CUSTOMIZE YOUR YURT

    Wall Height     Doors     Windows

With all of our yurts we encourage you to design/create a floor plan that will best suite your needs and describe the placement of the door(s) and the direction they open, windows - their size and height in the wall, and interior walls, if there are any. In downloads you will find blank floor plan drawings. Choose the drawing for the size yurt you're interested in and get started designing your space. Ideas for additions, A sample floor plan and the helpful  Designing Your Space documents are also in the downloads section of our website.

Adding more doors or windows are options as well as increasing the wall height (standard wall height is 8’).

Adding rooms onto the yurt or building a loft are both possibilities. Taller walls will allow for a more comfortable ceiling height for both a loft and for additions. If you are considering either of these as a possibility for the future, but not planning on building them now please let us know, we will provide you with information to help you plan for them. It is much better to include future changes in your design, than have to try and figure out to make things work later on.

Browse through the options and see what you may like to change or add to your yurt package to create the space that will work best for you.


INSULATION

Roof Insulation     Wall Insulation

The information in this section is here to help you decide rafter height and wall thickness for your yurt, as well as an introduction to insulation in general. We do not provide insulation with our kits.

Energy codes are designed for structures that are going to be heated. These codes, which are state and county specific, have pre-determined wall and roof insulation and window requirements. A close look, taking into consideration our impact on the planet, reveals that a tight, well insulated structure will use considerably less energy to both heat and keep cool and any extra investment now for insulation will pay for itself and is the best environmental choice.

The measure of a materials resistance to heat flow is its R-value, the greater the resistance, the higher the R-value. There are a variety of insulating materials available, all with different R-values per inch and differing environmental impacts.

In making a choice of insulation materials some of the environmental factors to consider are:

1) The environmental cost in manufacturing and shipping
2) The level of toxicity, or lack of toxicity
3) The potential energy savings in terms of heating and cooling the structure

Thinking along these lines has brought us to what we feel are efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly insulation materials.

Insulation materials we feel best about –

Formaldehyde free fiberglass insulation: For filling the wall and roof cavities. This material can either by installed as "bats" into the wall or ceiling cavity. The only drawback of this material is the need to protect oneself from glass fibers during installation. A respirator, gloves and long sleeve clothing is recommended. There is also the option of recycled cotton batting, though it is considerably more expensive and more difficult to cut.

Recycled cotton bats: Basically the same as fiberglass other than the material is recycled cotton.
Blown in fiberglass or cellulose: Both of these products require a little more labor but will provide a code excepted R-30 (closer to R-36) for the roof with a 2x10 rafter system.

Rigid or spray in foam: A significantly higher R-values can be achieved, up to R-30 with the 2x6 rafter system. This is a costly but effective insulating system. There is potential concern of off-gassing with sprayed in urethane foam, though there are now products out there that are vegetable based and possibly non-toxic.

ROOF INSULATION

Roof insulation options are varied depending on your needs. Most of our customers have been using either fiberglass batting or a blown in type insulation (cellulose or fiberglass). Occasionally some people use commercially sprayed in foam. This has a high R value that allows for smaller rafters as well as completely sealing the roof and not needing a moisture barrier between the ceiling and insulation.

A roof insulation system should be designed to be well ventilated and efficient. If you have greater insulation needs the use of larger rafters and one of the options in the table below. Fiberglass bats are offered in both regular and high density.

Rafter Size	Fiber Glass Bats	Blown In Fibergalss/Cellulose	Foam
2x6	R 11 - R 13	R 20	R 30
2x8	R 19 - R 21	R 28	R 42
2x10	R29	R 36	R 55
2x12	R 30 - R 38	R 45	R 68

We provide pattern information to assist in cutting your ceiling material and insulation.


WALL INSULATION

Wall insulation is relatively straightforward. The depth of the wall cavity determines the thickness of the insulation and its consequent R-value.

Walls for our yurts are constructed with either a 2x4 or 2x6 framework.
The 2x4 cavity allows for R-11 insulation, with a possible upgrade to R-13. The 2x6 wall insulation is R-19 (R-21 is also available).

Below are the figures of how many square feet of wall insulation material you will need to purchase for the yurt of your choice based on the basic yurt kits with no window or door changes. The square footage is the same whether the walls are 2x4 or 2x6, only the thickness of insulation changes.

	8' Walls	9' Walls
12' Yurt	264 sq. ft.
15' Yurt	318 sq. ft.
20' Yurt	434 sq. ft.	478 sq. ft.
25' Yurt	540 sq. ft.	592 sq. ft.
30' Yurt	641 sq. ft	693 sq ft.
35' Yurt	686 sq. ft.	750 sq. ft