Would you, Have you, LIVED in a TIPI?

[emptycupranch]

My husband and I are seriously considering purchasing a large Tipi for permanent housing. Has anybody here done it? Pros, cons, tips, advice?

We do have winter here, snow (up to 3 feet this year!), cold snaps, etc.
We plan to have a wood cookstove as an alternate source of heat.

We've been researching tipi makers and have the best feeling about Colorado Yurts as they are built to actually be lived in and not just put up for the summer family camp trip.

What do you think?

[Cabin Fever]

People we know lived in a tipi for two years or so in Northern Minnesota. They had a raised plywood floor with carpeting and a wood heater right in the center.

No electricity, gas lights and candles, outhouse, Coleman stove and BBQ, hauled water from work. Both of them showered at work, too.

They lived this way so they could save money for a house. They were successful.

This is where they got the tipi ==> RK Lodges in Hackensack, MN

[catdance62]

I've always been intrigued by yurts, but not teepee shaped ones, the more octagonal shaped ones.

[Earthbound]

Have some friends that live full time in a tipi, and love it.
We live in a yurt and love it.
corry

[CamM]

Won't it take a ton of wood to heat? Modern teepees are just canvas and wouldn't be very efficient as far as keeping a steady temperature. Course there's probably enough wood up there in BC.

[Freeholder]

I haven't, but I would. Even my daughter loves the idea!

They aren't as hard to heat as you might think, as long as you put the liner in and the partial ceiling (can't think of the name). Because the tipi is more or less round, the heat from a fire or small stove in the center will radiate evenly to all parts. You'd want plenty of warm blankets for the winter, of course, or you'd be up stoking the fire every hour or so.

We knew some people in Alaska who lived in a couple of army tents their first winter up there (in the coldest part of the Interior, too). They had a couple of small children and a baby who was still in diapers, but they managed. A tipi would be easier to keep warm than the tents they used (I've seen their tents).

Kathleen

[moontime]

I kicked around the idea of living in a tipi, yurt or canvas dome, but what changed my mind is that they are all really easy to break into. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you might want to go with something sturdier. I live in a camper. Still somewhat easy to break into, but with canvas all you need is a knife.

[Maura]

Tipis also have the added benefit of being streamlined, so the wind goes around them instead of trying to go through them. Also, if you had the fire on the ground, like the original dwellers of tipis, wouldn't that heat up the earth in the tipi?

[homesteadforty]

I used to have one. I wouldn't say I lived in it, but I stayed in it for extended periods fairly often... including in the winter.

I loved it but to stay for extended periods it definately has to be a "lifestyle" you enjoy.

My set-up was very traditional... no floor, just a floorcloth... no heater, other than the firepit... no stove, etc. I also used traditional furnishings.

Tipi living is almost an art, choosing your set-up site is of prime importance. You need to know (or learn) smoke flap management. A liner is absolutely essential... otherwise you're living in a shadow box. It is also necessary for smoke/draft control.

An ozan (the "roof" that another poster mentioned) blocks heat loss into the upper reaches of the teepee during the winter. Wind breaks also make a big difference.

There is a book: The Indian Tipi, Reginald & Gladys Laubin (just check... it's available from amazon), that is generally considered the bible of tipi living. It covers a lot of traditional information but the tipi management information is the same no matter how you furnish it.

[cindy71]

Give it a try. If you don't like it you can always sell it. Sounds like an adventure have fun with it.

[Earthbound]

Our friends have a wood platform built up off the ground and insulated it with cob, a wood fire in the middle of the structure that can be left open or closed up (custom made), they have a canvas shell that is waterproofed and then insulated it with "wool" strips from their alpacas which they loomed themselves. its really cool and quite rustic, but cozy as can be.
In regards to either being broken into(yurt and tipi), by the time someone took the time to cut into it through the layers, someone would be waiting at the door with a large club or better.....
Our yurt has lattice around the peramiter as well as a locking door, and the way the latice is set up, you cant reach the doorknob. i feel very safe, and also have lived in 5th wheels and trailers,and don't feel any more vunerable in here. also the latice is to small for a body to fit through.
Unless you have really spent any time in one, its hard to understand how solid these structures really are. i feel safer and warmer in here then any home I've ever lived in.
corry

[Yvonne's hubby]

I have known four different couples who have lived full time in tipis, they all loved it....... for about 6 months or so, and all began building houses shortly after that time period. The basic complaint was lack of space.

[pheasantplucker]

I know a guy who has an interesting story...Hitchhiking in the Northwest about 35 years ago. His driving stint was up and everyone rotated...He slept in the back of the station wagon. Big logging truck tipped on a curve, killing all but him. He was awarded $12,000 (av. back then, probably). He took the money and came back to Ohio and lived down near Athens. Bought a tipi and lived in it for several years. Suggest if you do, you get a liner...provides tons more insulation with the dead air between layers.

[QuiltingLady2]

My cousin lived in a TP with her H in the 70's. They were a back to the land kind of couple. She said it was fun at first. Then after the wet weather started, mice were their very best friends. Just couldn't keep them out. They chewed their way in, dug under, or came over the top of the TP. Nothing like a mouse landing on you in the middle of the night. BOmbs away! LOL
She was soooo glad to have a secure food source. You know they will chew through anything to get to food. Oh, and bathroom was a big deal to.

[Michael Kawalek]

I did live in a tent the whole summer one year when I worked for the US Forest Service. Heated the tent with a wood stove, and cooked on a gasoline stove. That kind of stuff is OK when you're single, and you are in your twenties. Wouldn't want to do it again, and even if I was being payed again! Yes, I second QL2's statement. I too remember all the mice, they alone were unforgetable!
Michael

[stanb999]

Where is FreightTrain? He lives in one about 40 or so miles west of me. He has build a structure now tho.

[Bramble]

i've looked into one. for winter living i'd build a platform of some sorts to place it on, and try ot have a water source nearby cuz hauling water in winter sucks. if you have a family that will be living with you see what everyones privacy needs are. theres no sound barriers and a tipi is pretty much just one big room. i have seen people add a loft to a yurt so that theres some space division.

[jirwin]

I have actually lived in one for 4 months May-Aug. It was eventfull, did so working as a Historical Interpretor, so we dressed, cooked and lived that time period. The idea of an elevated deck is great, as the floor can get messy, besides that I loved every minute of it, for more info PM me. -J

[Lizza]

I liked in a Pacific Yurt for 5 1/2 years, even had a baby at home in December in it. We lived in it through all sorts of conditions, snow storms, wind storms, and ice storms (that was the scariest). The hardest part is that it isn't what you would call "insulated", I mean there is insulation, but they are drafty.

I have friends with a Tipi down by their creek that they use for a summer guest house. It doesn't have a floor though and I couldn't imagine living it in. I haven't seen a more permanent one.

[wanttohomestead]

I have considered a yurt ---- but I think some areas have restrictions on living full time in a seasonal home (if they would be consided that)
I do not think I would like to live in a tipi because of the small space---winter would be a drag.