YURTS... Affordable Home Solution? Or Too Good to be True? Expert Explains PROS and CONS

Yurts are an amazing portable and cost effective home that you can build and be move into in just a few weeks! But nothing is perfect...

In this interview with Paul from Nomad Shelter we cover the Pros and Cons of the yurt to try to figure out if a yurt is right for you and your family on your homestead!

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All the Yurt Footage from Nomad Shelter Youtube Channel

Pioneer Podcast Version

[jasonlassen]

My wife and I live in a yurt in North Carolina. It's a 30 ft yurt with ten ft high walls. We have normal double pane windows, normal house doors, actually very beautiful doors. The insides are much like a normal house. And that's where things get expensive. A modern kitchen, bathroom septic, etc. In a yurt isn't any cheaper to build than a normal house. Yes, the outside of the structure is less expensive but everything else is the same. In the end I think we have about as much money in our yurt as we could have spent on a smaller double wide. Yurts are way cooler, to be sure, but I suppose that's a matter of opinion.

[eco]

I’ve lived in my 24’ diameter yurt since 2014, I’m 70 yrs old now. I live 20 miles south of Tennessee state line in northern Alabama, we have four full seasons here. I rented space on friends land while looking for my on land to purchase. I hooked on to her electricity as an “out building”. I also used her water source, running a water line in trench with electrical line. I have a composting toilet. We dug a 6x6x2’ deep pond to use as grey water wetland for the sink, shower and washing machine. For heat I used propane.
In three years I was ready to move to my new permanent home. Having a solid level platform is critical.
This is my sixth year living here since the move. We have big thunderstorms here and my yurt always feels secure. We used mobile home tie-downs which attaches yurt to platform/footers. My propane heater keeps it warm, we even had 2*F low temps this winter and nothing inside, or under my yurt froze.
I use an energy-star window air conditioner for a 700sf space, I have 750 cubic feet with my tall ceiling. It stays very comfortable year round and I do use a dehumidifier when using propane heat.
I would highly recommend yurt living, it serves me very well.

[ChadWilson]

Over time, you can end up with a colony of yurts! A yurt for your office, a yurt for your mother-in-law, a yurt for that ultimate gaming setup!

[timmjackson]

I lived in a 30' yurt with a second 12' yurt (bathroom) connected by a covered breezeway in Northern California for around 8 years. The first two years without electricity before I installed a micro hydro system and had power. Loved it, although in 2006 it rained for 28 days out of 31 in January and what was normally fun (listening to the rain on the roof) became so oppressively loud, I nearly lost my mind! 
They've probably tightened up the law since, but at the time, in the late 90s, I contacted the county building department and asked if I needed a permit to build a free-standing deck in the woods on my property. I was told no, not if it isn't attached to a home. I called them about a week later and asked if I needed a permit to erect a tent on a free-standing deck and the answer was again no!

[jonphillips]

My wife and I have lived in a 20ft yurt for 3 years now. We built the whole thing ourselves. With the platform, the yurt itself, and the marine canvass wrap that my wife sewed we moved on to our land for less than 5k. I understand why people buy kits but the only hard part of a yurt is the "crown" or center top piece. You can find those online at reasonable prices and DIY the rest for much cheaper than a kit.

[heidiwilde]

I built my own 18 foot yurt from scratch out of mostly sawmill discards and 2x4s. The crown was quite a challenge and all of it took almost a year to build in my little spare time. Each piece of wood needed to be cut, planed, sanded, drilled and the wall slats steam bent. I used Nylon rope to tie hundreds of knots for all the connections and sewed all the covers and used felt for insulation. I've live in it for 3 years now and love it. If I was to do it over again, I would probably make it 20 to 24 feet diameter to fit a kitchen and bathroom into it. Both of those are outside now and that gets a little uncomfortable when it's freezing out. This yurt has withstood some pretty heavy winds and snow loads. After living in tents for several years, this is like a palace and it gets super cozy inside with a wood stove. I don't think I'd want to ever buy a kit, I really enjoyed the process of creating this and my yurt makes a wondeful home that can move with me.

