10 QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT SHELTERS
There are a lot of shelter solutions out there. How do you go about choosing which one is right for your needs? What issues need to be considered? Some, like seasonal weather conditions are pretty obvious. But some are not be so obvious. For instance, psychological issues are frequently ignored when considering the quality of temporary shelter. Factors like the quality of the local transportation infrastructure, equipment necessary for assembly, and long term shelter maintenance, all have a bearing on what shelter is most appropriate.
Here is a set of useful questions with linked answers.
- Is it a true four-season shelter?
- How is the shelter kept warm?
- How configurable is the shelter?
- How easy is it to set up this shelter?
- Will language be a barrier to setting up the shelter?
- How fault-tolerant is the shelter?
- Can the shelters be manufactured quickly?
- How easy is it to deliver the shelter where it needs to go?
- How long can you expect the shelter to last?
- What are the real costs associated with the shelter?
1. Is it a true four-season shelter?
2. How is the shelter kept warm?
3. How configurable is the shelter?
4. How easy is it to set up this shelter?
5. Will language be a barrier to setting up the shelter?
- If the assembly manual is in English and the people putting up the shelter only speak Urdu, will there be a problem? Can a team lead demonstrate assembly without speaking the local language?
[See ASSEMBLY MANUAL (UTIYURT INTERNATIONAL VERSION)]
6. How fault-tolerant is the shelter?
- People rarely read the assembly manual. They frequently assemble things imperfectly. Does the success of the shelter depend upon it being perfectly assembled, or does it have a high tolerance of assembly errors?
[See FAULT TOLERANT DESIGN (FH YURTS)]
7. Can the shelters be manufactured quickly?
8. How easy is it to deliver the shelter where it needs to go?
9. How long can you expect the shelter to last?
10. What are the real costs associated with the shelter?
- Finally, your shelter selection decision has to make trade-offs between shelter requirements and shelter costs. You determine which shelter solution most effectively meets your requirements by balancing those requirements against the true costs of the shelter all the way from acquisition, through delivery, site preparation, assembly, and on-going maintenance of the shelters you are deploying.
[See VALUE EQUATION – WHAT IS SHELTER PROVISION’S REAL COST?]
(Updated 1/23/2008)
3-D PROMOTIONAL BILLBOARDS & EVENT KIOSKS
The flat surfaces of FH Yurts can be decorated both inside and out with text, images, and designs. [See DECORATION, CAMOUFLAGE, & PATTERNING (FH YURTS)] This coupled with their simple assembly and disassembly makes them attractive candidates for reusable interior or exterior convention and event kiosks.
A FH Yurt’s rectangular wall and triangular roof segments simplify the graphic design process. Contact Folded Homes® for further details.
(Created 1/9/2008)
AREA & VOLUME – HOW BIG IS A FH YURT?
A FH Yurt is a circular shelter with a cone roof comprised of twenty wall and door panels and twenty roof panels. It has an inside diameter of 9 feet 5.5 inches (2.9 m), an interior area of 69.7 square feet (6.5 square meters), and an interior volume of 408.2 cubic feet (11.56 cubic meters.)
The widest outside diameter of the structure is 10 feet (3.05 m). Inside, the FH Yurt ceiling rises from 5 feet (1.5 m) above the ground at the FH Yurt walls, to 7 feet 4.5 inches (2.25 m) at the center of the ceiling.
DETAILS: The wall panels are each 5 feet (1.5 m) tall and 3 inches (7.62 cm) thick. They are 17.75 inches (45 cm) wide on the inside and 19 inches (48.3 cm) wide on the outside. Ground flaps extend out 9 inches (23 cm) from the outside edge of the FH Yurt walls. So, the outside diameter of the FH Yurt measured to the outside edge of each ground flap is 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). The outside diameter of the FH Yurt measured to the outside edge of the FH Yurt walls is 10 feet (3.05 m).
[See HEADROOM (FH YURTS) and DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS)]
(Created 12/21/2007)
CUSTOMIZING (FH YURTS)
You can customize your FH Yurt by purchasing additional doors and windows [See DUTCH DOORS – WHAT ARE THEY?, FH YURT DUTCH-DOOR KIT, FH YURT LONG-DOOR KIT, and FH YURT WINDOW KIT] and by connecting FH Yurts together to create multi-room structures using FH Yurt connectors [See MULTI-ROOM FH YURT STRUCTURES, and FH YURT CONNECTOR KIT]
Each accessory kit comes complete with all the equipment you require for a single door or window customization, or to connect two FH Yurts together.
