We have been anticipating living in a yurt for several years. In the beginning, we had thought we would make one because we had the sawmill to cut the slats, etc. After moving to the property, though, we soon realized that while it wouldn’t be hard, it would be very time consuming and tedious. After waiting awhile and then talking things through, we decided it was more than we should take on. The next plan was to buy one used. We thought it was about to become reality when we found one for sale for a very reasonable price. We were very excited about it and set out to get it shipped…a process that took much more than we realized (see a recurring theme here?). In the end, the deal fell through over the shipping and we were very disappointed.

Ever one to come up with an unconventional solution, Roy found one. Brother Dennis told him about a company near him that built storage buildings on site, including a cute two storied one. Roy went and looked at them and decided it would work for us if we made some improvements (like insulation and interior walls). However, when we went to the local dealer, they were out of business.

 

Roy then had the idea of getting a local contractor to do the same thing for us that the storage building company would do, and we would even get better quality. So he called a friend who is a contractor, sketched up what we were looking at, and he agreed to build it for the same price.  What we will pay to have built is a dried-in building that is finished structurally, and then we will finish it out with our own labor and materials.

It took me and our youngest a little while to adjust to the idea, because we really wanted to live in a yurt, but now we are as excited as the rest of the family (who says we are crazy). We have spent the last two weeks consumed with working out the details of the building, the contracting, and getting the site ready. The site work is done to the tune of 8 dump truck loads of Alabama clay. We are ready to go now, but it is raining for the 5th day straight (we are up to about 5 inches), and our newly prepared site is running off its spot on the hilltop and turning the whole place red (including the formerly white Emma). I guess patience and a willingness to redo work you’ve already done  is needed in building, just like in gardening.

This house will take the place of the cabin that we intended to build eventually, after we had enough logs, lumber, and money. We are still not sure what we will do with the existing foundation, so we will continue to entertain the many ideas and wait until we see what the future holds.