For centuries, the yurt has been the portable home of choice throughout central Asia. The circular design and lightweight poles make it strong enough to be able to withstand strong winds and yet be light enough for ease of transportation. The rise in popularity of the yurt in Europe has been a growing trend over the past 15 years and there are many established yurt makers plying their trade across the continent. I have made a number of yurts over the years and lived in one at Prickly Nut Wood nearly 20 years ago. The yurt can be insulated and fitted with a stove and is therefore suitable for most climates.
Recommended tools
Draw knife, spokeshave, bow saw, cordless drill, 3⁄16in (4.5mm) drill bit, 1in (25mm) auger bit, sand paper, calipers, steam- bending equipment, gauntlets, clamps (lots), copper soldering iron, froe, shaving horse, cleaving brake, sewing machine (domestic or industrial).
Materials you will need
- To make a 16ft (4.9m)-diameter bentwood yurt. Best materials are coppiced ash or sweet chestnut
- 78 (allow 80) rods for the trellis or wall poles:
6ft 6in (1.98m) long x 11⁄4in (32mm) diameter - 38 (allow 40) rods for the roof ribs: 8ft 6in (2.6m) long
x 11⁄2in (38mm) diameter - 1 rod for the door lintel: 3ft (90cm) long x 3in (75mm) diameter
- 1 rod for the threshold: 3ft (90cm) long x 5in (125mm) diameter
- 2 rods for the door uprights: 6ft 6in (1.98m) long
x 2in (50mm) - 1 rod for the crown: 15ft (4.5m) long x 5in (125mm)
- 10 rods for the crown bracing: 5ft (1.5m) lengths
x 1in (25mm) diameter - Nylon cord: 80yds (73m) of 1⁄8in (3mm) diameter
- Rope: 27yd (25m) of 5⁄8in (16mm) diameter
- Boiled linseed oil/thinners
For the cover
- Fireproof and waterproof canvas: 82sq yds (75sq m) of 12 or 14oz (340 or 396g)
- Eyelets: approximately 50 at 5⁄8in (16mm) diameter
- Paper: for templates of the roof
- Ties or hook-and-loop tape straps: for securing the roll-up door
- PVC: for a skirt around the base (optional)
Making the wall trellis
Select poles that are straight and have minimal knots 1. The poles all need to be peeled with a draw knife and then further finished with a spokeshave (a concave spokeshave can be useful). The poles can be used without steaming but if you are looking for the traditional bowed curve of a Mongolian ‘ger’ (yurt) then steaming the poles for half an hour and placing them in a bending jig will create the shape 2, 3.
See page 182 for steam-bending instructions. The next stage is to drill out the poles. For this you need to set out a marking jig. A length of baton with the hole positions marked on it works well 4. Drill the first hole 3in (75mm) from the bottom of the pole and then six further holes at 1ft (30cm) intervals leaving 3in (75mm) at the top to form the horns 5. Sand the trellis poles and then oil them with a thinned-down boiled linseed oil 6. The trellis can now be tied together with the nylon cord to form the pattern 7.
Where the poles cross over, the holes should approximately line up. Tie a knot in one end of a short length of cord and thread through a hole. The knot will stop it pulling through completely. Pass the cord through the other hole and tie it off with a half-hitch knot. The trellis will need to be in three or four sections so it can be rolled up into a bundle and then unrolled and unfolded out into a trellis panel. Where the trellis sections join one another, the end poles will need to overlap with the next section and be tied together with cord.
The roof ribs
I boil bend rather than steam bend my roof ribs as I have a large enough bending jig for them all to fit in one batch. I have a 45-gallon (205 litre) steel drum from which I have ground out the top. This is raised up with a couple of rows of loose bricks that form a firebox. The bricks have air gaps and an open front in which to insert wood. A piece of plywood can be rested over the top to form a lid and speed up the boiling. Once the water is boiled, remove the plywood lid and insert the poles with the butt ends into the water. Most of the pole is not in the boiling water but the section that is immersed is the part that will be bent around the log in the jig. Boil the poles for about one hour 8.
