Yurts in Hawaii (Kailua, Volcano: buy, gated, roofing)

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

If you mean that for 20 years, it will be covered under a warranty, heck that is better than a stick built home! But if you are talking about "useful life expectancy of the building", 20 years is much less than a stick built home.

It's the covering that has a limited life... but then so does the roof and the paint on a stick-built house.

You re-roof, you re-paint... you recover. Same kinda stuff. Expected periodic maintenance.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by OpenD

It's the covering that has a limited life... but then so does the roof and the paint on a stick-built house.You re-roof, you re-paint... you recover. Same kinda stuff. Expected periodic maintenance.

I'm not a Yurt expert, I've been in just one. But from what I could tell, I think the cover is probably a major part of the structure. My thoughts are that replacing the cover of a Yurt would be the equivalent of replacing the roof and walls of a wooden house. Not simple periodic maintenance at all. But perhaps I am wrong. Maybe the cover is just 10% of the cost, for all I know.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

I'm not a Yurt expert, I've been in just one. But from what I could tell, I think the cover is probably a major part of the structure. My thoughts are that replacing the cover of a Yurt would be the equivalent of replacing the roof and walls of a wooden house. Not simple periodic maintenance at all. But perhaps I am wrong. Maybe the cover is just 10% of the cost, for all I know.

No, not 10%, but also not 50%. The wooden structure... lattice walls, roof rafters, compression ring, skylight, doorjambs and window frames... is significant. At some point I suppose Yurt Girl will drop by to give us the facts, but for now I'll kick in with my impression from a couple of years ago when I checked these out for a possible "cabin in the woods" project...

A basic 30' yurt, 706 sq ft, runs about $10K. Tricked out with all the upgrades and custom features I wanted it was going to be about $15K. With deck and installation, etc. perhaps $20K for the completed structure (before any electric, water, etc.) And that was with a 15 year warranty on the cover.

Then after 15 years, say, I decide it's time to replace the whole cover... might not have to, might just replace the roof cover perhaps, or the sunny side wall panels... with standard modular panels I can just replace what I wish... and that entire cover is maybe $5K, as a guess. That works out to $333 a year to replace, which is coffee can money, if one plans ahead. And it takes less than a day to replace.

Re-covering a roof and painting a stick built building isn't cheap, and even a small one like this isn't going to get done in a day. So I don't think the comparison is bad.

[YurtGirl]

A reputable company will give an average of a 10 year warranty for the yurt itself with an added 15 year warranty for the roof. At the end of the warranty or later, when the exterior needs replacing, you simply take off the exterior materials and replace it with new materials (and a new 15 year warranty!) and go another 15 - 20 years. The infrastructure stays solid. The only wear it will get is if the exterior gets damage that isn't repaired or maintained.

So... 15 year warranty on the roof, 10 on the rest of it, replace the roof and exterior walls for under 5k, installed, in ONE day... I'd say that tops a typical house in more ways than one. Hope you come check out our yurt when you get into town, deegeemaree! Aloha~

[YurtGirl]

OpenD, you've done your research! I didn't see your response before I posted. You covered it quite well. BTW, is there a way to subscribe to a thread? I could have sworn I had done that, but I never get notices when posts are made. If I haven't chimed in to a specific question for a while and someone would like me to, feel free to message me I don't frequent this site much. Aloha!

[OpenD]

Go to Thread Tools, and choose "Subscribe to this thread."

[YurtGirl]

So EASY!! Mahalo!

[deegeemaree]

Hope you come check out our yurt when you get into town, deegeemaree! Aloha~[/quote]

Oh I intend to! If you would message me and let me know exactly where, that would be great! Mahalo
See you in April.

[Razzbar]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Yurts[...]

Or you could follow intuitions of native designs developed over all time for hot, humid, tropical climates.
Which suits Hawaii best? Closed, tight? Or open, airy?

Whatever floats your boat ...

Aloha

Hehe, you crack me up with your common sense. I think the word is Ma'a?

I guess when your home turns into a global village, it's easy to forget which neighborhood you're in. Back around '72 I had some new neighbors in Orchidland, pilgrims, who built a traditional style hale using the abundant pili grass that grew all over. The building inspector almost flipped out. He wanted them to tear it down "right now!". It was a fire hazard, he said. He was right. Lighting a fire inside one would have probably been unthinkable in ancient times, but ... So they wound up living in a large wooden box with an iron lid. Like most people.

[YurtGirl]

Still not getting updates on this thread.