Considered clockwise from the upper left, the six FH Yurt design examples shown above are
- The standard UtiYurt with a single Long-door and no window.
- The standard TekYurt with a single Dutch-door and one window.
- A TekYurt customized with two opening windows placed three panels to each side of the door. (This configuration requires one FH YURT WINDOW KIT.)
- A TekYurt with two doors placed across from each other, and two windows centered in the walls between them. (This configuration requires one FH YURT WINDOW KIT and a FH YURT DUTCH-DOOR KIT or a FH YURT LONG-DOOR KIT.)
- Two TekYurts connected together using a Connector Kit. Both TekYurts have four windows arranged around them. For safety, both TekYurts have a separate entrance to the outside. Folded Homes recommends that all FH Yurts that will be used for human habitation have a direct exit door from each room to the outside. [See EMERGENCY EXITS (FH YURTS)] (This configuration requires a FH YURT CONNECTOR KIT, six FH YURT WINDOW KITs and a FH YURT DUTCH-DOOR KIT or a FH YURT LONG-DOOR KIT.)
- A TekYurt with a single door and five windows arranged around its circumference. (This configuration requires four FH YURT WINDOW KITs.)
The installation of each FH Yurt door or window requires installing a header (and in the case of doors a footer) part that connects the wall panels on each side of the door or window together. These header and footer parts maintain the integrity of the FH Yurt’s tension ring. So if, for instance, you want to put a door next to a window, or two doors or two windows next to each other, you must allow at least two wall panels between those openings. Since each FH Yurt is comprised of twenty wall segments, you can insert at most six doors and windows into any one FH Yurt. Since your TekYurt comes complete with one door and one window, you can add up to four more doors and windows. Since UtiYurts only include a single door they can be customized with up to five more doors and windows.
(Updated 1/10/2008)
DAMPNESS & HUMIDITY (FH YURTS)
The Extruded plastic walls of a FH Yurt are not porous. Humidity cannot pass through the plastic sheeting.
In cold conditions, if a FH Yurt is very tightly sealed and well insulated, water can condensate on the ceiling and walls simply from the presence of human body heat. Such condensation is not usually a problem because the FH Yurt, comprised of overlapping wall and roof segments, has small gaps through which air (but not water) can circulate. The The 3” (7.62 cm) vent in the center of the roof provides adequate air circulation when that vent is not being used to vent smoke from the chimney of a wood burning stove. Where a wood burning stove has been installed, doors and windows can be cracked for additional ventilation if necessary. In fact they probably will need to be cracked because a little heat goes a very long way in an insulated FH Yurt.
So if you experience problems of condensation on the walls or roof of your FH Yurt, first experiment with proper ventilation before concluding that you have a leak.
[See VENTILATING (FH YURTS), ROOF LEAK REPAIR (FH YURTS) ]
(Created 12/20/2007)
DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS)
Folded Homes® intentionally designed FH Yurt doors to be relatively small since there is less heat loss from opening a smaller door.
A FH Yurt has one or more doors to the outside (external doors), and from zero to five inside doors connecting it to other FH Yurts (internal doors). UtiYurts are equipped with a single Long-door to the outside. [See FH YURT LONG-DOOR KIT] Each TekYurt comes with a single Dutch-door to the outside as standard equipment. [See DUTCH DOORS – WHAT ARE THEY?] Dutch doors and Long doors have the same overall size and are interchangeable.
FH Yurt external door openings are 17.75 inches (45.1 cm) wide by 60 inches (152.4 cm) tall. FH Yurt internal door openings are 17.25 inches (43.8 cm) wide by 59.25 inches (150.5 cm) tall. Unless fitted with custom double doors, FH Yurts are not wheelchair accessible. [See WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY (FH YURTS)]
All FH Yurt doors open inwards.
(Created 12/21/2007)
DUTCH DOORS – WHAT ARE THEY?