The jig I use is made up of a chestnut log that blew over in the hurricane of 1987. The log is about 20in (51cm) in diameter with a plank fixed behind it, secured using long pegs hammered into the ground. This plank takes a lot of pressure and needs to be very well secured. An 8 x 3in (200 x 75mm) plank would be ideal 9. Tie the top end of the roof rib to a horizontal pole, which is again secured firmly into the ground. Wearing gauntlets, as the pole will be hot, push the butt end over the log and tuck it behind the plank. Bend the poles over the log and tie them onto the horizontal pole with bailer twine. Once they are all in the jig, leave them for about a week before releasing 10. It is good to slightly ‘overbend’ them as they will move slightly out of their bent position once released.
Peel the poles and then sand them down. Each pole then needs a tenon made on the top end. Create a 3⁄4 x 3⁄4in (19 x 19mm) tenon about 4in (100mm) in length. Check the square section with calipers and then take off a spokeshave’s worth all the way round 11. The roof ribs can now be oiled with thinned boiled linseed oil.
The crown
Look for a very straight pole 15ft (4.5m) long and about 5in (125mm) in diameter. I like to choose a pole with no major knots and that has been cut fresh on the morning I am making the hoop. Steam bending is the ultimate manipulation of wood – a strong straight pole growing in the wood in the morning can become a rigid circular hoop by the evening. Peel the pole and cleave it with a froe and a cleaving brake (see page 202). Cleaving a 15ft (4.5m) pole should be done with care. It is a long length to keep the cleave straight and avoid it running out, hence the importance of selecting a knot-free straight pole to begin with. Most yurt makers use two pieces of timber to make the crown and scarf them together.
This is a successful method and means that you only need to cleave an 8ft (2.4m) length into two and will need a smaller steam box. However, for me, part of the appeal is creating a 360-degree hoop from one piece of wood. Take one of the lengths and work the cleft face smooth with a draw knife and shaving horse (see page 202) 12. Turn the wood over and work the curved face down, using calipers to check it becomes an even 1in (25mm) thick all the way along its length 13.
Next, taper the ends for the scarf joint. Taper the last 18in (450mm) of each end of the plank from 1in (25mm) down to 1⁄4in (6mm). Make sure you taper the opposing sides of each end of the shaven plank so that they meet as they curve around the former (see picture 17). Once the steamer is steaming well, place the shaven plank in the steam box and keep a constant flow of steam for three hours.
Set up and prepare for the bending process. You will need to find at least one other person, lots of clamps and some good gauntlets as the wood will be very hot when it comes out of the steamer. Carry the steaming wood as quickly as possible to the former and clamp one end to it. I use an old iron cartwheel mould with welded bracing across the centre. I also drill two 1in (25mm) holes through the former so I can get a fixing through the scarf joint before releasing it from the former. Make sure the first clamp fixes one tapered end of the wood over the hole and then begin bending and clamping.
The bending should be slow but constant, with your assistant clamping at regular intervals. Due to the length of the wood and the forces involved, I use a long lever, which is fitted into the centre of the former with a steel tractor pin. There is a second steel tractor pin that guides the wood to the former as I walk around it with the lever 14, 15. This gives extra assistance and ensures the wood is pressed tight against the former. This whole process from taking the wood out of the steamer to reaching the clamped crown 16 should take about three minutes. Now you can relax and allow the crown to cool and the fibres to reset in their new position.
The following day fix the scarf joint together 17. I use a couple of small bolts that can be fitted while the crown is still on the former through the 1in (25mm) hole. Release the clamps and slowly ease the crown off the former. If you don’t want to use steel bolts to hold the clamp together it can be done with small pegs. You will need to angle the pegs through the scarf joint in opposing directions. I would recommend two pegs in each direction.
Measure the circumference of the crown and then work out the spacing distances of the 38 roof ribs. Mark their positions on the crown. Then mark out the positions for the bracing. The bracing should be positioned so that the holes are midway between the roof pole mortises. The bracing pole holes should be angled down slightly whereas the roof mortises need an upward angle of about 28 degrees to allow for the angle that the roof ribs will enter the crown. Bend the bracing poles into their holes and allow them to create a raised dome. This will be the highest point of the yurt and the cover will be angled downwards from this point. The bracing strengthens the crown 18.
