I have been researching bulding a geodesic dome. I am looking for anyone with any experiences good or bad. I am looking at building a dome cause I will be doing alot of the work myself. I will be able to lift all the pieces by myself. I am planning on having a contractor roof it to get it done faster. I am open open to pros and cons. I have been looking into a natural spaces dome. Have any of you used this company ? I am led to believe that they are very energy effecient. Just feeling out input. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

If interested in a monolithic concrete dome contact me
www.safedomes.com

What I have read as an appraiser is that geodesic domes (many triangles put together in a dome shape) are very difficult to put together tightly. They have a reputation to leak, air and water. Monolithic domes are a 1 piece concrete format, very tight. md's have tremendous thermal mass as well. Some question sustainability because of concrete, but there is much lower concrete in a thin shell than in a slab that supports it. The structure has an expected lifetime of at least 150 years; a wood house probably has to have 3 to 4 renovations to make it to the same age, so over a lifetime the concrete footprint begins to look much better.

Insulating a geodesic with bats is problematical; foam is easier and helps the leaky factor. An MD requires foam unless you do the PAHS method.

I have yet to determine whether a PAHS structure (buried dome) is better than the insulated MD. I personally don't like the golf ball appearance of most domes; I would bury my dome for appearance sake. The extreme strength of a concrete dome makes this very feasible.

Most literature suggests that domes circulate air better than boxes, but you can't put in a full second floor and expect air to circulate passively.

Thanks for your input. I have looked into monolitlic domes, very fine structures. I am looking at a geodesic dome, because I will be able to do most of the work myself. A dome shell will go up quickly and then I can finish the inside. I do not have much experience with concrete. From what I have checked out a monolithic dome is very pricey to get put up, and I finish.

I too found the pricing of "approved" contractors to be excessive. Then I fond a website called BYOH; build your own house. It shows you how to cut out the contractor's profit; often 25%. I contacted several subs myself, kept track of there prices; and guess what. A MD shell costs somewhat less than a regular house. There is way less material, and it goes up really quickly. These days when construction is slow the pro's are very interested. But you have to put in the effort to get experienced contractors. Not experienced with domes, just that they have done enough similar stuff that it is not a learning experience. A framing contractor probably has never bent rebar. If the builder says "what's shotcrete?" then let him learn on his own, don't pay for his learning curve.
In California urban areas I had to talk to a lot of subs to find 2 or 3 qualified for each component to get competing bids, so you do have to do legwork. After 3 years or more of investigating, I truly believe a concrete dome can be cheaper up front than a regular house; certainly cheaper than the green house, zero net type you are probably hoping for. That's my 2 cents, anyway.

What is your goal as home size? What design are you set on? Many monolithic concrete structures are built by hand around the world. Mixing concrerte and hand applying has been done for centuries so do not let concrete scare you.
Using Wiggle ply wood that bends in whatever direction you can brace plywood behind rebar forming a vaulted concrete roof easily. Tying rebar is simple and once the plywood is braced it is jus ta mtter of spryaing or hand appying concrete
Form out windows doors spray the exterior with 2 inches of 3lb closed cell foam Now you have an indestructible super insulated home
My 2 Cents
What can I do for You

Be cautious about folks who are directing you to one type of dome (even me!). We have studied designs and companies for several years, and have decided to go with the Natural Spaces system. They are beautiful! We did look into the monolithic domes, but they are just so ugly that there was no way either of us would consider them seriously.

Natural Spaces has what looks to be a great "dome school" and I think we can learn a lot by attending that.

What each person chooses is so personal--even more so than a conventional home, since domes are so unique--so be sure to pick what's right for YOU! Best of luck to you!

Many many years ago I was helping build a cottage in Maine, and a young couple were building a geodesic dome just down the road. I wish I could remember how big it was, it remains in my mind as a small family home. I was impressed by how easily and quickly this was being built by two people with minimal tools needed - a circular saw, hammer, nails, a ladder. They had a pattern jig they made, so all the pieces were the right size, and it all fit together like a puzzle. Given more modern equipment and materials, I can't see why someone can't build one out of wood and seal and insulate it just as tight as any other structure. Lots of polyurethane caulk? Spray foam if you can afford it?

