.smilingwoodsyurts.com https://www.smilingwoodsyurts.com From their FAQ: "Homes built with our products are permanent and comfortable for full-time all-season living in nearly every climate. They are built with durable building materials to stand for generations; a fabric yurt is basically a really nice tent. A SWY will meet and exceed the most current international Residential Building codes and can be insulated to industry standards for energy-efficiency using proven R-value products, a fabric yurt will not. We have insulated glass windows whereas fabric yurts have vinyl windows that open from the outside. SWY homes can be secured, fully-insured, and generally qualify for conventional financing under most circumstances through a third-party. Please note: Smiling Woods Yurts does not offer any financing on our products." Some yurts are tents, some are more substantial.
- whimwell 7y agoThis is Zach. The guy that built the yurt and the website. Just found out this was posted here! Thanks for checking it out. I’ll try to add my two cents and answer some of the questions. Im away from my computer so I might be a little slow!
- acassara 7y agoHow much did the whole project cost?
- minmemory 7y agoSo interesting.but cooling and toilet are major problem
- RileyJames 7y agoHaving lived in a van for the past year, building a yurt is my next plan. Probably once I’m back in Australia. I’ve looked into earthships, bagged houses, abodo, containers, small houses and other DIY methods. These yurts seems like the right balance between cost, DIY capability and results. Particularly this loft design, which I’ve seen on some NZ YouTube videos. My plan, a yurt on land approximately 2 - 3 hours from Melbourne, plus a sprinter van or troopy. And I’ll buy a private parking space in Melbourne, for when I want to weekend / overnight in town. Zero mortgage. Fuck your house prices, keep em.
- sriharis 7y agoVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f05NYU3kmFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f05NYU3kmFs I'm such a fan of these tiny homes!