Dutch Doors are comprised of a lower door part and an upper door part which can be opened either together or independent of each other. This allows the upper part of the door to be opened like a window while the lower portion of the door remains closed. TekYurt Dutch Doors come with a bolt which can be used to connect the upper and lower door parts together so that the door functions like a single solid door if preferred. Dutch Doors will not fit into the door frames of internal FH Yurt door openings. [See WINDOW DIMENSIONS (TEKYURTS)]
Dutch Doors are intended as exterior FH Yurt doors and come complete with a heavy sliding latch and an interior dead-bolt that allows you to lock the door from the inside. [See DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS), FH YURT DUTCH-DOOR KIT, and LOCKING (TEKYURTS)]
TekYurts can be assembled with single panel Long doors instead of Dutch doors. The two varieties are interchangeable. [See FH YURT LONG-DOOR KIT]
(Created 12/19/2007)
EMERGENCY EXITS (FH YURTS)
FH Yurt walls are quite robust and not easily torn open. In the event of an emergency, the only way to get out fast is through one of the FH Yurts external doors or a TekYurt window, though the latter are 44 3/4” (114 cm) off the ground. Where multiple FH Yurts have been connected together to form a multi-room structure, Folded Homes® always recommends that each room in the structure has at least one external door so that in an emergency it is possible to exit the structure without being obliged to pass through another room.
[See BEAR ATTACK – HOW TOUGH IS EXTRUDED PLASTIC?, and MULTI-ROOM FH YURT STRUCTURES]
(Created 12/19/2007)
DECORATION, CAMOUFLAGE, & PATTERNING (FH YURTS)
FH Yurt wall and roof surfaces are all flat panels. During the manufacturing process it is easy to print patterns and images on the outside faces of these extruded plastic panels. Alternately, ‘stick-on’ images can be affixed to a portion or the entire interior or exterior surface of a FH Yurt turning it into an objet d’art, a 3-dimensional billboard, a camouflaged hunting blind, or an otherwise decorated structure.
Contact Folded Homes® regarding your custom surface imaging requirements.
[See EXTRUDED PLASTIC – WHAT’S THAT?]
(Created 12/19/2007)
FH YURTS – FOLDED HOMES YURTS
‘FH YURTS’ refers to the family of Folded Homes® shelters that includes the TekYurt and the UtiYurt. FAQ question titles that include ‘(FH YURTS)’ are FAQs that answer questions that are relevant to the entire family of the high-tech yurt shelters. Questions that are specific to the TekYurts have titles that include ‘(TEKYURTS)’.
[See TEKYURTS & UTIYURTS – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?]
(Created 1/10/2008)
FOUR-SEASON PERFORMANCE (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts are true four-season structures designed to perform well in extreme conditions of heat, cold, wind, rain, and snow. Folded Homes® has intentionally kept the size of the FH Yurt small because it is easier to heat a small space. If you need more room, add another room or two by adding another FH Yurt and connecting the two with a connector kit. [See AREA & VOLUME – HOW BIG IS A FH YURT, MULTI-ROOM FH YURT STRUCTURES, and FH YURT CONNECTOR KIT]
Passive ventilation in their double-walled shells keeps FH Yurts cool in the desert. [See KEEPING COOL – PASSIVE VENTILATION IN FH YURTS, and VENTILATING (FH YURTS)]
Insulating the FH Yurt’s 3-inch-thick (7.62 cm) walls and roof will keep the heat in when it’s cold. [See KEEPING WARM – WOODBURNING STOVES IN FH YURTS, and INSULATING DOUBLE-WALLED FH YURTS]
The insulated chimney flue at the center of their roofs (standard-equipment with each FH Yurt) makes it easy to fit a FH Yurt with a wood-burning stove. [See CHIMNEY INSTALLATION (FH YURTS)]
The FH Yurt’s ground flap design is sufficient to keep the shelter solidly on the ground in all but the heaviest winds [See HEAVY-WIND PERFORMANCE (FH YURTS), and ANCHORING TO THE GROUND (FH YURTS)], and where that is not sufficient the FH Yurt can be additionally tied to the ground from attachment points under the roof eaves. [See EXTREME WIND GUY-LINES ( FH YURTS)]
FH Yurts will not collapse under snow-loads [See SNOW-LOADING (FH YURTS)], and an ingenious system of interior gutters wicks rain water off the roof and away from the walls. [See KEEPING DRY - ROOF DESIGN (FH YURTS), and DAMPNESS & HUMIDITY (FH YURTS)]
(Updated1/15/2008)
HEADROOM (FH YURTS)
The conic ceiling of a FH Yurt sits atop the circular wall. At its lowest edge, it is 5 feet (1.5 m) from the floor. It rises to its peak 7 feet 4.5 inches (2.25 m) from the floor. This configuration provides substantial headroom throughout the shelter. Here, 6’ 4” (193.4 cm) Larry Rutstrom, the FH Yurt’s principal designer, standing in front of a FH Yurt connector passage, demonstrates the height of the FH Yurt. Larry does need to duck down to go through the exterior doors and through the FH Yurt connector passage to the next FH Yurt.
