Stalled

I've been working away on the door throughout the summer.  It's a bit difficult because I am having to strip the paint and the surface of the door is uneven.  But it's almost done, just need to sand and reassemble, cut, adjust, insert windows, and paint - and when finished, I should have a TARDIS style door ready for my yurt.

Adding to the expenses list are paint scrapers and sandpaper - let's say about $30.

During the last two years, I've accumulated a few sheep fleeces that should be good for felting.  I think this is going to need a lot of practice to make large sheets of felt.  But I don't mind, any excuse to work with wool.

The thing that really has me down with this project is that I've run out of funds.  So I think I'll start selling seeds on my etsy shop.  I have some winter vegi seeds ready, like medieval fava beans, and bread poppies.  Soon I'll have some Mongolian Giant sunflowers that grow 12 to 15 feet tall.  I grew mine this year with zero irrigation, in a nasty drought year.  Ground water and dew were all it seemed to need.  DEEP roots that grew quickly to draw up moisture and deep nutrients.  Huge seeds, not to mention the stems can be dried and used as firewood (I'm also experimenting with them as a textile source).  I think, for selling seeds for this project, I want to only use my more resilient seeds, ones that have been selected to grow with minimal external input like water and organic fertilizer.

If I were to place an ad for wool - or should I say when?

WANTED: Don't toss that wool!!!

Even if you think the wool is no good.  Even if it's a meat sheep.  Even if you think I'm daft for wanting to build a yurt with traditional materials.  Please don't toss that wool.

Seeking 100 free fleeces for a very ambitious yurt building project.  I'll be making a half inch thick felted wool cover for my yurt, on a very tight budget.

I know there's a lot of you out there who feel your wools is only good for compost, but it is probably good for this project.   Please don't compost it or burn it.  You have to shear your sheep anyway - unless you have katahdin of course - but for those with wooly jumpers, here's your chance to donate your fleece to something a bit unusual.

Can pick up on the saanich peninsula.  Further afield requires a bit more organization, but can be done if there's enough wool to make it worthwhile.  

I don't need all the wool to come from the same place, so even if you have a dozen spare fleeces, feel free to get in touch.  

White wool, not-white wool, it's all good.
Moths aren't good.

Why haven't I posted it yet?  No space to keep the wool... yet.  In the middle of a big spring clean with lots of stuff to take to the charity shop.

Better calculating the wall and door costs

My last post was a bit despondent.  Now I've had time to reflect on things, I don't think that the dream has ended just yet.  I just need to plan smarter that's all.  There is a lot I can get started on my own and once I've made a move towards my goal, I just have to trust that something or someone will happen when I need it the most.

I'm also thinking that a yurt will be very handy for teaching.  I'm amazed to discover that people are interested in learning some of the things I do regularly here on the farm, even cooking related things.  There have been requests for lessons.  The problem is, I don't have a proper space to teach any of it.  Maybe the yurt will serve as a teaching space.  I would really like that.



When it comes to spatial thinking, I'm pretty useless.  Translating a bunch of measurements into an image of what it will actually look and feel like - and the other way around - is a challenge.  To compensate for this, I got out the sidewalk chalk and did some life size drawings of what the yurt wall needs to be like.

This has given me a much better idea of what the lattice needs to be.  I estimate that if the laths are 8 foot long and closer spaced together, I can use thinner bits of wood - like a 2x4 sliced in 4 lengths.  Note, a 2x4 may claim to be two inches by four inches, but in reality it's significantly smaller than that.

I calculate that I need a little under 100 laths to make the wall section.  That's 25, 2x4s which comes in at a little under $100 for the lot (after tax and stuff) plus a blade to rip them with.  Assume the rawhide for joins will be made with materials here on the farm, that gives us $150 total for the wall, or $1.50 per lath.  This is a hundred dollars less than my original estimate.  Amazing what a little sidewalk chalk can do to make the day more cheerful.


