Original Mongolian Yurts

Direct from the Maker

Best Value for Money

What are included?

Our yurts come as a complete set with everything (except stove and flue pipe)  as described here.  There are two main parts in any Mongolian yurt: a) soft fabrics, and b) wood structure. The chart below describes each part of the yurt.

Mongolian yurt parts chart

Soft Fabrics

1 – Inner cover.  Almost 100% of the time, it is made of thin white cotton fabric. 

2 – Wool felt insulation for the roof. In Mongolia, two layers of felt are used during the winter, and one layer during the warm seasons. There are lots of variety in quality for felts, especially when they are to be used in non-Mongolian climates.

3 – Sheep wool felt insulation for the wall. Like roof insulation, two layers can be used if extra warmth is necessary. We also offer radiant barrier insulation for very cold or hot climates. The radiant barrier insulation can be used both for the roof and wall.

4- Waterproof layer, or, Radiant Insulation. This layer is very important to keep the felt layers dry. This layer is usually a thin canvas, but again there are varieties in quality. When the outer cover is PVC, which is waterproof, this layer is replaced with radiant insulation. 

5 – Outer cover / Sun cover. Our yurts have outer covers made of heavy-duty canvas.  Most of the yurts exported from Mongolia by other companies or individuals have outer covers made of thin cotton canvas, which lasts only a couple of years. Until 2022, Original Yurts had a heavy-duty canvass that lasts more than 5 years. From 2022, we are offering a PVC cover that comes with a 10-year manufacturer warranty at no extra cost. 

6 – Skylight cover. It is made of heavy-duty waterproof canvas. Original Yurts do not need the cover for waterproofing as we have a full acrylic finish, but we include the skylight cover in case the customer wants to block the sunlight during summer

7 – Outer straps. There are three straps for the top, middle, and bottom.  They are encircled and tightened after the outer cover is placed. We offer outer straps made of horse hair or car seat belt material.

8 – Inner straps. Although it might be difficult to see in the picture above, there are two straps, for the top and bottom, that encircle the lattice wall. We offer horse hair inner straps.

9 – Side straps. There is one side strap that should be tightened after the crown cover is placed. We offer straps made of horse hair and nylon straps.

10 – Khayavch. Its main purpose is to regulate the yurt temperature. When it is removed, air flow in the yurt improves significantly. But, our yurts have good airflow through the windows, and we do not offer this unless specifically requested by the customer. 

11 – Smoke flue pipe. It is made of iron. The stove and flue pipe are not included in our yurts. 

Wooden Structure

12 – Floor/foundation. The yurt needs to be set up on an even surface. floor/foundation can be made of various materials: wood, concrete, etc. In Mongolia, nomads do not use the floor during summer; they just set the yurt up on the grass. Our yurts do not include floor/foundation. We recommend that customers set their yurt on an elevated foundation suited to their landscape.

13 – Door & Windows. The wood parts are made of larch and/or pine wood. The door and windows are the parts most exposed to the elements among the wood parts.  They need exterior-grade glue to last long in non-Mongolian,  humid climates.  We use exterior grade Titebond Ultimate III, imported from the U.S.

14 – Lattice wall. The number of lattice walls determines the size of the yurt. Camel hide cut in narrow straps is the most suitable material to securely join wood to make the lattice wall. However, the cheap yurts exported by others use all kinds of material including goat skin. The lattice walls are the only part of the yurt that is not painted. Therefore they get mold and mildew without proper treatment.  The lattice walls need to get their concave shape when the wood is wet.  But the wall needs to be dried completely to reduce risks of mold and mildew.  We ensure this before shipment. But many other yurt producers do not appreciate the importance of this and ship the lattice walls without drying.  When non-dried walls are shipped in a container that travels 4 – 10 weeks through the ocean, the walls already get mold and mildew when they reach the destination.  In very humid climates, even the wood that previously dried can get mold and mildew.  For those in humid climates who are concerned about mold and mildew,  treatment with boiled linseed oil is recommended.

15 – Rafters. Depending on the size of the yurt, there are from 36 to over 200 rafters to join the lattice wall and the crown wheel. Our rafters are much thicker than in typical yurts produced in Mongolia for added snow load capacity.

16 – Skylight (a.k.a crown wheel /compression ring).  There are three different names for this part; we generally use the name “Skylight”. This is the part through which rain and snow water can come in. Original Yurts have waterproof Skylights with a full acrylic finish.  Our patent-pending Skylight design allows for ventilation while still being fully waterproof.

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