[See AREA & VOLUME – HOW BIG IS A FH YURT?]
(Created 12/20/2007)
HEAVY-WIND PERFORMANCE (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts are typically anchored to the ground via the ground flaps attached to each wall segment. The ground flap can be buried underneath an earthen berm, weighed down with heavy stones, or staked through to a lawn below. [See ANCHORING TO THE GROUND (FH YURTS)]
Normally, this is sufficient. FH Yurts anchored in this way and subjected to high wind conditions performed satisfactorily during our two-year test program. A FH Yurt weighted to the ground using large rocks survived winter winds exceeded 75 mph at our 8,600’ (2,620 m) altitude Sierra mountains test site.
Where even greater security is required it is possible to attach the FH Yurt with guy lines. [See EXTREME WIND GUY-LINES ( FH YURTS)]. At our Forks, Washington test site, “hurricane-like winds” in the middle of December 2006 could not uproot the FH Yurt that had been additionally attached to the ground using five such lines.
(Created 12/20/2007)
INSECT & PEST CONTROL (FH YURTS)
Assuming you keep your windows and doors closed, our double-walled FH Yurts do a good job of keeping insects and pest out. Such a good job that the large bear that attacked the FH Yurt at our 8,600’ (2,620 m) altitude test site in the Sierra Mountains couldn’t get in. [See BEAR ATTACK – HOW TOUGH IS EXTRUDED PLASTIC?] The ground flaps extending out from the bottom of the FH Yurt walls make it difficult for animals to burrow under the walls. The robust latch closing TekYurt external doors cannot be easily broken through. [See LOCKING (TEKYURTS)]
Folded Homes® does not offer screen doors at this time, so if you want a screened opening in your FH Yurt, the best thing to do is to add one or more windows to your FH Yurt. [See FH YURT WINDOW KIT] FH Yurt windows open inward. So, if you want to keep a window open in a buggy environment you will need to rig some sort of bug screen to the FH Yurt wall framing that window. Bug screen and tape should do the job nicely.
If you have packed the walls of your FH Yurt with convenient local bio mass, it is possible that you’ve introduced some pests into the lining of your wall. They can’t eat plastic though, and hopefully they will leave you alone. [See INSULATING DOUBLE-WALLED FH YURTS]
(Created 12/20/2007)
KEEPING COOL - PASSIVE VENTILATION IN FH YURTS
The FH Yurt double-wall and double-roof design takes advantage of passive ventilation to keep the interior of the FH Yurt cool in hot environments. [See PASSIVE VENTILATION – WHAT’S THAT?] It is remarkably effective and will keep a white FH Yurt interior tolerable even in the hottest desert conditions. In order to maximize the effectiveness of passive ventilation as a cooling mechanism, all the round access tabs in the walls and ceiling should be closed except the row of access tabs closest to the bottom of the FH Yurt. This will draw cool air into the walls from near the ground and circulate it up through the walls and ceiling.
Passive ventilation is less effective if the walls of the FH Yurt have been packed with an insulating material that blocks the free flow of air.
(Created 12/20/2007)
KEEPING DRY - ROOF DESIGN (FH YURT)
The FH Yurt’s roof is comprised of twenty 3-inch (7.62 cm) thick triangular segments that bolt together to create a conic roof. The overhanging eaves of the roof ensure that water draining off the roof does not run down the FH Yurt walls.
The seams of the roof are made water proof by an ingenious system of ‘internal gutters’ that catch any water that might work its way into the seam and drains it to the outside edge of the roof. (One of these gutters is visible on the right hand side of the open seam in the top image at right illustrating the final stage of assembling the roof before it is set atop the FH Yurt walls). The image on the left looking up at the FH Yurt ceiling illustrates how the overlapping internal gutters spread out like spokes of a wheel from around the center vent / chimney aperture.
