The True Cost of Building a Yurt: Package

You want to build a personal oasis within a budget. You've felt the inspiration, read about the adventure, and now you want an introduction to the true cost of building a yurt. For years, Rainier Outdoor yurt owners have provided creative feedback and innovative ways to guide the way through all things yurt. This is part two in our series, “The True Cost of Building a Yurt: Package.” In this part, we will provide insight into three new yurt owners and price comparisons of their custom yurts.

For part one of our series, The True Cost of Building a Yurt: Introduction, we touch on permits, insulation, location, the platform, floor plans, and of course pricing.

Installment number three of our series, The True Cost of Building a Yurt: The Platform, discusses your platform options along with estimated labor and costs associated with each.

Lastly, part four, The True Cost of Building a Yurt: Shipping, highlights shipping your yurt! We will discuss your options and share the estimated freight costs of three recent shipments of various yurt sizes.

The goal of this series is to provide a helping hand to our customers as they calculate the true cost of building a yurt. We interviewed three recent yurt buyers and they kindly agreed to share their experience and costs with us. Our recent yurt buyers have provided a deeper frame of reference for you, an aspiring yurt owner.

Our three yurt owners have built their yurts and are now either living in them full-time or seasonally. Our goal is to provide a variety of yurt sizes, costs, and stories that will likely answer your yurt-building questions. The yurt building process is a tactile process that recommends frequent communication and knowledge of our customer’s needs. Often, we get to know each customer well through the design, decision, and building stages of raising a yurt.

Yurts are some of the most unique and dynamic living spaces available. We frequently receive questions about the true cost of a Rainier Outdoor yurt. Most often we reply with, “the cost of a yurt is dependent on the needs of the yurt owners and the landscape that the yurt will be raised on.” While dreaming about raising your yurt, consider asking yourself, what do I want out of my yurt? Will I live in my yurt full-time? Will my yurt be a new and improved remote office? Where am I going to put it? Should I build it in the woods, next to a lake, maybe IN A TREE? The answers to these questions will help us understand the dimensions, aesthetics, and weather-permitted requirements you will need to build a long-standing yurt.

We are thankful to have new yurt friends to lend a helping hand in guiding other yurt goers through the cost of building a yurt! Our featured yurt goers have very different stories, situations, and yurt preferences to provide a wide range of information to reference when it comes time to purchase a yurt of your own.

Below, you will find the costs of the three yurts side by side. This guide will provide you with a general idea of the price of a full yurt package.

Burt is a 33’ Eagle Yurt located in Shelburne, VT. This yurt is located on 500 acres of property owned by a wonderful family in Vermont. The family decided to venture away from purchasing a trailer for vacationing and decided to build a yurt that would serve as a peaceful getaway. During the summertime, Burt is a lake house, arranged near a large lake, exhibiting a breathtaking view. In the winter, Burt is a cozy getaway for a short family vacation. They decided that building a yurt on their property would substantially increase the value of their property, as opposed to placing a temporary trailer on the land. Burt is a work-in-progress and will soon receive a 16’ Eagle screened in Yurt. The 16’ Eagle Yurt will provide additional screened-in space for outdoor adventures while preserving the view and keeping pesky bugs away.

This Eagle Yurt is part of a larger project known as, “Do It Yurtself”. Rainier Outdoor provided and participated in the yurt guide, construction, and creative elements of this yurt. The 33’ Eagle Yurt was designed by a young filmmaker who previously worked as a designer and art director. Zach Both, the young artist, spent time traveling the country in a van that was converted into a camper. After some time, he decided to set roots in the Pacific Northwest. Zach contacted our team at Rainier Outdoor with an interest in building a website that outlined the buying and building process of a yurt. DoItYurtself.com is a live website where aspiring yurt owners and builders can visit to understand the anatomy of a yurt, the time involved in building a yurt, and pricing, exterior, and interior design. Our team participated in creating vlogs to walk through the manufacturing process within our warehouse, building the platform, framing the yurt, and installing the yurt cover.

Zach outlined a plan and executed it to a tee. One of his main goals was to create a modern interior design inside his new yurt. This design is unique to most yurts around the world. The best solution was to build interior walls that would separate the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom from each other. He is a talented designer and had the ability to create the space in 3D using an online platform. After 10 days, the interior structure of his yurt was built and ready for decor. This stunning structure houses two full-time residents. It is complete with a full kitchen, wood stove, office space, restroom space, washer, and dryer.

This 30’ Eagle Yurt resides between the mountains in Orderville, Utah, just a few miles above the Zion National Park in Southern Utah. The inspiration behind building this yurt came from the owner’s interest in being portable, as he decided to construct the yurt on family-owned land. The yurt sits on 20 acres of property that is part of a large ranch. It overlooks the trail that leads to the world-famous Narrows hike in Zion National Park.

This yurt is especially interesting because specific elements of the yurt are self-built by the owner! According to the owner, assembling the yurt took one day, with the help of several neighbors. The remainder of the construction was completed by the owner, family, and friends over four months. The yurt floor is built with 5 ½ inch polyisocyanurate structural insulated panels (SIPs), capped with a ¾-inch subfloor and luxury vinyl planks. The owner noted, “I do not recommend luxury vinyl plank flooring as the sun from the dome makes the flooring expand at different rates.” Fortunately, he resolved this small glitch with large area rugs. Furthermore, the walls are insulated with 3 ½ inch polyisocyanurate foam panels, cut to fit between the snow legs. The roof rafters and eagle block are homemade from a pattern provided by our Rainier Engineering team. The rafters include a 3-inch polyisocyanurate foam and a hard-faced panel – painted in a color that matches the pink sandstone cliffs above the property.

Additionally, the ceiling panels are supported by 400 one-inch square pieces of wood trim. And the walls are covered with 5mm wood paneling. The windows and doors have trimmed cedar harvested and milled on the ranch. Most of the lumber used in construction is from locally sourced beetle kill pine. This off-the-grid yurt is spring water fed and has a septic system, solar panels for power-source, propane heaters, and satellite internet. The owner plans on installing a wood stove this summer!

The goal is to raise a yurt in a secluded location, where guests could experience the therapeutic views of the pink cliffs and mountains from the yurt deck. The owner built this yurt around the same time that Airbnb became popular. The yurt now includes a primary bedroom, a murphy bed in the family room, two beds in the loft, a bathroom with a shower, a full kitchen, and sleeps up to eight adults. Visit their Zion Yurt page if you're interested in spending a weekend getaway in this magnificent yurt.

We are all wondering - how did the owner hang these incredible corded lights throughout the ceiling of the yurt? The pendant lights hang from the standard bracket mount round ceiling electrical boxes that penetrate the polyisocyanurate insulation panels.

Are you even more interested in raising your own yurt? Our team will supply you with everything you need, including yurt configurators for both the Eagle and Raven yurts!

Don’t miss the next two sections in our yurt series that cover: shipping, the platform, plumbing and electrical, and the interior!

How much does a typical yurt package cost?

A typical yurt package can range from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on size and customizations.

What factors affect the cost of a yurt package?

Factors include yurt size, materials, insulation, windows, doors, and additional features like flooring or heating options.

Can I customize my yurt package?

Yes, yurt packages can be customized with different sizes, materials, windows, doors, and insulation options.

What materials are included in a yurt package?

Yurt packages usually include the frame, roof, walls, windows, and doors, along with hardware for assembly.

How long does it take to build a yurt?

Depending on the size and crew, it typically takes 2-5 days to build a yurt.