2011 has been a year of yurts, w/two opportunities to try out this simple design of sticks and mud — a more permanent adaptation of the traditional, portable, Mongolian design. One was for a friend and neighbor. The other was a workshop at Aprovecho Institute, as part of their sustainable shelter building series. Lots of people helped! Both were made with locally harvested bamboo and fir poles (arranged reciprocally to make a self-supporting, conical roof w/a central skylight, which I’m still trying to figure out how to cover cheaply…) If you click on the photo below, you’ll go to a little picture book about the whole process.
I’d love to read this book, but I get a message that the publisher has limited access. Is this likely to change? As an alternative, any suggestions for other references for yurt/roundhouse building with natural materials? Thanks.
ya, sorry, issuu has revoked their free memberships, and it’s not feasible for me to pay them a monthly charge for something that just doesn’t get that much attention. The “book” was really more of a collection of photos with captions describing an experimental design that came out pretty well. I might be able to dig up the pdf…depends on how much you want it…
In the past I’ve cut the protruding ends of the reciprocal rafters down to accommodate a used old tire with lexan or plexiglass mounted with bolts and silicone caulking on the top of the tire. Roofing membrane can be slipped under the tire and tucked into the hollow recess where air would once have been. The “bottom” of the tire that rests on reciprocal rafters can be secured to the rafters with GASKETed roofing screws. Voila, one skylight!
Ps. Excuse the caps, for some reason it is not allowing anything other than caps for me 🙁
Super great suggestion, thanks! I particularly like how the tire — fiber-reinforced and weather-proof — would also serve to secure the tops of the rafters, which is really the crux of the structural challenge, and the reason why traditional yurt builders spend so much time and precision making the compression ring. Got any pix or linx to share?
Thinking about doing a small yurt with my four year old! Needless to say, she needs NO excuse to get her hands in some mud!! Neither do I!
I think I would use a large pole or post, about the size of a telephone pole (without the chemical) planted about 6′ in the ground, then attach the roof sticks around it. I believe that would make a more stable and stronger roof.
Ya, this would work, but then you have a pole in the middle of a (small) building. The traditional yurt design that uses a central compression ring to arrange and contain the rafters allows for a wonderful combination of strength, practicality, and beauty.
The traditional yurt design that uses a central compression ring to arrange and contain the rafters also allows for a central fire or wood stove for cooking and heating. Not unlike a traditional Native American tee-pee. Or the traditional round house of the Cherokee.
Dear Kiko,
We are totally in love with your cob yurt project!! we have a self-sustainable organic farm in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica. We would love if you come and teach us a class on how to build cob yurt houses…. please email us at: unitedrawdom@yahoo.de
blessings,
Ray and Fita
We have many feet of snow per year how strong is this construction?
Hi, Linda, No snow load tests yet! The whole thing is still in “development,” as they say. You might be able to find useful information on load capacities through a (thorough) web search, but really, everything will depend on you and how you build: what materials you choose, how (and where) you build, and how carefully you do the work, etc. Theoretically, at least, the yurt is a strong design (think how much snow they must get in Mongolia!)
About the reciprocal roof, however, keep in mind that roof failure can happen w/nothing more than the loss of a single attachment between two rafters. Since each rafter supports all the others, the loss of one connection can easily cause catastrophe. That’s why I’m revising this part of the design — but I won’t have more documentation until next year. If you’re interested, I’d look at traditional and other yurts and look at the design of their compression rings at the top center of the roof — the woodwork is complex for a reason. But I am hoping to come up with some simpler, easier techniques. Stay tuned!
We live in an area with an average of at least 10m of snowfall per year (sometimes 15m) & would be very interested in any knowledge you have acquired – through experience, research, or intuition – as to the load-bearing capacity of a reciprocal roof.
We live in an area with an average of at least 10m of snowfall per year (sometimes 15m) & would be very interested in any knowledge you have acquired – through experience, research, or intuition – as to the load-bearing capacity of a reciprocal roof. Many thanks for all of your efforts in natural building and the sharing of your knowledge.
apologies for late reply; for some reason, I don’t seem to be getting notifications when people comment! My personal take on the reciprocal roof is that the strength of the frame itself all depends on how you tie the sticks together at the center of the circle. It was very sobering to hear of a kids’ playhouse roof that failed — fortunately when it was not in use. If just ONE connection fails, you can lose the whole roof. Boom. That said, if the connections are good, the next factor would be the size/strength of the individual rafters. You can offset your dependence on the central connections by using the roof deck to tie it all together. To do this, you must bond the roof deck/skin securely to the rafters. There is a very technical book available on reciprocal framing, Reciprocal Frame Architecture, by Larsen. Hope his helps
— Kiko
Great idea. instant guestroom for in-laws and out-laws.
Ann
Shalom!
Though you’ve already done the rather resourceful plastic water bottle, why not merely do a cupola?
Double- or triple-glazed 360 degrees would admit massive amounts of light while keeping the rain out & BTU in.
You could open top level windows to vent excess heat – if you build screens into it.
Only the framing would block “view”.
Paper-crete that puppy to insulate it, then see how little winter heat is needed.
I’ve yet to read anything that says what you use to prevent some of these creations from becoming huge anthills. Any thoughts there?
Living in north Florida means far too much sand (ants) and buy clay to do cob.
Will cat litter or Floor-Dry work for small projects?
Keep pushing the envelope.
Thanks,
Cmdr. Ron
Nice adaptation of yurt construction, Kiko.
Regarding a cheap skylight: how about the huge translucent plastic salad bowls they use in cafeterias? Not sure if it will withstand UV, but worth a try.
yup, salad bowl might be good — not sure how strong it would be. Another idea I’ve been thinking about is mounting a big 5 gallon plastic water bottle so it diffuses light into the yurt in all directions, ala now famous plastic bottle skylight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSQ8LXXtv6w
Neat!!!! Note: the link to the picture book isn’t a clickable link.
The picture book link is listed as “not available”… would love to see it!
OK, it’s sort of fixed. Click on the phrase “open publication” and it should take you to issuu.com, to see the booklet. I hope this helps! Thanks for letting me know.