A properly assembled FH Yurt set up on a flat surface that does not distort the roof should not leak. The inherent pressure along the interior face of the FH Yurt’s conical roof causes the rain gutters that lap over from one roof segment to its neighbor to be pushed up against the underside of that neighbor to form a watertight seal. Then the principle of surface tension causes any rain water in the gutter to run down to the side of the FH Yurt wall.
The double-walled structure of the roof makes it extremely strong and though it isn’t recommended, if you must, the roof will support you if you climb on it. [See SNOW-LOADING (FH YURTS)]
Climbing on the roof of the FH Yurt is not recommended for several reasons. First, polypropylene plastic is fairly slippery and there really aren’t any handholds on a FH Yurt roof. If you don’t climb on, you can’t fall off. Second, the 4mm (0.16”) thick polypropylene plastic sheets that a FH Yurt is made of will not tear, and you can’t easily punch a hole through them. But they can be crushed by a heavy weight that is not properly distributed across their surface. (Snow load is distributed evenly and therefore does not deform the roof.) Roof distortion is what could cause the roof to leak. Carelessly climbing on the roof can cause some distortion in the plastic panels and this can result in damaged seams leaking. The fix is really easy however, and is done from the inside of the shelter. [See ROOF LEAK REPAIR (FH YURTS)]
(Updated 1/24/08)
KEEPING WARM - WOOD-BURNING STOVES IN FH YURTS
FH Yurts are constructed of extruded plastic. Extruded plastic will burn. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should a FH Yurt come in direct contact with flame. Under no circumstances should open flames (fires, candles, etc.) be permitted inside a FH Yurt. [See FIRE DANGER (FH YURTS)]
FH Yurts are designed to support wood burning stoves that use a 3” (7.62 cm) chimney flue as long as those stoves are installed according to manufacturer specifications, and as long as the stove chimney passes through the insulated vent in the center of the FH Yurt roof. [See CHIMNEY INSTALLATION (FH YURTS), and INSULATING DOUBLE-WALLED FH YURTS]
(Created 12/20/2007)
LIGHTING (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts are manufactured from extruded polypropylene plastic sheets that allow considerable natural light into the structure even when the doors and windows are completely closed (see image of grass growing inside a FH Yurt a year after it was erected.) Additionally, natural light will enter the structure through the upper section of the Dutch-door or the entire door itself if left open. Adding additional windows and doors to your FH Yurt also increases the amount of light that will naturally enter the structure. [See EXTRUDED PLASTIC – WHAT’S THAT?, and CUSTOMIZING (FH YURTS)]
If the FH Yurt has been painted with a surface material designed to block the sun’s UV, then the extruded plastic no longer lets in light and you must rely on artificial lighting or natural light that enters through the FH Yurt’s windows, doors, and unpainted panels. The image to the right of a prototype fiberboard UtiYurt with only four extruded plastic wall panels was nonetheless very bright when the sun came up in the morning.) [See EXTRUDED PLASTIC DEGRADATION MECHANISMS, and EXTENDING THE LIFE OF YOUR SHELTER (FH YURTS)]
Under no circumstances, should you ever use an open candle or other unprotected flame to light the inside of your FH Yurt. [See FIRE DANGER (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/1/2008)
LOCKING (TEKYURTS)
TekYurt doors come with a large rugged latch that cannot be forced without destroying the TekYurt doorframe itself. This latch can be operated from both inside and outside of the TekYurt. It can be locked from the inside.
All Dutch door kits and Long door kits come with an internal deadbolt that allows them to be locked from the inside by the simple expedient of inserting the deadbolt into the large plastic door latch. This deadbolt is inserted when the door latch is fully extended into the door frame and prevents the latch from being opened from the outside.
It is currently not possible to lock the door from the outside although it can be easily latched shut. Please note that standard UtiYurts are delivered with a long door that does not have a latch and is therefore not lockable. If you want to be able to lock your UtiYurt, you need to install one of the door kits.
