Introduction to Yurt Building

Saturday & Sunday 10am - 6pm:  £200 per person 
Near Malpas, Cheshire
includes a light lunch as well as tea / coffee and biscuits throughout the day.

This course is an introduction to Yurt making, with information and demonstrations for anyone who is interested in making their own timber yurt frame at home.  There is information out there on yurt making but it's pretty hard to find and you will make a few mistakes before you get it right, this course will help you avoid making those mistakes and hopefully in the long run, may save you some time and money.  This course does not include how to make a canvas yurt cover or a crown, these subjects may be briefly touched upon but they are beyond the scope of this introductory course.  This course is for someone who has woodworking skills and some experience of using woodworking tools and just wants to run through the basics.  Day 1 covers the bare essentials and Day 2 goes into more detail and covers the basic information needed to get started on your own yurt at home.

Location:  The course will be held outdoors and we'll be using the yurt as a shelter in the case of bad weather.  Please bring waterproofs and weatherproof footwear as we'll still assemble the yurt if it's wet.

We will be working with sharp tools and there's a lot to cover during the day so apologies, but children or pets are not permitted to attend.

Provisional Dates:  13th & 14th June 2020 | 27th & 28th June 2020 | 11th & 12th July 2020

Day 1:
Assembling a yurt:  We will assemble a yurt frame and cover so that you can see how it all fits together and discuss how it all works.  You will also learn how to assemble a yurt solo.
* * *
Pole selection, cutting and preparing:  Explanation of types of wood suitable for yurt making, how to source it, how to cut it and store it.  We will, prepare, strip, sand and oil a few poles together in the sunshine (hopefully!).
* * *
Roof poles:  The roof poles need to be flattened at one end and tapered and shaped at the other end so that they fit into the crown.  I'll show you how to do this and we'll do a few together.
* * *
Wall-Trellis:  I'll show you how to calculate where to drill the poles and how to tie them together to make your first wall trellis.  
* * *
Day 2:
Steam Bending:  A demonstration of steam bending wall poles and roof poles for a bentwood yurt and how to make your own steamer and jig at home.  The poles will be steamed  and then placed on a homemade jig to form them into the correct shape.
* * *
We will spend a bit more time on the wall trellis and if time permits, assemble a wall trellis together.
* * *
The crown:  Making your own crown is beyond the scope of this workshop but if time permits, we will discuss how to make the holes in a crown using various techniques.  We will also discuss the different options when it comes to crown construction and I can show you a couple of different types of crown.
* * *
Door Frame:  Discussion on different types of doors and frames and the pros and cons of different constructions and design.  You will be able to compare a couple of different finished products to help you decide how to do yours.
* * *
Yurt cover:  We will discuss the making of a yurt canvas cover, templates available to make your own, types of canvas required and the tools you'll need to make your own.  
* * *
Dismantling a yurt:  Demonstration on how to dismantle the yurt on your own.
* * *

Please note that these courses require a minimum number of participants to take place, you will be notified in advance should the course be cancelled and in the case of cancellation by us, you will receive a full refund.

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