yurt instructions - Traders of Tamerlane

Setting up a yurt can be a little intimidating at first, especially to those who are used to
European style tents. Though the task may seem daunting, the thing to remember is that
Yurts are remarkably forgiving and flexible. You will not need to get a protractor out to
make sure that your wall is a mathematically perfect circle, or that your lathes form perfect
right angles. In fact yurts are easy to adjust even when already set up. We recommend that
you review the setup instructions IN THEIR ENTIRETY before beginning setup, and that
you give yourself plenty of time on your first setup to become familiar with the structure.
1. Preparing the spot. - The ideal spot is flat, and clear of debris, however the yurt can
handle being set up on a slope, and since it requires no protruding support ropes, it does a
good job of fitting into tight spaces. Remember, the ground you pick will be the floor of
your tent, so clear out any large debris (sticks, rocks etc) that will be uncomfortable for you
to walk on before you set up. Your yurt is a circle, so plan out the desired perimeter and
which way you’d like the door to face before you start setting up the wall.
2. Assemble the door frame - Lay out the door frame on the ground. Slide together
the corners of the beams and the verticals, and insert the bolts into the holes to form
the door frame. Tighten the wing nuts and the door is complete. Lay the door on the
ground, in its approximate final position.
3. Expand the wall - Stand the wall up (while still collapsed) opposite your door. In
other words, if you’d like your door to be at “12 o’clock” put the wall at “6 o’clock”.
Make sure the wall is right-side-up (The top row of bolts should be about 3” from the
top edge of the wall, and the bottom should be about 8” from the bottom. Also make
sure that the bolt heads are on the OUTSIDE of the circle, and the ends are pointing
in. Expand the wall evenly outward from the center, progressing equally with each
end, toward the eventual location of your door. The wall will open, becoming shorter
and wider. The wall will be at the right height when the spaces in between the lathes
form diamonds, with the corners about at right angles. DON’T WORRY about
getting the wall position perfectly into place, at first. Even as you are inserting roof
rafters in later steps, you will still be able to shimmy the wall in or out as needed.
Wall standing up, before being
expanded
An expanded yurt wall, with other yurt visible in
background. Notice at left, the wall stands up on
its own in this shape, even though the door is not
yet inserted into the wall
4. Attaching the door to the wall - Stand the door up, and position it into place so
that the ends of the wall slide into the gap between the uprights of the door. Tie them
into place on one side first, with the small lengths of rope provided.
The majority of wall adjustment is on the
following step, which is attaching the wall to the
second side of the door. When securing the
second side, the wall will most likely taper where
it meets the door, like a teardrop. Gently push the
door inward to bow out the walls on either side,
and feed the bowed area of wall around the yurt to
A yurt with the wall and roof pulled back to
even out the tension.
reveal the wall rope and top belly band. Note
that the rope goes between the intersections in
Continue adjusting the wall around to make sure it the wall, and the rafter rests on the rope with
is roughly circular, and the walls are about the
the notch. Sagging of the rope between
same height. After you secure the second side, you intersections is natural; the structure will
naturally distribute the weight.
can still adjust the wall position and height.
5. Attaching the middle tension band – The tension bands have built in buckles on both
sides for easy adjustment. Remove the loop in the buckle, and reattach it so that the loop goes
The walls are attached to the door around the uprights on the door, as pictured. Position the first tension band at about the
frame with the white ropes. The
middle of the door frame and walk it around the wall. Try to avoid twists in the band, and to
thicker white ribbon is the tension keep it at a level height. Adjust the tension of the band so it is tight against the wall, but not too
band.
tight, as they will shift slightly during setup. Keep in mind pulling on the band will tighten the
wall, making it taller and narrower. You can tighten and loosen at any time to make adjustments to the wall.
6. Attaching the top tension band- Loop the top band around the very top of one of the
door uprights and thread it through the X’s formed by the short intersections of the lathes at
the top of the wall. (see picture on last page) Go all the way around to the other upright, and
loop it around as with the first. The roof rafters will rest on top of this band, and the wall
canvas will tie directly to it as well so it should remain tight. Don’t worry if tightening this
band causes the middle tension band to sag slightly, as the final tension will be determined
in later steps, when the roof rafters are added.
7. Setting the stage for roof raising - This step is the one that most requires helpers - one
person to hold up the roof ring, and the rest to insert rafters. Distribute a few rafters
around the outside of the tent, with the angled end pointing toward the yurt. This will save
time when inserting rafters, as you will always have one nearby. Be careful when
distributing rafters around not to lean them against the wall, instead lay them on the ground.
A few rafters will have a wide notch at one end, instead of a narrow slit. These are rafters
for over the door, and will be installed last, so set them aside for now. For this step make
sure you are using rafters with the small slit at the end, meant for hanging on the top
tension band. Assign one person to hold the roof ring, if you have a dome, make sure you
put it on the ring before raising the roof. Distribute the rest of your helpers across from each
other evenly around the outside. (I.E. If you have 4 people inserting rafters, place one pair at
12o’clock and 6 o’clock, and the other pair at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock) Using any available
step, the center helper will hold the roof ring up at its approximate final position while the
others insert rafters. Minimally this should be 2 feet over the wall. Make sure to brief
everyone on what is about to happen in the next step, so that the person in the
center has to support the ring for as little time as possible.
