The boards go on the deck:


Melissa again plays the jig saw puzzle game with 50 lb pieces, finding the right board to fit in the right spot.























it takes a while, but isn't as hard as the yurt floor was.


















Then we cut the ends to fit the shape we want. Here's the edge to the left of the door.





















Scout seems to approve of the process (especially being able to get in and out of the yurt easier)

















Just to keep it interesting, we thought we'd go *around* a madrone on the way to the bathroom!

And now the entry deck and bathroom deck....
Starting with measuring for the height of the posts, we got going on the next part.



















Here's the first bit of support structure for the entry deck going in.






















working from those high points (the high side of the slope sort of determined where we could put the deck) we worked to the north, towards where we will have a platform for the bathroom.





















(notice Melissa's great job of putting tar paper over the joists, helping reduce the risk of water damage)

Below is the supports going all the way over to the bathroom area.

Melissa decides we need insulation under the floor of the yurt:

















so off she goes and puts it all on. Well done Melissa!

Life around the yurt:


we don't have a kitchen yet, so Tys cooks over the fire every night. we've got quite a set up going so far:
















The inside of the Yurt feels pretty much like home; internet, nice bed, dresser...

















The solar shower does a great job of getting warm, and now there doesn't seem to be any mosquitos around in the evening... not many anyway.

Yurt goes up, finished shots:


Team Yurt:




















Us, with the keys.






















Greg and Tys check out the outside


















view from the dome.

Yurt Goes Up!


Well, the big day has arrived. Sunday morning Melissa and I got the yurt parts down by the deck as our crew was showing up. Melissa's folks, and Greg and Christine were the team that got us a new home. Greg and Christine stayed overnight, qualifying as our first official guests!

We got the inside (lattice) wall up quickly, and the door on, and then it was time for the rafters. (which was the first hard part)























Melissa's mom kept them coming while everyone else had to scramble to get them in place so they'd hold each other up.





















Lunch! Melissa's mom often sends up great food with Art, always thinking of the right thing for the season (and our lack of refridgeration). Watermellon in the middle of a hot day hits the spot.

















Once we had them all in place and bolted down, it was time for a celabration picture.





















The next day was the canvas (vinyl) roof and walls, and there was a lot of pulling and tying and working in tight spots. Christine and Tys were in charge of clipping the wall to the ceiling.

















Greg, being the tallest of us, did many things to make the whole thing work. Here, I think he's just goofing around.

sanding and varnishing:

and so begins the sanding and finishing week. First, a lot of sanding with the very annoying, not working well sander.





















then, more and more sanding:
















Then, Melissa and I put on about 4 coats of polyurathane. The tarp is to keep leaves from falling on the wet surface.





















after cutting the circle, we put on a little 'drip edge' that works with the yurt walls. Notice we're using the level as a guide to figure out how high above the floor the edging should be.


















This isn't the last coat, but it looks pretty much like this.

Art helps a ton, all the time:

Melissa's father, Art, comes up and does all sorts of stuff, from advice giving to hardcore manual labor. Twice now he's been the 'cavalry' and come charging up the mountain because we needed one thing or the other. Here he is, cutting some of the extra lumber up into good usable pieces (there was some rot and/or bark spots)

moving day


Melissa's whole family came out to help us get stuff out our place in SF. what a lot of work. 'Inventor Greg' and the lovely Christine also helped on the City end of things.


















Melissa's mom trying to figure out what to do with the tree that had been in our bathroom:


















stuff everywhere






















and our whole house under a couple of tarps: