Practical advice
and details
Here we’ve put together some advice and practical information to help you prepare for the arrival, installation and assembly of your yurt.
This often novel experience will be all the richer for it, and you’ll be able to limit any last-minute hazards.
Preparing the site and general information about building a yurt
- Levelling
The ground on which a Yurt is to be erected must be carefully prepared beforehand. This means levelling the ground as much as possible, and sufficiently in advance so that the site has time to settle, at least 1 to 2 months. - Ground surface
The flat surface created will include a peripheral margin of manoeuvre of at least one metre, to be added to the diameter of the Yurt to be installed.
For example, to install a Yurt 8m in diameter correctly, a circular area at least 9 to 10m in diameter needs to be prepared. This space around the Yurt to be erected is necessary to allow the canvas and felt to be manoeuvred and for future maintenance of the Yurt.
A drain can also be considered to effectively evacuate run-off water to the outside of the excavated area. - Gravel
The space prepared in this way is preferably covered with a layer of intermediate-sized gravel to make the ground stable for laying the studs, stone blocks and wedges to support the floor of the Yurt.
The layer of gravel also prevents the ground from becoming dirty and muddy, which complicates assembly because slippery ground can be dangerous. What’s more, the damp earth will stick to the assembly team’s shoes and inevitably damage the brand new floor. - Access
For everything to run smoothly, it is necessary to provide access for delivery vehicles (5 tonnes). If there is no such access, it is the customer’s responsibility to have one prepared at the time of digging the flat of the Yurt. Although the materials can be transported by hand, they are still heavy and bulky, so providing this access is a top priority. This access must also be stabilised with gravel to allow vehicles to arrive.
If, for any reason, access to the delivery vans is not possible, it is the customer’s responsibility to assemble a team of sufficiently strong people of an age to be able to lend a hand. This team is expected as soon as the sun rises, and by 8.30 a.m. at the latest (depending on the season), so that their delay does not interfere with the daily assembly schedule, which often includes setting up the floor and the Yurt in the same day. - Unloading the vehicle
It is also essential that, on the eve of assembly, there are people available to help unload the vehicle(s), as the van is also used to house the instructors in charge of guiding the assembly. For this reason, the vehicle must be emptied the evening before the yurt is assembled.
Assembly assistance (Notions)
It is absolutely essential to hear and understand that the ‘Assembly assistance’ service offered by ‘Les Tentes d’Avalon’ is no more and no less than what the words mean; i.e. assembly assistance.
This means that ‘Les Tentes d’Avalon’ will send a team of 2 people, usually experts in the field, to the site. Their role is to train the people on site when the yurt is being erected, to organise the operation according to the logic of professionals in the trade and to finalise the operation as quickly as possible. Their role is to help with the assembly, not to carry out the entire operation on their own.
For example: 6 to 8 people are needed to assemble an 8m diameter yurt.
Children are not allowed access to the set-up site. There is always the possibility that poles or other elements could fall during the initial set-up phase.
The quality of the set-up also depends on the quality of the team provided, their availability and their ability to get involved at the time of the manoeuvre. Responsibility for the result is shared and cannot be attributed solely to the helpers present.
Help with assembly can be compared to a participative workcamp.
Weather/ Responsibility
The date of the installation, which is usually fixed well in advance, is subject to favourable weather conditions.
However, as we all know, the weather can be unstable and changeable.
It’s better to forego a date and postpone the erection than to be faced with a situation on site, after having travelled many kilometres for the delivery, where a day of rain obviously makes erecting the yurt tedious or even impossible.
The purchaser of the yurt is ultimately responsible for choosing the date of assembly.
At Les Tentes d’Avalon we build yurts, but we can’t make it rain or shine!
That said, even if a yurt has been delivered and, on site, assembly proves to be compromised by bad weather, the customer is still obliged to pay the outstanding amount for the yurt and its delivery, without insisting on the assembly assistance team.
This is because it is not always possible to remain on site while waiting for acceptable assembly conditions to return.
In this case, a place where the yurt can be stored is necessary.
Assembly will be postponed.