NSTG8R
Elio Addict
What is a dehumidifier?
I got the same response trying to explain a swamp cooler when I moved out here.
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Earth-sheltered "hobbit" Houses?
- Thread starter Sethodine
- Start date
I got the same response trying to explain a swamp cooler when I moved out here.
Hog
Elio Addict
Jeff is correct, just because it is built to IBC means very little, local jurisdictions utilize their own codes, many do not even recognize IBC. I was an IBC inspector for PFS corp. for awhile. You will have to get a building spot with no zoning controls to pull one off properly. NFS codes (Fire codes) dictate the amount, position and size of windows which can completely ruin the design of these. One style which was popular in the '80's was a 'shotcrete' covered vinyl 'balloon', which created a real nice hemisphere which they then bulldozed a few feet on dirt on. Subtech used to sell a fiberglass kit which bolted together in 18 sections making a 'UFO' type space of almost 1000 sf. This was then covered with earth also. I have the plans kicking around here somewhere, I will post them when I find them. FYI - the original settlers of Oklahoma and the Great Plains lived in sod houses way back when, as protection from storms and fire, and these persisted for quite some time.
Hog
Elio Addict
OK, took some digging. Here are scans of the brochure I had sometime in the late 70's early 80's. The company no longer sells to 'civilians', if you get the drift, however it is doing quite well over the past few years.
Lil4X
Elio Addict
. . . and here we have our lovely "Maginot" model, complete with landscaping and a beautiful view of the Alps near the Côte d'Azur. Your privacy is assured by heavy armor and multiple defensive weapons. Neighbors in this guarded community include numerous veterans and a few assumed-to-be Germans - who aren't talking.
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However, if you are concerned with security, this might be the place for you. It does have a history of being overrun in about a week, but there have been no reports of intrusions since.
Spacious interiors include grand hallways . . .
. . . comfortable bedrooms . . .
. . . well-equipped kitchens.
. . . not to mention privacy from pesky neighbors.
They've made some advances in design since then. The "balloon" (dome form) is much better than the vinyl used in the '80s; 2" to 3" of polyurethane foam are sprayed over the inside of the balloon. When the foam sets, U-shaped rebar is punched into the foam in a specified pattern that avoids where the windows and doors will be. The shotcrete (concrete mixed with nylon fibers to allow the material to be sprayed) is then sprayed on the foam over the rebar, creating a reinforced concrete shell. The combination of the dome form and the foam form a waterproof barrier that minimize water seepage; that and current standards in thermal and moisture barriers in pouring foundations means the interior of modern monolithic domes is usually very dry and remains so.
We don't think of doors and windows in stick houses as being special because we've had a couple of hundred years experience in building door and window jambs that maintain the structural integrity of the shell. Likewise, since the 80's, "insetting" and "outsetting" of doors and windows in dome structures has progressed to where these can be done without negatively affecting the integrity of the dome shell. (Assuming this is all done properly, according to current best practices, of course.)
Since the Monolithic Dome people are based in Texas, they have an almost religious aversion to building basements. Tough. The extremely cold weather we've had in my part of Iowa in the past couple of winters (not counting this one) (yet) have resulted in moving the frost line for construction down at least a foot. Given that, it makes more sense to just dig a basement to below the frost line rather than just digging footers to that depth. It won't cost that much more and you get the extra space.
The domes don't have to be completely round. MD has a system where 8-foot panels of plywood are used to form walls in a circle and sprayed with the foam and concrete. The roof is a dome that is attached to these walls. This gives you a good compromise of straight walls and dome security.
You don't have to cover the dome with dirt. What some people do is to cover the outside of the dome with chicken wire then spray stucco over that to create a reinforced stucco. Then they put the framing in so that ivy can climb up and cover the dome. This is not only decorative but provides shade and cooling to the dome in summer.
Jeff Bowlsby
Elio Addict
"The shotcrete (concrete mixed with nylon fibers to allow the material to be sprayed) is then sprayed on the foam over the rebar, creating a reinforced concrete shell. The combination of the dome form and the foam form a waterproof barrier that minimize water seepage"
No. Neither foam nor concrete or shotcrete are waterproof. Get yourself a real waterproofing membrane. No amount of 'water seepage' inside an occupied building is acceptable.
No. Neither foam nor concrete or shotcrete are waterproof. Get yourself a real waterproofing membrane. No amount of 'water seepage' inside an occupied building is acceptable.
Sethodine
Elio Addict
The company I'm looking at can do custom designs for a $1-per-sqare-foot deposit. But looking at the generic designs they offer, I think they already have the requisite doors and windows for fire code. This plan is a 1700+ square foot design. The only thing I dislike is that I think 3 bathrooms is overkill.
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