30' Pacific Yurt

I owned a 30' Pacific Yurt a short time ago. I thought it would be a great idea, and the price was right- $10,000 including the deck. I ended up selling the Yurt due to some financial pressures, and the fact that the high winds in our area would make Yurt living fairly uncomfortable. However, I can't say enough good things about the Yurt. My wife and I took one down in a day with the person selling the yurt, and stacked it on a car trailer. Building any other structure besides a mobile home would be difficult or even tearing it down. The yurt had 7' sidewalls. I made a template of the 2x4's and center ring to build one down the road. Ideally, if the panelized yurt option was less expensive, I would have gone this route. It really seems to be the only route that would feel like a real house with real windows.

If you are thinking about getting one, make sure you like camping. That's what it feels like inside a Yurt, kind of a camping/jungle safari feeling inside one. The pricing new is about $15,000 plus the deck, which will set you back another $4-$5k. Definitely craigslist one if you can. I sold my Yurt pretty quick, but probably had over 30 phone calls that past month from others wanting to buy it w/o even looking at it. The person who purchased it was off-grid with a 120 acre parcel and a seasonal stream for water in calaveras county.

Below: the yurt completely dissasembled in my garage.



You will need to use a transit to get your deck level. In terms of yurt manufacturers, pacific yurt is great for a camping yurt. I personally love the designs over at www.greenlivingsystems.com out of Grass Valley. The 36' version they sell is panelized and can meet certain building codes - even here in the environmental nut state of California. They start at about $25k for an 18', and $50k for a 36' Yurt with about 1000 square feet. You can build one yourself for about $10k. www.smilingwoodsyurts.com also has a panelized yurt that's affordable in a kit.