[See DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS), DUTCH DOORS – WHAT ARE THEY?, and EMERGENCY EXITS (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/1/2008)
MULTI-ROOM FH YURT STRUCTURES
FH Yurts are relatively small structures. This makes it easy to heat them. To get more room in your shelter, FH Yurts can be combined together to make multi-room structures. Any FH Yurt can be connected to as many as five other FH Yurts. What is more, those structures can be organized to also create enclosed external spaces or compounds which allow you to control access to the internal compound. Ten FH Yurts strung together in a circle surround an interior compound 24’ 3” (7.4 m) in diameter. Such configurations can be useful when it is necessary to control access by either individuals and animals. [See AREA & VOLUME – HOW BIG IS A FH YURT?, and BUILDING ENCLOSED COMPOUNDS (FH YURTS)]
There is an infinite variety of multi-room structures that can be built.
FH Yurts are connected together with short 8” (20 cm) connecting passageways that come with a single full-length internal door that closes off either one of the two ends of the passageway.
The passage between two FH Yurts is completely enclosed (top, bottom, and sides.) Dutch Doors will not fit in a FH Yurt passageway.
You use a FH YURT CONNECTOR KIT to connect two FH Yurts together. [See FH YURT CONNECTOR KIT, and EMERGENCY EXITS (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/1/2008)
PLUMBING (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts do not require floors, so you have wide latitude to arrange plumbing as necessary. In addition, the 3 inch (7.62 cm) thick hollow walls and roof provide considerable space for running plumbing lines if appropriate. It is easy to cut through the extruded plastic panels with a sharp knife to run plumbing lines.
(Created 1/1/2008)
PRIVACY (FH YURTS)
Visual Privacy: Structurally, extruded plastic sheets are made up of two parallel layers of flat plastic separated by fluting that runs perpendicularly between the two layers. A FH Yurt’s walls and roofs are 3” (7.62 cm) thick with each of the sides of this thick wall formed from these extruded plastic sheets. The extruded plastic itself is opaque. So it lets light through, but that light is highly defused as it passes through the four distinct layers of plastic. As a result, while a FH Yurt lit from the inside will radiate a warm glow, it is not possible to make out shapes or figures inside. [See EXTRUDED PLASTIC – WHAT’S THAT?, and TEKYURTS – WHAT ARE THEY?]
Access Privacy: It is not easy to rip through a FH Yurt wall. Each segment of the wall and roof is bolted to its neighbors and the double layers of extruded plastic require significant effort to cut even with a sharp knife. The latches that bolt TekYurt doors closed are quite robust and the doors themselves can be locked from the inside. [See LOCKING (TEKYURTS), and BEAR ATTACK – HOW TOUGH IS EXTRUDED PLASTIC?]
(Created 1/9/2008)
REFUGEE HOUSING CAPACITY (FH YURTS)
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Refugee Shelter Guidelines specify that required shelter space per person is 3.5 m2 (7 m2, for two adults.) Folded Homes yurts provide 6.5 m2. Although a single UtiYurt or TekYurt provides slightly less area than this requirement specifies for two adults, these structures provide complete headroom throughout and are amply large in real-world situations. When connected together to form multi-room dwellings they will meet any capacity requirement.
[See AREA & VOLUME – HOW BIG IS A FH YURT?, and MULTI-ROOM FH YURT STRUCTURES]
(Created 1/16/2008)
REUSABILITY (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts are house substitutes, not tent substitutes. They are designed for long life and require a number of hours to assemble. However they are easily disassembled, and can be efficiently stored because the panels can be unfolded for flat storage. Because the FH Yurts bolt together, you do not require any new materials to reassemble your shelter.
[See DISASSEMBLY TIME (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/1/2008)
TEKYURTS – WHAT ARE THEY?
TekYurt’s are true semi-permanent, four-season shelters that can be easily combined into multi-room structures. Capable of being assembled by a single-person in less than a day without the use of any specialized tools or ladders, TekYurts are rigid-walled structures that are more than tent replacements, they are house substitutes. The TekYurt’s thick double walls 
and roof provide a degree of physical and psychological shelter that considerably surpasses the degree of shelter offered by other rigid single-wall shelters or tents. [See PRIVACY (FH YURTS)]
The TekYurt’s 3-inch (7.62 cm) thick double walls and roof (see panel cross sections photo) take advantage of passive ventilation to keep the shelter cool in hot environments and can be insulated for cold environments using any locally available biomass. [See PASSIVE VENTILATION – WHAT’S THAT?, and 
INSULATING DOUBLE-WALLED FH YURTS] They can be heated with a wood burning stove vented through the double-insulated roof vent.
