A Yurt rise

Remember I told you on the Summer Recap about a major project we've been working on? Well... here it is!
Last spring we decided we wanted to build a place to live in that we could call our own, and after exploring some options, a yurt made the most sense. Living "off the grid" is actually really appealing to us: no need to deal with permits, not  having to ask anyone for permission.  Also, a small space means needing less things, buying less, creating less garbage, reducing foot print. Beautiful!
Keep in mind this is a work in progress. In fact, I think that when you choose to live in a Yurt, you're living situation is always a work in progress. We actually love the idea of being able to move our home whenever we want or need to. We started this project in the spring and we can finally see it coming along, yay!
The first step was to sustainably pick out the trees from the property, just two, cutting them down, getting the wood milled and then measuring, cutting and sanding the pieces for the yurt. It's built from scratch with the help of family and friends. We are so grateful for them.

Above you see the lattice, the center ring and the rafters (and a latter to put it all together), the basic pieces of this puzzle home. If you want to learn more about building yurts, check out Simply Differently. We also used this book to figure it out. It's definitely a DIY project that is doable.

This is the lattice, the walls of the yurt that can be folded to open and shut them for easy transportation, all around the top of the deck. 

Then we put the rafters (the roof structure), and like puzzle pieces, they all fit perfectly together to support the center ring, which in turn supports the rafters, all set together for a very sturdy living structure.

Then we bought the yurt canvas and insulation from Nomad Shelter. I guess we could have made it ourselves, but it would have taken us so much more time, and a lot of trial and error. They ussusally don't just sell the canvas, but they were so special with us they made an exemption. We are so lucky!

A skylight was built by Mr. O's brother. It pays off to surround yourself from very crafty people, I tell ya!

This is a before and after putting the insulation and canvas. Our site is surrounded by trees and a little pond we kind of created ourselves. I'll show it to you someday, it's delightful.

Like I said, this is a work in progress, still water and electricity to be set up (maybe rain water catching system and solar panels), a few things to bring to move in and lots of deciduous plants to plant. Oh! and another green house to build! I'll still be using our old green house, which is only a few steps away.
I'll see you soon, with more off the grid adventures and experiments!