Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose Mindful Living? Mindful Living has been in business building our round homes exclusively since 1982. That's over twenty five years of experience with the designing, the application and the installation of round homes. We are not new to this idea or this style of building. Back to Top

What does a Mindful Living package include? You get a completely prefabricated and pre-finished exterior shell. This professionally prepared package comes complete with fully assembled floors, walls and roof panels. Specifically, the floors are preassembled in large panels that are pre-insulated. The walls are complete to the outside-pre-stained cedar siding and windows already installed. The ceiling/roof package is not only pre-fabricated and pre-finished but also comes pre-insulated and pre-roofed in most cases. Besides all of these major components, we make sure that all of the trim, hardware and everything else you will need to setup this exterior shell is included in your package. What you are left with are the site-related items and all of the systems that are necessary to complete any home. That includes the foundation, utilities, interior walls, plumbing, electrical, heating, cabinets, etc. Back to Top

Can you create covered decks with your round structures? Covered porches are a cinch with almost any structure. Built along the same lines as our wings, these covered porches include the pre-assembled, trapezoidal-shaped deck panels and then a corresponding uninsulated roof structure that covers the deck. These covered porches can be as few or as many as you desire, placed anywhere around the structure. The only limiting factor in their application is having a tall enough wall in the round home to accommodate the additional roof pitch these covers add. Back to Top

How does Mindful Living figure out the shipping costs? We try to ship our homes by the most economical means on each job. Once we know the size, details and configuration of your home, we will research all of the possible methods of delivering this structure to you and will provide you a quote. Back to Top

Do you have a list of approved contractors in my area? We have compiled a list of contractors in different areas where our structures have been purchased. We continually build in new areas with new contractors. Back to Top

What is a wing? They are pre-fabricated sections, trapezoidal in shape that can be linked together. Multiple sections are linked together exceeding the internal core of the home and extending outward to form wings. The interiors of the joined wings are used for bedrooms, offices, bathrooms, etc. Back to Top

What's the difference between canvas yurts and Mindful Living homes? Mindful Living homes are built using standard construction materials and methods. Fabric yurts, on the other hand, are designed for portability and use a lattice wall structure (like an expandable baby gate) with a fabric outer covering. Our round homes meet and exceed building code requirements and are fully insulated to current code standards. Fabric yurts, on the other hand, are designed to meet code requirements for "membrane covered frame structures." Energy code requirements can be problematic for fabric yurts because of the limited rating system used for insulation. Most fabric yurts use insulation that relies on a reflective capacity not currently rated in the energy code. Mindful Living Homes are fully insurable and can receive bank financing. Because of their portable nature, fabric yurts cannot receive traditional home financing and are not insurable as primary residence or office space. Ultimately, Mindful Living Homes are everything-and more-that you look for in a conventional home or office. Back to Top

Can you add a round structure onto an existing home? Yes you can, with the use of a site-built connector. The round structure addition would need to be designed so that you have enough head room to go from the existing part of the house into the new part. Back to Top

What type of wood do you use to build your structure? Mindful Living uses Douglas fir for our framing timbers and western cedar for the siding and the ceiling. Back to Top

What wind speed and snow load ratings are available for your structures? Every one of our homes is engineered to meet local building codes and site-specific requirements, such as snow loads, seismic, wind loads, exposure and soil bearing pressure. Back to Top

How long does the design and building process take? This varies based on the size and complexity of your home design and factors such as Design Review Boards and your ability to make timely decisions. Usually, from the time we begin to the time we are ready to submit the finished construction drawings for a building permit is about 3-5 months. Back to Top