You can now drill the roof mortises at the 28-degree angle (each yurt will have minor differences). I use a 3⁄4in (19mm) auger bit and then heat up a 3⁄4in (19mm) square copper soldering iron 19 and push this through the round hole. The soldering iron burns out the corners and leaves a square mortise 20. This process is much faster than chiselling and takes away the stresses on the bent wood that chiselling can cause. It also nicely seals the cut wood inside the mortise 21, 22.
The door frame
Door frames can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. I lived in a yurt with oak double doors and therefore it needed a substantial frame. A strong frame can also help when tensioning the wall band. A lightweight door frame allows for ease of transportation and the door is often canvas, attached to the cover and can be rolled up and secured at the lintel of the frame. This is the type of door frame described here. First cleave the threshold and work it with a draw knife to create a rustic plank. Then peel and draw knife the upright poles and taper the ends. Using a rounding plane, create a 1in (25mm) circular tenon at each end. Peel and draw knife the lintel and then drill 1in (25mm) holes into the threshold and lintel 2in (50mm) in from the ends.
Erecting the yurt
If the yurt is intended for long-term use, a raised timber platform is recommended. Otherwise choose a level piece of ground and knock a peg with a nail half hammered into the top in the centre. Attach a piece of string to the nail and measure 8ft (2.4m). You can now walk around in a circle and see exactly where the yurt trellis will sit.
Open up the trellis and allow it to stand in its approximate position. Stand up the door frame and tie the trellis to the door frame pole using a clove hitch knot and nylon cord. Join the sections of trellis together using the nylon cord and then attach the last section to the opposing door frame. Push out the trellis to make sure the diamonds in the pattern are square and then check for a true circle using the string in the central peg.
Next, fit the wall tension band. This is a structural part of the yurt and ensures that the junction between the roof rafters and the top of the trellis is kept in place and the rafters cannot push the trellis out. The band is usually about 12in (30cm) wide and is secured by attaching it to holes drilled through the door frame. (For temporarily checking how a yurt frame fits together, a rope will suffice and the optional use of webbing and a ratchet strap ensures greater control over the tension.
With the help of an assistant, take the crown and three roof ribs into the centre of the yurt. Tie the first roof rib to the first pair of trellis ‘horns’ next to the door 23, 24. Count one third of the way around the trellis horns and attach the second roof rib. Slot these two roof ribs into their corresponding mortises on the crown. Count around another third on the crown and insert the third roof rib into the mortise. Carefully lift the crown into the air. I find a second person pushing the crown steadily upwards using a rake helps! Tie the third roof rib to the trellis horns in its corresponding position. Now attach the rest of the ribs, working evenly around the yurt. The shorter ribs fit into the top of the door frame 25.
23. Tying the roof ribs to the wall trellis
27. Canvas crown cover
The cover
For the cover 26, use a fireproof and waterproof 12 or 14oz (340 or 396g) canvas. The sewing can be done on a domestic sewing machine but an industrial machine makes the job easier. Firstly, make the tension band that runs from door frame to door frame, about 12in (300mm) wide and with eyelets at each end. The wall section is made by measuring the circumference of the yurt, door frame to door frame, and making a piece that runs from the trellis horns to the ground. Attaching a PVC skirt along the bottom will help with longevity. Attach eyelets along the top for attaching to the trellis horns and down the sides to attach to the door frames. Consider any plastic windows you may choose to add.
The roof cover is best made from interlocking triangles of canvas. Make up paper templates and lay them over the roof. Follow the profile so that the template covers three roof poles at a time. Allow a bit extra to overlap the trellis horns and make sure the tops fit tightly over the crown, leaving the inner circle open. Eyelets will be needed all around the wider bottom edge to pull the canvas down tight. These can be roped down to pegs on the ground. The top should stay tensioned against the rim of the crown.
Make the crown cover by creating a four-pointed canvas star 27. The centre must overlap the crown and the top of the roof cover by about 6in (150mm). The centre can be plastic, which gives good light to the yurt and allows star gazing at night in winter. However, you may prefer to make it out of pure canvas and remove the crown cover totally on dry days. Eyelets are attached in the point of each star for roping down securely.
A canvas door that rolls up can be made by sewing a round of wood into the bottom of the door as a weight. Ties or hook- and-loop tape straps will secure it when rolled up. If you are using the yurt for long-term use in one place, a solid wood door is recommended.
This article is an extract from the book Woodland Craft, by Ben Law. You can purchase a copy here
