The Dome Thread

[Dan]

Just spent way too much time on this site yesterday:
http://www.hortondome.com/dome/index.html

Click the 'job outline' her pretty muched blogged it all with photos.  Three years! of DIY.

This was in Vermont during that cold snap i nthe late 90's.  He's got meticulous info on the site about heating costs/effecientcies, oil usage, air exchange rates, everything.

[PinoX7]

Are they strong enough to withstand a cruise missile? maybe even a spray attack?

[Russell Kanning]

I think they have domebuster bombs for this sort of thing.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Are they strong enough to withstand a cruise missile? maybe even a spray attack?

They would probably be good in a hurricane or tornado zone.  A concrete one might survive a brushfire.

[Pat K]

The concrete monolithic domes have survived hurricanes, tornado's and
One survived a major forrest fire out in Cali.

[Lloyd Danforth]

See

[Sweet Mercury]

Holy crap, I need to live in a dome.

These are awesome! People live in these? Permanently?

I need one right now.

[eques]

Ohman.

Those are really funky-looking... really cool...

I want one.

[Roycerson]

Yes they are.  I was involved with an organization that had one they used for several purposes.  Everyone was very fond of it.  It was 80 feet in diameter and 2 stories tall with a total of about 8000 SF of usable floor space.  I never saw the electric bill but I'm told it was every bit as efficient as they had hoped.  The upper floor was one open space with one set of french doors and flush mounted can lights.  It was very surreal, the acoustics were fantastic.  They're planning on building another.

Tracy.... they can be buried though even aboveground they are far more efficient than any other structure I know of.  They can also be egg shaped and stand either vertical or horizontal.

[FTL_Ian]

From everything I've read about domes, I want one someday.  How about a Libertarian dome neighborhood?  Protected by private security from government invasion... high speed internet... 

[Roycerson]

From everything I've read about domes, I want one someday.  How about a Libertarian dome neighborhood? 

They're pretty expensive.  The dome I described above cost about 1 million for just the slab/shell and rough-in plumbing and electrical.  That's before you put any demizing walls up or the second floor.  That's your biggest obstacle.  In a state where tornados and hurricanes are not a big threat the best argument is efficiency.  I haven't run the numbers but I imagine we're talking about decades in order to recoup the original investment based on energy efficiency alone.  Of course, these things SHOULD last hundreds of years.

That's not say I wouldn't think a dome neighborhood would be really cool.  Domes are cool.  When you break ground on your dome neighborhood I'd love to be one of the guys working on it.

Protected by private security from government invasion... high speed internet... 

Thick concrete walls DO provide protection from small arms fire but they also make things hard for radio signal.  Your internet would require wires....  that's sooo 20th century but not a big problem.

[Sweet Mercury]

From everything I've read about domes, I want one someday.  How about a Libertarian dome neighborhood? 

They're pretty expensive.  The dome I described above cost about 1 million for just the slab/shell and rough-in plumbing and electrical.  That's before you put any demizing walls up or the second floor.  That's your biggest obstacle.  In a state where tornados and hurricanes are not a big threat the best argument is efficiency.  I haven't run the numbers but I imagine we're talking about decades in order to recoup the original investment based on energy efficiency alone.  Of course, these things SHOULD last hundreds of years.

That's not say I wouldn't think a dome neighborhood would be really cool.  Domes are cool.  When you break ground on your dome neighborhood I'd love to be one of the guys working on it.

Protected by private security from government invasion... high speed internet... 

Thick concrete walls DO provide protection from small arms fire but they also make things hard for radio signal.  Your internet would require wires....  that's sooo 20th century but not a big problem.

The Pacific Domes aren't too terribly expensive. The largest one they offer has a base price of $60,000, significantly less than a traditional home.

[Russell Kanning]

I saw the dome place in Italy, TX .... they looked pretty wild.

[Roycerson]

The Pacific Domes aren't too terribly expensive. The largest one they offer has a base price of $60,000, significantly less than a traditional home.

Yet significantly more than a traditional tent.  Apples and Oranges....  Fabric Domes do not stand up to hurricanes and tornadoes and can definitely not be expected to last hundreds of years.  On the bright side.  Getting radio signals inside should be no problem whatsoever.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Years ago Domes were framed with 2 bys and sheathed with plywood.  This was good because all one had to do was determine chord lengths  and cut a whole bunch, fabricate a connector, cut, again, a whole bunch of matching plywood panels and start assembling.  The problem then was leaks.  With all of the flexible coverings available today to solve the leak problems, amatuers without cement trucks can go back to building Domes.