How to Buy a Traditional Yurt

For information on purchasing a traditional yurt, email Alan Wenham of Albion Canvas for his excellent "Yurt Buyer’s Guide".

   

How to Buy a Fabric Yurt

Excerpted from YURTS: Living in the Round

Choosing A Yurt Company-some guidelines

It's important to take as much care in choosing a yurt company as you do in choosing the yurt design itself.

Beware of companies that make extravagant claims, like having the best or strongest yurts at the lowest price. Also, don't judge a company solely on its Web site. If you have questions about a yurt company, ask for customer references and check with their local Better Business Bureau. See if the company has yurt customers near you whose yurts you can visit, or if they're going to be in an upcoming trade show that you could attend (to see their yurts and meet them in person). Here are some questions to ask a company's references:

• Was your yurt delivered on time?
• Was everything included in the yurt kit when it arrived?
• Were there hidden costs you weren't told about initially?
• How easy was it to put up your yurt? How helpful were the written setup instructions and deck plans?
• What kind of customer service support did the company offer?
• Are you pleased with the design and quality of your yurt? Have you experienced any problems?

Fabric Yurt Companies: an overview

There are three major yurt companies in the United States: Pacific Yurts in Cottage Grove, Oregon, Colorado Yurt Company in Montrose, Colorado, and Rainier Yurts in Seattle, Washington. Yurtco in Burnaby, B.C., is Canada's largest company.

These companies have been around a number of years, they've successfully placed yurts in state and provincial parks, they have experience with building code issues, and they all have reputations for strong designs and excellent customer support. Each company has also, over the years, developed optional items (in response to customer requests) that can be custom ordered to deal with climate issues, solve various problems or simply make your yurt more comfortable. Be aware that companies may have options available that are not listed in their catalogues.

Family businesses, like Nomad Shelter in Alaska, have been around for years making simple, elegant yurts for regional and custom markets. Regionally-based companies include Shelter Designs in Troy, Montana, and Blue Ridge Yurts in Floyd, Virginia. These smaller, regional companies keep their yurts affordable by keeping their overhead low, and if they are local to you, your shipping costs will be reduced. They are also able to offer local expertise on siting and climate issues. However, you may not get the some of the custom options, national experience and engineering backup that are a part of purchasing from a larger established company.

Some companies make yurts primarily for SCA (Society of Creative Anachronism) reenactment events. These yurt designs can be rustic and are usually more appropriate for camping style functions. While some SCA-based companies have upgraded their designs for year-round living (Yurts of America in Indianapolis, Indiana-formerly Great American Yurts-is one such company), it is important to ensure that their quality, engineering and customer service will be adequate to service your needs.

A brand new design introduced to the market in 2007 is the camping yurt, which comes with a ground cloth (you can also build a platform) and can be set up by two people in under one hour. Two versions are available, from Go Yurt Shelters in Portland, Oregon and Rainier Yurts in Seattle, Washington.

Factors to consider

The real issue in buying a yurt is to determine what your priorities are and find the company that meets your needs most effectively. Here are some additional factors to consider.

Customer service is especially important with yurt companies because, regardless of their seeming simplicity, (a) you've probably never lived in a yurt before, (b) you've probably never set one up before, and (c) yurt designs vary from one company to another. That's why it's important to have a knowledgeable yurt company customer-service representative just a phone call away with ready answers for your questions.

Since the companies' designs are different, many parts are not interchangeable between companies. This means that the company you buy from today is probably the company you're going to be dealing with for the life of your yurt. Make sure you're comfortable with them, that you like their design, and that they're going to be around when you need to purchase replacement parts in two years, add awning options in five, or get a new wall or roof cover in ten or fifteen years.

British yurtmaker and designer Hal Wynne-Jones has this to say about yurt companies:

"The accessibility of yurts to everyone-no patents, no copyright, no big investment-also brings its problems. Not all yurt makers fully understand, or are willing and able to discharge the responsibilities that go with being the builder of someone's home. There is a difference between making your own yurt and selling one. The prices that the established builders charge reflect their expertise, investment and follow-up service. Newcomers to yurt building can be enticed by the seemingly high prices [charged for yurts], yet fail to deliver the necessary quality of service. There is no solution to this as of yet other than caveat emptor, "buyer beware."

Review the Custom Options

Be sure when you're shopping for yurts that you explore the custom options that each company offers. There are some wonderful possibilities like French doors, water-catchment systems, pre-fabricated platforms and window awning conversion kits. Be aware that what are custom add-on items for one company may be part of another company's basic package.

Some features should be included in almost all yurt applications. Unless you are buying a door awning with your yurt, you should get a rain diverter (sometimes called a "cricket") to go over any doors. On a rainy day the rain diverter will keep you from getting soaked as you enter the yurt, and it will prevent water damage to your doorframe.

Other options worth serious consideration are the skylight dome opener for added ventilation in the summer and some kind of screen door or screen curtain for each door.

For further information on financing or setting up a yurt, purchase "YURTS: Living in the Round" on this site or find it at your local library.