FAQs

Should your platform be made of concrete or wood, we recommend to build it circular with a 30 cm (1 foot) rim all around the circumference to allow a better water drainage or to avoid mice or other small animals getting inside the yurts.
Several customers installed their platform on straw bales with a plywood cover; easy, cheap, insulated and ecologic!
We do also sell excellent ready made platforms (made in Canada) that are insulated, easy to assemble and transportable.

You can install the yurt directly on the ground, as there’s no anchorage needed. Still you’ll have to take a little care of water drainage underneath the yurt. Install your yurt for example on a big tarp and fold the exceeding part of the tarp outside the yurt underneath the outside cover. It is ok to install a yurt on the ground for a limited period, but we do not recommend doing in humid areas over longer periods.

You can install your yurt virtually anywhere, but we generally recommend breathed areas rather than more humid places like under a tree or against a bush.

It depends on the size of the yurt. Generally for a 5-walls yurt it takes around half a day or a day to 3 or 4 people to erect it the first time. With a little bit of training one person can make it in 2 hours and it won’t take longer than 30 min to 3 or 4 Mongolians to do it!
The first time can be a little tricky even with our detailed installation notice. If you can, we recommend taking our set-up assistance. You can also let us know a few days in advance when you’ll be setting up and we’ll make sure to provide you with a contact phone number for one of our knowledgeable partner!

It all depends of the province (or state) and usually on the municipality. There’s generally no specific ruling for yurts. Either they’re considered as a non permanent building and no building permit is necessary. Some restriction might apply depending of the province (or state). In other places, it is better to declare it as a permanent building and ask for a building permit. Generally, it is better to present the yurt as a gazebo than as a tent… if you’re having difficulties, contact us as we might already have experience or contacts in your area.

Here’s an overview of approximate values:

weight volume
2 walls 150 kgs (320lbs)
3 walls 200 kgs (440lbs)
4 walls 300 kgs (650 lbs) 2 m3 (70 sqft)
5 walls 400 kgs (850lbs) 3 m3 (100 sqft)
6 walls 500 kgs (1100 lbs) 3.5 m3 (125 sqft)
7 walls 800 kgs (1750 lbs) Contact us
8 walls 1000kgs (2200lbs) Contact us

Up to 6 walls, you’lle be ok with almost any pick-up truck or decent sized van. Attention, the toono (top dome) in a 6 walls is about 65 inches (1.6 m) in diameter…
Above 6 walls, yurts take much more space. For example the toono of a 7-walls yurt measures already 7 feet diameter,

We can deliver; contact us per e-mail or telephone for a delivery quote. We do also organise once or twice a year a delivery tour offering great deals on delivery all around North America. We can also offer set-up assistance. Check our "shipping information" page under "more info".

Authentic Mongolian yurts (compared to any other yurts) are very well insulated and easy to heat in the winter. Still, they remain cool in the Summer thanks to the felt insulation and cotton based canvas who stop the sun’s stroke. A natural cooling air flow can the be created with the top widow simply by raising the side covers slightly. This millenary air conditioning works and has sadly been forgotten in modern yurts!!

We sell original Mongolian stoves. Although very efficient, they should be considered as strictly decorative according to our occidental safety standards. A standard wood stove, pellet stove or slow combustion stove will do the job, as well as a little electrical or propane unit.
Yurts are well insulated, so please take care of carbon oxides accumulations on the floor if you use a combustion stove!

The yurt comes with a very simple tin plate on the tonoo (top dome) with a 4 to 5” hole for the pipe. This is the way they’re using it in Mongolia. In North America, you should normally use a double insulated pipe and have it installed on the yurt by a professional to comply with building standard. We can supply the parts on special request, but it is usually more convenient and cheaper to do it on site. You can either have the stove pipe installed through the tonoo (the Mongolian way) or through the wall, depending where you want your stove to stand.

Although we’re not certified by any organisation, we strongly believe in the benefits of fare trade and that it is possible to do business and make things right. Mongolia is a free market economy and we generally do no discuss our supplier’s pricing. We try to source most of our materials on the countryside to support rural areas and nomads. We are in close contact with our suppliers and do our best to develop together better and healthier practices.
The wood industry is very regulated in Mongolia and we do not always have the control on our supplier’s sources. We therefore participate since 2009 in the development of a tree nursery project, financed by the sale of our yurts, which by 2012 shall produce every year 10’000 young trees that will be grown enough to be planted without the danger of being eaten by the goats and cattle that are free in Mongolia.
We continue to support Globetrucker.org, an organisation that equips rural schools. We also participate in the community with different projects, like this sewing school that we helped set up in on of the poorest areas of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

Both dwellings share the same name and a similar structure, but they are completely different products with both their advantages. In general Mongolian yurts (or gers) are easier to install and move. Built with more organic materials, we strongly believe that they are also more comfortable, thanks to the felt insulation and canvas that insulate well both from the cold and from the heat. The materials allow a natural breathing that can be simply improved in the Summer by raising the covers at the bottom of the yurt. A lot of the specifics of the original Mongolian yurt have been forgotten or could simply not be recreated in “modern” yurts.
Mongolian yurts are entirely hand crafted and will definitely require a little more attention than their North American cousins. You will have to adapt to your yurt and the yurt will have to be adapted to its environment. At Groovyyurts, we take a lot of care selecting the right quality of material at the source and helping our customers getting the most out of their new yurt in their particular environment. We’ve been successful so far to use our yurts in all possible climates: dry, hot, snow, rain, wind, cold…