Yurt with completed structure, but no
canvas on the frame yet. Notice how
the rafters sit on the top band. You
may lay down your ground tarp now or
any time after this point.
8. Raising the roof - When everyone is ready, the person in the center will hold
up the roof ring, Those around the yurt will insert their initial rafters, from the
outside. Every gap in the roof ring corresponds to a rafter. Do your best to
insert the rafters so that they are as straight as possible, but keep in mind this
will be easier as more rafters are inserted. When everyone has a rafter in the
ring, each person will push against the roof ring. This will have the effect of
raising the roof ring. Slide the slit in the bottom end of the rafter over the top
tension band, and move on to the next one. The person in the center will have
less weight to hold as the rafters take up more of the burden. The roof ring on
most yurt sizes can be held up with as little as 4 rafters, so long as they are
evenly spaced. Lastly, insert the door rafters by sliding the top end into the
roof ring as usual, and resting the groove on the bottom end against the top beam The bunched roof canvas is lifted and spread with poles.
of the door frame. You may move the door rafters left or right for a more snug Feel free to pull down a rafter if no pole is handy.
fit.
9. Adjustments - Stand around the outside of the yurt directly at the bottom of
a rafter - look straight up along the top surface of the rafter and check that it
goes straight into the roof ring. This method will make it easy to spot those
that are not straight. Repeat the process with the rest of the rafters. Another
way is to check from the inside and ensure that the rafters are evenly spaced. If
a rafter falls on an X simply move it to one side or the other. Some rafters may
seem “tighter” than others but don’t worry; this is the yurt’s natural way of
distributing pressure. You can still tighten tension bands and adjust walls
slightly. You’ll likely find that no adjustment will be needed after this step.
10. Putting up the canvas
Wall canvas - The top row of ties will tie directly to the same tension band that
your rafters are resting on. Note that the last 3 ties on the top edge of your wall canvas are longer than the rest; these ties
correspond to the door frame, as they are long enough to tie over the top beam. Using these longer ties start tying the wall canvas
to the door frame first, making sure to overlap the vertical edge over the wall about a foot Unfold the canvas around your tent so
that it lies along the base of the wall, then continue tying around the perimeter until you reach the door again. Any extra wall can
be folded around the doorframe and tied to the inside of the yurt.
Roof Canvas - The following method may seem crude, but it is the easiest we
have found to put up your roof. Unfold the canvas and then bunch it up so that
it’s small enough to easily pick up with a helper, then toss it up onto the roof.
Don’t worry, the roof can
withstand a much greater impact than some bunched up canvas! Next, using any
long, blunt pole (or pull down a rafter for the purpose) unfurl the canvas, making
sure that the inside of the roof (where the drawstrings on the edge emerge) is on
the inside of the yurt. Using the poles, lift and push the canvas into position so
that the hole in the canvas lines up with the roof ring. Once the edges are close
enough to the wall that you can reach them manually, you can pull to make any
adjustments. Make sure the edges of the roof canvas overlap the ends of the
rafters.
Once the edges can be reached by hand, it’s easier to
pull from the ground to make any adjustments.
Next, tighten the drawstring of the roof by gently pulling each end in opposite
directions. Be sure that the canvas is not bunching excessively near the
drawstring opening, as this will make it difficult to tighten the roof evenly. If it
is, distribute the gathers evenly around the yurt until the drawstring is tight
around the entire roof edge. Remember that the drawstring for the roof need only
be tight enough to fit snugly against the wall, so that wind cannot get underneath
it. It should never be so tighter than the tension bands.
11. Roof dome / flap - This step can vary depending on the type of dome you
have. You may even elect not to put any dome/flap on if you know the weather
will be nice. If your dome structure rests on top of your roof ring, make SURE
you attach it to the roof ring, BEFORE lifting it, as it will be difficult to put a
dome on the roof ring when it is above your reach.
The roof flap can be dragged up the side of the roof till it fits over the roof dome. Make sure to unfold the wall with the ties
Adjust by pulling on the ropes until you are satisfied with the position, then stake facing up.
down the ropes, or tie them to the wall itself at an intersection.
Notes
Raising the walls - One of the best parts about having a yurt is the ability to
raise the walls to provide a cross breeze. Simply fold or bunch the bottom of
the wall upward and tuck it into the center tension band. You can do this all
the way around or only in certain areas per your preference.
ABOUT ground tarps - Do NOT set up your yurt on TOP of your ground
tarp. Instead put your ground tarp down inside the yurt after setup, making
sure that there is enough overlap so that it lies against the perimeter of the
wall. The canvas on the outside of the wall, and the ground tarp against the
inside of the wall make sure that rain runs beneath and outside of your living
area.
The walls can be tied from the inside or
outside.
ABOUT break down - To break down the yurt simply follow the instructions above in reverse. Take special care to remove roof
rafters evenly, just as you put them in. As there are less rafters supporting the ring, it will lower to within reach. Breakdown
generally takes half the time of setup or less.