………..Have you been thinking about whether you should buy a yurt for your school or nursery?

Could this be the quick-fix solution you’ve been looking for for the additional space requirements for the 30 hours free childcare scheme?

…………STOP RIGHT THERE! 

It’s a romantic idea alright, and if you DO buy a yurt, it’s certainly going to be cost-effective, eco-friendly and the children will love it….. providing it’s not winter (which, in the UK seems perpetual) and providing that you don’t need insulation, or electrics, or a washbasin…. needless to say this probably wouldn’t comply with any buildings regulations or codes of practice usually required for commercial establishments.

So really, let’s get to the bones of it.

It’s a tent.

Essentially made up of garden trellis, canvas and supporting lightweight roof poles with a pretty wooden crown at the top upon which rests a clear plastic sheet for a rooflight.

Wonderful for a night away with loved ones, sitting around a campfire and drinking wine, but, it’s suitability as a classroom or nursery environment is somewhat questionable.

A lightweight and temporary structure is of course easier to sneak under the radar of the local planners without giving too much consideration to seeking planning approval (though, I must warn you, planning approval must still be sought if you buy a yurt for a school or childcare business), and of course it’s assembled in a jiffy and can be a magical space for storytelling….  but it’s not a classroom for a school. Or if it is, it’s an ‘outdoor classroom’ and one which is seasonal.

With the average cost of a yurt coming in at around £10,000.00 plus the additional funds required to lay the groundworks/decking, source furniture and prepare the site you may be looking at around about £15,000.00 for the whole kit and caboodle.

Considering that a modular, timber-framed classroom building would cost you at least double that, you are indeed making a wonderful saving.  But of course, these are the reasons it’s half the price of a timber school building:

• It can only really be used for part of the year, in the summer months – for it’s not insulated and the walls are…… canvas
• Heating options are limited – open flame is dangerous in a canvas structure, you may not have electricity for alternative options
• The canvas needs re-proofing, tightening and regular maintenance
• Mould and mildew has been known to creep up the walls
• There are no windows
• Condensation issues can arise
• God forbid you face gale force winds…. A yurt can be (at best), flappy and wobbly and (at worst), prone to flying away!

Now, I’m sure you know what’s coming but, indulge me for a moment and allow me to list a whole ream of benefits to be made by investing more into a permanent, timber-framed school building which is designed for the purpose you’re seeking.   For really, there is no comparison.

Timber-framed, eco-friendly, Buildings Regulations compliant Roundhouses are….

• Insulated, Insulated, Insulated!! The walls are over 25cm thick.
• Finished internally with primed and painted internal wall linings, architraves, cover trims and high-spec detailing, behind which are damp-proof membranes &  service cavity.
• Provided with large, Argon filled, low-e, toughened, double-glazed windows – from treated softwood to UPVC or powder coated aluminium, all windows are high-performance.
• Feature a gorgeous double glazed polycarbonate (or glass on request) 90cm diameter rooflight dome in the cathedral roof
• Include Full electrics, unlimited double-sockets, smoke detectors, GU10 LED lighting systems on a dual array with dimmer switches as standard
• Can be intergrated with ethernet ports, underfloor heating, interactive whiteboards, InfraRed heating panels, combi-boilers and bathroom/w/c, kitchen facilities
• Designed to have a lifespan which would probably exceed that of most of us reading this blog
• British designed, british built, utilising british timber and a nurturing yet practical building.

buy a yurt

So, good luck with your expansion, and please, do still buy a yurt for your school, but make sure it’s a timber-framed one, a permanent one and a beautiful one.

Called, ‘Rotunda‘.  

Enjoy this wet, windy weather!!