[francisfischer]

We lived in a Pacific Yurt for 14 years, in rural Minnesota. Honestly, I can't say I'd do it again. But we certainly weren't any the worse for it! And living in a yurt all that time allowed us to save enough to buy a 100 year old farm house! I love having solid walls in a storm. It's all good!!

[DesiRush]

You just need to understand that a yurt is not the be-all-end-all solution to all of life's problems, so don't expect it to magically fix everything about your life, wherever you go, there you are.

[sheenamac]

I am in a 26’ Yurt with family of 6 since September. I would probably go with two smaller Yurts instead of one big one. A sleeping and a cooking. Mostly because I need to reach out for help to move it which is why I like the Yurt. It was put up in 2 days we had the foundation for the platform ready when it arrived. We are at my parents hooked into their power at the moment and planning to move to our land once we have an out building for electricity and water hookup. We got our Yurt just before Hurricane hit and often have 100km/h wine gusts. It definitely is doing very well. It is really loud with all the kids so having other space for those needing quiet is also why I have smaller second Yurt in mind.

I love hearing the wind and trees and wildlife and rain. You really know what’s going on just outside.

So far definitely loving the Yurt life .

[ClareAndAlec]

I dream of living in a yurt. For me, it's that connection to nature that I crave. I've spent a lot of time sleeping in tents, and while sleeping on the ground isn't my favorite, I love hearing the birds in the morning so loud that they wake you up and the pitter patter of rain on the roof. Ntm, circles are pleasant.

[maxinedurling]

I've seen a yurt set up with a main yurt and having smaller yurts coming off of it as bedrooms which I think if you have a large family is a good idea

[teeheeteeheeish]

Lived in a canvas wall tent comfortably for almost a month. Everyone has their limits to how “rough” they can hack it, but usually your limit is way more rugged than you thought

[shirleygreen]

If you want an honest opinion. Check out the fit farmer. They have lived in a yurt for many years They have also put mini splits in their home. They are getting ready to put up a 2nd yurt, and they are going to join them. They also heat with wood. Shirley

[lindaward]

I lived in a rustic yurt 50 years ago in Nethers VA, a place still very rural today. it's still some of my fondest memories, even w/o plumbing. it was magical.

[aaronevans]

I have a 30’ yurt here in Montana. The wood stove keeps it warm as long as it stays above zero, but it takes a while to heat up and a lot of wood to keep it warm.
I got it for a temporary shelter on our property, but then continued using it for guests and AirBnB.
Now it’s my home office, but that’s overkill and I’m thinking about selling it.

[mikegamba]

A few years ago I was helping a friend build a yurt but sadly addiction ended my friends dream. We had the whole foundation down but that was it. I haven't seen my friend in a few years I pray he's staying clean

[ttrestle]

I built a yurt for a friend over a weekend while I was in college. It was wild! The most expensive part was the window part center top.

[RB]

The main issue I see with Yurts is the materials they use to make them. The reason traditional ones are made of soft materials is because they are meant to be torn down and moved by an extended family group. Having them as a stationary, permanent structure while made of soft materials just means 90% of the cost of a traditional structure with a fraction of the lifespan. They were really popular a few years back here in the Yukon, and any of the ones more than a decade old look ratty and gross.

[amandab]

A yurt has been my dream for years now! I’m loving this video so far!

[Oldfarmlady]

Have y'all considered a cordwood home? We built one. They're pretty cheap to build. Way cheaper than straw bale. Our walls are a ft thick and solid wood with mortar. Now ours is only 750 Sq ft 2bdrm 1 bath. Total cost was 12k. That includes appliances, electrical, plumbing. Everything. One of the cheapest, sturdier homes you can build. We love our little cabin. It's been through tropical storms, hurricanes and it's held up great.