The True Cost of Building a Yurt: The Platform

Our yurt experts created this series to help customers calculate the cost of building a yurt from beginning to end. The True Cost of Building a Yurt Platform is part three of our yurt series. In this section, we will walk you through building a yurt platform from start to finish. We will also discuss platform options, estimated labor, and associated costs. A few of our recent yurt buyers kindly agreed to share their yurt experiences with us for this blog.

Following the blog, we encourage you to read through the rest of our yurt-building series:

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 pricing.

Installment number two of our series, The True Cost of Building a Yurt: Package, will provide insight into three new yurt owners and price comparisons of their custom yurts.

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

The yurt platform serves as a structural element to anchor the yurt and hold it in place. It is essentially the base of all yurts. Most homes are built with an in-ground foundation; however, yurts are always supported by a platform typically anchored with concrete blocks and raised off the ground with wooden posts.

Rainier Outdoor is one of the only yurt manufacturers to offer custom yurt floor plans. We have yurt floor plans available for download here. Once you have made a deposit on your Rainier Outdoor Yurt, our team will send you an engineered platform plan. In addition, we have developed basic Eagle Yurt platform plans to cover the footings layout, subframe layout, and SIPs panel layout. You can find those platform plans here. We highly recommend viewing these during your yurt-raising adventure!

After reviewing the plans, you will have various decisions to make about your yurt. The cost of your yurt platform is completely dependent on the platform option you choose. Our three featured yurt guests have a wide range of costs and plans associated with their platform. You will notice one thing, the larger the platform, the higher the cost!

This yurt owner built the entire platform on his own. The Zion Yurt platform is uniquely built to be mobile, therefore, it rests on cement piers, rather than pillars below the frost line. The Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) consist of 4.5-inch polyisocyanurate panels with 7/16 Oriented Strand Boards (OSB) glued to each side. The panels come from the roofing industry and were factory seconds, making them extremely inexpensive. We asked our yurt volunteer about any complications that he may have faced while constructing the platform. He noted, “the only complication I had was two piers settled by two inches, right over the trench for the water and sewer. The owner used a house jack and input new posts to level his yurt back into place.

The inspiration for this yurt platform comes from the exterior “treehouse” effect of yurt designs. This yurt owner wanted to emulate the traditional aesthetics of a childhood treehouse. The owners built their yurt platform according to the plans provided by our team.

The most unique element of this platform is the entrance to the yurt door. The architect working on this yurt created a railroad toe entry step system utilizing crushed granite and designed the platform around existing trees. The wood design on the railings is a unique design element as well.

In January 2017, with the help of a professional contractor, his apprentice, and a few friends, they began building. Most yurt customers choose a SIPs platform for their durability and longevity in inclement weather conditions. This yurt was no exception because it is located in a traditionally high-wind and heavy-rain destination. Above the SIPs panel, the 30’ yurt is surrounded by Trex Decking with 18” of space on the low side and about 4’ on the high side of the platform. They built according to the plans which called for concrete piers and the wooden structure to prepare for the SIPs platform. One exception was made to the SIPs plans - the Trex Decking around the Yurt is set on concrete blocks, instead of poured piers. After purchasing the equipment to augur the holes, buying the hardware and concrete, and paying for the labor, this yurt platform cost the customer about $2,000-$3,000 to build.

As we mentioned above, our team of engineers compiled loads of data and inspiration to create Yurt Floor Plans. This specific yurt was built from the Morgan Floor Plan found on our yurt floor plans page. This is another yurt customer that decided to go with our SIPs panel option for their yurt platform. The SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel Systems) are essentially built to be a giant puzzle that fits together to create one even, solid, sturdy, and long-lasting platform for the yurt to sit on. SIPs panels are manufactured in 4x8 sheets of 6” thick panels that fit together on-site. Each panel is cut in our wood shop to create the exact radius to fit your yurt.

We will describe SIPs yurt platforms later in the blog, but it’s important to note that these platform structures are stronger than non-SIPs. SIPs offer several advantages for yurt decks and eliminate the need for more structural framing and blocking underneath the platform. They also take the guesswork out of building the platform to be perfectly round, as it comes pre-cut in sections that snap together.

The SIPs panel platform helps to combat the frigid temperatures, wind, and snow that’s common in the location of the yurt. SIPs platforms are great for seismic activity and the ease of installation. Check out the graph below to find the required materials used to construct the framing and support the SIPs and yurt:

We recommend building a yurt platform for all of our Rainier Outdoor yurt products and sizes. In most cases, yurt raisers choose to have their platform elevated above the ground. If you choose to build an elevated, wooden platform, then check out our NEW platform plans below! Once you’ve made a deposit on your Rainier Outdoor yurt, we’ll send you our engineered platform plans in more detail.

Our platform plans are customizable to any yurt floor plan or yurt size of your choosing. That being said, once you've reviewed the platform plans, you’ll have some decisions to make about the design elements. There are multiple ways to build and design a yurt platform. The cost of your yurt platform will rely on the materials you choose. In the graph below, we have included an estimated price for our basic yurt platform plans. This is the same platform that we use for our Eagle Yurt in the Yurt Yard! After purchasing the equipment, buying the hardware and concrete, and paying for the labor, this yurt platform costs about $2,000-$2,500 to build.

You might be asking, “what exactly is a SIPs panel?”.When you order your yurt, you’ll have a choice between building your own deck or purchasing our Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) along with your yurt package. If you choose to purchase our SIPs along with your yurt package, then we’ll include them in your yurt crates. You’ll be responsible for the concrete footings and the under-framing to support the SIPs.

SIPs panels are constructed by taking expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and laminating it between two sheets of oriented strand board, known at the lumber store as OSB. This energy-efficient system provides an extremely strong building system that requires little to no additional support. This makes the yurt platform framing process faster than other building methods and enables an air-tight, well-insulated yurt platform. Check out our SIPs Platform blog post for more information.

We hope this blog post helps inspire you to create the yurt platform of your dreams! If you have any additional questions, please feel free to leave a comment below and one of our yurt experts will get back to you. Happy building!

What materials are best for a yurt platform?

SIPS panels and pressure-treated lumber are popular for strength and insulation.

How much does a yurt platform cost?

Costs range from $5,000 to $10,000 depending on materials and labor.

Can I build a yurt platform myself?

Yes, but professional installation may ensure greater stability and durability.

What are the benefits of a SIPS platform?

SIPS platforms provide better insulation, energy efficiency, and structural integrity.