Permaculturing in Portugal

One family's attempts to live in a more planet-friendly way

A porch for the yurt

Having cut the timber from our woodland and let it dry sufficiently to be unsticky enough to handle (just), I got started on constructing the porch framework over the last 2 days.

Laying out and levelling yurt porch floor area

Laying out and levelling porch floor area.

The challenge with the design has been to integrate the porch with the yurt in such a way as to make the join watertight at the same time as allowing for removal of the yurt covers once a year or even the possibility that we may want to take the yurt down at some point in the future.

The porch is freestanding and not fixed to the yurt. It can also be easily dismantled if need be. The ridge pole slides in between the felt insulation and waterproofing layers above the door and rests on a board which spreads its weight over 4 of the roof poles. The roof will do likewise, with some cunning-system-yet-to-be-devised to take gully runoff well clear of the yurt and porch footings. The ridge and eave poles have a slight incline away from the yurt so rain won’t drain back onto the yurt.

Post holes dug and ridge pole and main support timbers being placed to mark for cutting

Post holes dug and ridge pole and main support timbers being placed to mark for cutting.

Ridge pole and main support timbers in place after cutting and bolting together

Ridge pole and main support timbers in place after cutting and bolting together. Ridge pole is strapped to support timbers temporarily.

The parts of the timber framework below ground are preserved with used engine oil from a local garage and the posts are sunk into schist gravel so water doesn’t pool around the wood. Linseed oil will be used above ground. We did this with our compost bin and log store and so far the structure is showing no signs of either rot or insect attack despite firewood in the log store being well munched.

We’ll be using translucent corrugated sheeting for the roof and each side nearest the yurt will be boarded with overlapping sawmill offcuts. Somewhere big enough to hang all the coats and oilskins at last. And the framework is complete a year to the day we first raised the yurt!

Uprights and eave poles in place

Uprights and eave poles in place.

The next instalment in the construction.

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