TekYurts are manufactured with a anti-UV additive blended into the polypropylene to slow the process of UV degradation.
TekYurts come with a locking Dutch door and window as standard equipment. They can be customized with additional doors and windows and connected to other TekYurts or UtiYurts.
Light enough to be packed to their final destination on the backs of two men (or one donkey), TekYurts are designed for deployment worldwide both to serve as a better alternative for refugees requiring a long-term shelter solution, and as the structural foundation of relief organization base camps. [See WARRANTY (FH YURTS), 10 QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT SHELTERS, ORIGAMI ARCHITECTURE – WHAT’S THAT?, and MONGOLIAN YURT – THE FH YURT PROGENITOR]
(Updated 1/16/2008)
UTIYURTS – WHAT ARE THEY?
UtiYurt’s are true semi-permanent, four-season shelters that can be easily combined into multi-room structures. Capable of being assembled by a single-person in less than a day without the use of any specialized tools or ladders, UtiYurts are rigid-walled structures that are more than tent replacements, they are house substitutes.
The UtiYurt’s thick double walls and roof provide a degree of physical and psychological shelter that considerably surpasses the degree of shelter offered by other rigid single-wall shelters or tents.
[See PRIVACY (FH YURTS)]
The UtiYurt’s 3-inch (7.62 cm) thick double walls and roof (see panel cross sections photo) take advantage of passive ventilation to keep the shelter cool in hot environments and can be insulated for cold environments using any locally available biomass. [See PASSIVE VENTILATION – WHAT’S THAT?, and INSULATING DOUBLE-WALLED FH YURTS]
UtiYurts are manufactured from standard polypropylene and come with a latching but not locking long door as standard equipment. They do not come with a window. They can be customized with additional doors and windows and connected to other TekYurts or UtiYurts.
Simple enough to be pushed out of the back of a helicopter to untrained users below, or packed to their final destination on the backs of two men (or one donkey), UtiYurts are designed for deployment worldwide both to serve as a better alternative for refugees requiring a long-term shelter solution, and as the structural foundation of relief organization base camps.
[See WARRANTY (FH YURTS), 10 QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT SHELTERS, ORIGAMI ARCHITECTURE – WHAT’S THAT?, and MONGOLIAN YURT – THE FH YURT PROGENITOR]
(Updated 1/16/2008)
VENTILATING (FH YURTS)
FH Yurts come with a 6” (15.24 cm) diameter covered roof vent that encloses a 3” (7.62cm) diameter ventilation aperture which doubles as the chimney aperture when a wood burning stove is installed. This central roof vent is protected by an all-season wind and rain proof vent cover. In warm environments the structure is cooled by passive ventilation that travels up the inside of the FH Yurt walls and roof. [See PASSIVE VENTILATION – WHAT’S THAT?]
TekYurt windows and the opening Dutch-door upper section are protected by an overhanging roof eave that keeps all but wind-blown rain out of them when they are open.
[See CHIMNEY INSTALLATION (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/41/2008)
WEIGHT (FH YURTS)
A FH Yurt boxed for shipment weighs 160 pounds (72.6 kg.) [See SHIPPING & STORAGE SIZE (FH YURTS)]
(Created 1/4/2008)
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY (FH YURTS)
Wheelchair accessible doors must be at least 32” (81.9cm) wide. At 17.75” (45.1 cm) wide, the standard FH Yurt door is not wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. However using a custom designed double-door and door headers and footers it is possible to install a 35.5” (90 cm) wheel-chair accessible door in a FH Yurt. [See DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS)]
If you require wheelchair accessible doors, contact Folded Homes® for a special quote.
(Created 1/4/2008)
WINDOW DIMENSIONS (TEKYURTS)
TekYurt windows have dimensions identical to the openings of Dutch-door uppers. The window openings are 15.25” (38.74 cm) tall, by 17.75 inches (45.1 cm) wide. [See DOOR DIMENSIONS (FH YURTS), and DUTCH DOORS – WHAT ARE THEY?]
(Created 1/4/2008)
UtiYurt & TekYurt Customization Examples
TekYurt & UtiYurt Customization Examples File (510KB)
