TIPS FOR BUYING A YURT

For most people buying a yurt is a substantial investment - and as with other major purchases you wouldn't necessarily expect to buy the first one you see - you should never feel pressurised into buying simply because you have been to view. Our advice is to go and look at as many types as you can - and try and experience them in the rain. If you have never stayed in a yurt, think about booking a holiday, there are more and more yurt campsites opening - offering both Mongolian yurts and UK made yurts. Take your time, do your research and enjoy your yurt shopping.

What are you planning to use the yurt for: To live or work in, to rent out as a holiday let, for occasional personal use, festivals, etc. Are you going to keep it up all year? If not, you need to think about storage facilities as you need to have somewhere really dry to keep the felt and canvas. What furniture do you want to put in the yurt - remember the crown supports can limit where you put the stove and the furniture.

What is your location like? Yurts (both types) need to have a free flow of air but a Mongolian yurt will suffer more in a poor location because it has more layers so takes longer to dry out. If in doubt, consider how long a rotary line of wet washing would take to dry - it may be that your location is only suitable in the summer - that's fine if you only want a summer retreat but no good if you want to live in it!

Ask questions - a yurt seller should be prepared to spend as much time as you need - ask how long the seller has been supplying yurts, how many they have sold, how long they have had their demonstration yurt up (without replacing it or the covers), what problems they have found. Ask if the yurt will leak, how long will the covers last in the UK, how is the rain being kept out of the crown.

Make comparisons - but make sure you are comparing like with like - is the door included, is the felt lining included - and is it wool (washed or unwashed) or polyester. Is there a rain cap, Is the canvas the same quality (if untreated nothing less than 24 oz will do), are the component parts natural fabrics or manmade (this may or may not be an issue - horsehair ropes and rawhide ties for example are much more expensive but if it doesn't matter to you, then nylon and polypropylene could save you money. Is the wood in the lattice machined or hand hewn (the latter is stronger in Mongolian yurts as it follows the grain). Where will you collect your yurt from - will you have to deal with customs or the shipping people direct. Is training included. Is the yurt in stock or is there a 3 - 6 month wait? You can see from these examples that it is not as easy as comparing the price of one 20' yurt with another.

Be careful - Whilst the vast majority of yurt suppliers are honest - as with any other business there are the 'less scrupulous' sellers - it pays to be careful - read the small print, ask questions and don't be fooled by clever marketing. Claims of ethical working, sustainable sourcing, and charity support etc may not be true. Equally claims of quality and promises of full back up are easy to make. Sadly, we have had several phone calls asking for advice from people who have bought imported Mongolian yurts from others and whose yurts are leaking badly - cheap can be a false economy.

In stock or Ordering: Expect to pay more if the yurt you are buying is in stock - so if you are not in a hurry you could save money by ordering - but be very clear about when you will get your yurt - and if it is a promise of importing when enough orders have been taken then make sure you have a get out clause and a guarantee of a returned deposit if the magic number is not reached.

Training - the first time we put up a Mongolian yurt (from an instruction book), it took 4 of us (all very practical people) 5 hours and despite following the instructions carefully the walls were uneven, the roof poles not firmly in and the whole assembly looked amateurish - of course it can be done from a book, and like us, if you get it wrong, you can start again, but we are much happier to send our yurts off after a lesson in how to put them up - this also means you have a chance to carefully check all the component parts of your yurt. The lesson generally takes about 3 hours but can be longer if needed.

How Long will the yurt last - In Mongolia they say a yurt should last the length of a marriage - in other words, treat her right and she will be with you until old age - treat her wrong and she'll be gone in no time. So much relates to location and use that it is very difficult to give an answer - you could ruin a yurt in a year if you site it badly - equally your yurt can be with you for years and years if you care for it correctly. We are happy to discuss your location and potential use and give you a guide as to how long the frame and covers are likely to last.