Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Yurt Workshop, Day 7


[Sea of knots]

These last couple of days have involved nothing but the tying of knots. It's kind of incredible that sturdy walls can be created by thin strips of wood and hundreds of knots.

To demonstrate the lashing used to hold panels together, and to figure out how much strap is required, I stood up two sections and lashed them together. 20 feet is the answer. To make a traditional yurt of this size, I'll need to weave three 20' straps to hold the panels together.

[Closeup of the lashing]

[Two panels lashed, a sight to behold]

After this, my work here is done. The panels are all labelled and stacked neatly in a corner. It's hard to believe that a beautiful 450 square foot home can slide easily onto the floor of a station wagon, but that's the attraction of the yurt. Nearly anyone can build one with cheap materials and simple tools. It can be set up in a lazy afternoon, taken down in an hour, and transported in an ordinary vehicle. Now that I know how to do the hard parts, I can't wait to design and build my own.

[All four panels finished and stored]

And then I emerged from the basement to find Portland covered in snow. The whole household went for a walk to the video store. Beautiful!

[Crab Apples in the snow]

[Snow piled high]

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