Kon Tipi...Our Home in the Forest

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After smoothing the inner wall evenly around the tipi, we stapled rows of fiberglass insulation— through the liner—to the poles, starting from the bottom. Mike spent a full day getting that job done and hauling up the outside wall, but he had to work fast . . . since an unexpected downpour would have done real damage had it hit before the waterproof outer wrap was in place. (To handle the run-off from future rains, we dug a drainage trench on the high side of the tipi . . . and used the dirt removed while doing so to bury the bottom edges of the vinyl.)

STEP FIVE: PORTS AND PORTALS
Now most folks don't think of windows and doors when imagining tipi life, but we'd been able to salvage a number of panes and screens at no cost and were willing to experiment. As it turned out, cutting the openings for our viewports and entryway involved more by-guess-and-by-gosh figuring than did any other task we encountered.

To build the front door/window combination, for example, Michael first selected three poles on the east side of the tipi. He then cut through the vinyl and insulation, along the line of the middle pole, starting at a point 7 feet up and moving down to the ground. With that done, Mike sliced a horizontal gash, at the 7-foot mark, running from the first pole to the third. This "T" cut allowed him to fold back the vinyl and insulation.

Next, the entryway was framed in with 2 X 4's: First, 7-foot uprights were fastened to the bases of the three poles, followed by horizontal—or roof-line—planks . . . which were secured to the tipi poles at points 7 feet from the ground. Michael claimed that the job was sort of like constructing a dormer on a simple slanted roof, except for the fact that the tipi's curve made it a little more "interesting".

With the frames in place, Mike hinged the window to its upper border so that it could be pulled in and hooked to the entry ceiling on warm days. The door was set to open inward . . . the spaces below and beside the window were filled in with planks and insulation . . . the entry's 1/2" plywood roof was topped off with roofing paper, white roll roofing, and tar ... and the vinyl flaps were stapled to the frame. The whole job turned out to be easy enough to inspire Michael to go on and build dormer windows on each floor . . . plus the 5' X 10' greenhouse shown in one of the accompanying photos (which provides us with additional light, solar heat, and—of course—a way to assure ourselves a continual harvest of vegetables).

SOME SUM!
As you'd imagine, part of the satisfaction of building Kon Tipi came from knowing that our entire home was constructed for less money than most homebuilders would have to fork over while just putting in a foundation! Here's the final breakdown of our actual expenses:

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