Now the door - very intimidating part of the project for me.  But then I saw to my surprise that the ramp to the chicken house we took down last week is actually a well weathered solid wood door.  Perfect!  It's even got that panel look to it I was hoping for.

It's in major need of love, but I can manage taking it apart, cleaning it up, putting it back together and painting it TARDIS blue.  It will have to be upside down (the way it is in the photo) and I think I would take out the other two panels from the 'top' of the door and replace all three with something to let in the light.  I also like the idea of making it a Dutch door by cutting out the center part and having a top and bottom section.  This will also make the door just the right size at 5 foot high.  Add the door frame in, and we will be just about the same height I estimate for the walls.

I still need to buy the frame, hinges, handles, latches, locks, primer, paint, sandpaper, &c.  I don't know how much any of that costs, but I know a great salvage shop that has a basement full of that kind of stuff (excepting the frame, I'll have to make that).  I have no idea how much that will costs, but I'm guessing a lot less than my original estimate.  For now, I'll say $200 for the door and door frame.

So, yes, the door itself will be a lot of work, but it's something I can get started on right away.  An actual physical action I can take in the real world towards acquiring yurt love.  This makes me hopeful.

Update: I've upped the wall estimate back to $250 after doing more shopping around.  Hopefully it won't be anywhere near that much, but we'll see.

Budgeting the Yurt - is this the end of the dream?

I've had a look at how much it will cost to make a 16' yurt.  I estimate that the frame, roof, felt, canvas, and door will come in at about $2,300 CDN to make from scratch.  I hate to admit this, but a number that large is unobtainable for a person like me.

I haven't even begun to calculate flooring, finish for the wood, and furniture for the yurt.  Or if/how I will power it.  Plumbing... 

Doing the work is fine, it's basically a bunch of repetitive tasks; measuring, cutting, drilling, sewing, &c.  Though there are a few skills I don't have yet like how to make the hub and door.  But they can't be that difficult to learn... can they?

It's the material cost that has me stumped.  I look at this estimate and look at all that isn't included and I despair.  

Sure it's a good deal less than buying a new yurt.  I calculated a beautiful Mongolian 16' yurt, with basic furnishings, delivery, flooring, tax, &c. would cost roughly $25,000.  More than 10 times more than my guestimate for a DIY yurt.  This should make me feel better because a home build yurt will be so much less, but it doesn't.  

The time has come to evaluate whether or not a yurt is in my future.  I have good reasons to want a yurt, not just for future security but also as a sanity sanctuary.  There is also an overpowering desire for a simpler life that yurt living brings.  It is my dream, and I feel that I need to make it happen.  If not this year, then the year after... or the one after that.

When I estimated the cost of building a yurt, I did round up some numbers.  There is always things that one forgets to include, and the price of things has a habit of increasing.  But I also assumed I would have to purchase the materials.  Maybe I can find materials, either in nature or salvage them from discarded items.  This would make the financial cost more manageable.  

What I'm toying with is the idea that I budget $2,500 for making the yurt.  If I can save money on materials, for example finding wood that could be used to make a door instead of buying one, then I can take the money saved on the door and apply it to the floor, or furniture... So even though it would costs far more than $2,500 to buy the materials, maybe with a bit lot of creativity, it can be made for less.

But to find the money, the skills, the people... this means asking for help.  How is it making me independent if I need help to get there?  What could I possibly have to give back to people to thank them?

I think I could never ask... But I also know if someone asked me, and it was something I could do, I would help.

Then I think about crowdfunding... Some of the campaigns online seem so frivolous, and yet people have money to give, and they give it.  Is building a home anymore frivolous than making potato salad?


I don't think I have what it takes to run a crowdfunding campaign - I barely ever answer my emails, how can I pretend I would be any good at social media.  I blog as release, not because I expect people will ever read it.  With social media, we come to yet another skill and another area I need help with.  It's never ending.



Or maybe it is ending.  Maybe my yurt dream ends here.
I have a lot to think about.