The only somewhat strange thing about the dome were the acoustics. Sound travels in very different ways in a dome.

-Rosalinda

bkcasa:

OK - you said you wanted real life experiences from different points of view..... I built one once - honestly not much more than a shed - I think it was 20' in diameter.... What I learned is that trying to build something that is essentially round out of triangles results in a large waste of materials - I used sheet goods for interior and exterior covering and the floor sheathing too. The roof covering was regular 3 tab shingles and it ended up leaking badly - and there was an incretable waste of shingle material too. Even the framing had a large amount of off-cut waste.  It was the only structure that I know of that I built that ended up being torn down, and I've built 100s. Granted, if I had not used standard building materials - or at least what was standard 30 years ago - it may have been executed and ended better. Today I would have been much better armed with info and the whole thing might have been a success. As it was my only resource was a book called The Dome Builders Handbook. 

Sorry, but IMO your notion that this type of structure would be easier to build I can't concur with.  Building boxes is always easiest.   And getting some outside help could be problematic too - you see you'll have a hard time (to say the least) finding someone who is experienced in such a build.  Further, in building, the builder is the one who is ultimately responsible for the outcome and longterm warranty of the project.  The builder - that would be you....

Further I'd have some real concerns as to the the actual resale value of the finished product.  I know - I know - people always think they are building a home to live in for the rest of their life...  and it happens every once in a while - just not very often at all -  I mean we are talking about an expenditure of the 6 digit category...  I've built our "last home" a couple of times...  Don't live in one though.  People's wants and needs change as they go through life.  Their circumstances do too - like in my case the current condition of the building market resulted in less income for me - we moved...

If you don't have the cash on hand for the entire project have you checked on financing?  Now a day banks/mortgage companies are so finicky on loans...  In the home production/sales market that I work in about 50% of the loans are turned down - let's face it... some feel B/M  are at the root of the collapse of the building market today because of their unwillingness to loan to anyone who isn't extremely qualified.  Too much, too late.  And, banks have always been very iffey about doing owner-builder construction loans - I've been through that too.

I know - just a bunch of negative stuff....  but all backed by real world experience.

A couple of areas not talked about yet. I am a self builder and am building my own home. I took the tests for elec, plum, and general building so that I could build one home. Be sure that you use a company that has plans for building that has an engineering stamp for loading in your area. And that it, the stamp will work in your state, and county. Local inspectors are leerly of self builders to begin with, and I would think doubly leery of someone wanting to self build a round house using unconventional methods and materials. If you havn't got gray hair yet, get ready you will.
And I would defiinitely talk to my insurance company, see if "1" they would insure it once built, and "2" if you will be able to get builders insurance being a self builder. You may be startled by what you find, I was. It only takes one person getting hurt to ruin you whole day.
Sorry to bring bad news to the table, but you should see MY gray hair, and most everything went right for me so far.

Hey,

I have built domes in the past. If you size the triangles so they are 8 ft on the bottom and 8 feet tall you have almost no waste. Most designs are not done this way, though it is an obvious must if building a dome. Remember that every joint between triangles is a valley in the roof. Valleys are where roofs typically fail. A normal rood has a few for the whole house. A dome has 50 plus often. Each one also meets the next one at odd angles. Odd angles are difficult to work with. The same issue on the interior is true when taping drywall. Because of these and other issues domes take more labor to finish and cost more because of this. Anyone telling you different is not being truthful. Domes also do not resale well no matter what propaganda the dome people tell you. I like domes as an engineer, I have been a fan, but better ways of building exist.

I have been building zero energy homes since the 70s. I am an engineer and have studied, engineered, designed, consulted on and constructed many zero energy homes. I have recently worked out a way to build a home that performs better than domes do. It costs less than a standard home, takes less labor and delivers a high quality home. If you are interested you can contact me at email [email protected] or you can see my website at http://www.zehtalk.com/. I am still working on the site.

Brian

I am a DYI home owner having built my own a few years ago. I have all the equipment for roofing a dome which I’d like to sell. This includes scaffolding with wheels, walk boards, ladder jacks, ladders, pneumatic nailers for shakes and black paper. Anyone interested in purchasing these may contact me at 217-714-1206. I live in Illinois.