Building the loft and deck

We knew we wanted a loft in the yurt, as it would add about 30% more floorspace. Our first drafts of the loft had it as a simple rectangular loft. However, the landowner, S, had a great idea to make the loft "teardrop" or "yin-yang" shaped. This way it flowed with the "circle-ness" of the yurt and also appealed to our penchant for eastern philosophies. To save money and resources we went down to the river to look for beaver-cut logs that we could use. We ended up finding exactly what we needed, and the helpful beaver had even cut the logs to the perfect size! We used the beaver cut posts in the front of the loft where they could be seen, and cut our own lumber for the back pieces.

S is a master craftsman when it comes to pretty much anything. He builds lightweight teardrop trailers that mid-sized vehicles can pull, so anything with curves is his specialty! He started by ripping thinner, bendable layers from a rough-cut cedar 2x4 and bent and layered them into place along the edge of the loft so that it resulted in a full-sized 2x4 yin-yang shaped cedar wood beam.

Cross-bracing was built and then we put cedar decking over the top to finish it off. 

While the loft was being built I worked on de-barking a large log. We then cut it in half and used it for posts on the deck. 

Once the deck was complete along with a Hopi Kiva style wooden ladder, S hand crafted a cedar door with upcycled tempered glass.  The kitties love looking out of this beautiful door!

How we built the floor

First thing’s first! We found the perfect spot for the yurt, now we need a floor. We decided that a porch area would be pretty cool, so we included that in our plans. 

First thing to be done was dig square holes for the pier blocks. These pier blocks placed on top of 16" square garden paver blocks provide a solid foundation with adjustable height brackets. We dug and leveled a lot of holes past the “gopher line” so that they wouldn’t mess the with leveling at all. 

After the foundation was laid, framing had to go up! We placed 4"x4" pressure treated lumber running cross-ways placed into the adjustable height brackets placed in the pier blocks.  The 2x6" pressure treated lumber is run 16" apart and rest on the 4x4" cross support.  These were all leveled with the adjustable pier block brackets.

1" wood strips were placed along all the 2x6" floor joists to receive the 1.5" thick foam insulation.

After putting down insulation, time for the tongue-and-groove plywood floor to be installed!

After cutting the plywood floor to a nice 16’ circle, just perfect for the yurt to sit on, we then installed a “bumper board” all the way around the perimeter of the circle so the walls of the yurt could have something to nestle up against.  This is actually a little dirty secret because without the bumper board, setting up the walls without them falling off the edge of the floor circle would be muy difficult.  With the bumper board it's a piece of cake! 

Then the roof rafters can be installed within the metal cable to provide a tension system.  Putting up the rafters to the center, circular support is quick but hazardous work without a hardhat.  Once the first 8 main rafters are installed the remaining go in quite well.  We only had one rafter fall out during the process.

For insulation, felt carpet padding fit the bill nicely as it is made from 100% recycled material!

After insulating, we put the recycled billboard canvas on the outside.

All of this took about 5 days. The next post will cover the building of the loft and finishing the cedar plank deck.