[tigerlily]

Hey there,

A few of my friends are considering building geodesic domes rather than live in conventional, right-angled homes. Does anyone on the board have any personal experiences or firsthand encounters with them? I would really appreciate hearing some stories...

Thanks,
Jessie

[Raptor235]

Hi Jessie, what do you mean by geodesic homes? I've never hard of the term?

[Matc]

Do you mean a kind of small scale version of the type of thing they have at the Eden project in the UK? (http://www.edenproject.com/)

[flaja]

Is a building that is constructed with poly-foam and concrete really sustainable? As far as I can see the only “advantage” to a dome is its insulation value. But, you can get these same benefits from things like strawbale and rammed earth. Alternative, environmentally sustainable, building technology will never be accepted to the extent that will make a difference until it can be used to build houses that are the size and shape that the average American is used to.

[shadowbot]

Some people in Massachusetts have those, there was one a few minutes away from my parents house, its in a rural setting.

For those who dont know, here is an example
http://www.domehome.com/



Most of the info ive seen regarding these homes is that they are a do-it-yourself type thing that is available in a kit. Not sure if you end up saving a ton of money with home costs or what though.

[flaja]

Originally Posted by shadowbot

Some people in Massachusetts have those, there was one a few minutes away from my parents house, its in a rural setting.

For those who dont know, here is an example
http://www.domehome.com/



Most of the info ive seen regarding these homes is that they are a do-it-yourself type thing that is available in a kit. Not sure if you end up saving a ton of money with home costs or what though.

Since wood has so little insulation value, a wood-clad dome would be even less environmentally friendly than a concrete-foam dome would be.

[shadowbot]

Well since most of these are built by the consumers I think that might make things a little more difficult if they were using concrete. I know that they do add extra insulation, but even though wood may be worse that what concrete and foam would be, the design still conserves much more energy than a standard home especially since standard homes are barely designed with energy in mind.

[flaja]

Originally Posted by shadowbot

Well since most of these are built by the consumers I think that might make things a little more difficult if they were using concrete.  I know that they do add extra insulation, but even though wood may be worse that what concrete and foam would be, the design still conserves much more energy than a standard home especially since standard homes are barely designed with energy in mind.

There is a company in Florida, American Ingenuity, that sells dome kits consisting of foam-concrete panels that you attach to a steel grid frame. The kits do have some DIY aspects.

[horselover]

Need to question something about the wooden home though. How many trees are destroyed just to make one house? I mean we need the oxygen that the trees provide, but they only provide it when they're alive.

[hardwired]

From what I have read online the most efficient dome is one built via metal frame and sprayed concrete, building out of wood wastes too much material due to the angles but is still good if your not worried about waste.

long pictorial http://www.starship-enterprises.net/...se%20Home.html and his main page http://www.starship-enterprises.net/

There is a site out there called Refried Domes that is against them that you could search for for the against side of Domes, it'll help you make fewer mistakes if you go ahead and build one.