hello and question: microdome?

[llavoy]

Hey everybody, first post here (great forum btw, tons of information here!) I've been throwing around a plan to build some additional sleeping quarters to an existing cabin, and after reading through some of the material on this site I thought that maybe two or three very small domes would be perfect. The idea is that the domes would be freestanding outbuildings to the cabin, each having just enough room for a bed or two and a table or desk.

The only problem is that, while an ecoshell size would be perfect for this, one of the features that attracted me to the dome design was the heat efficiency of the MD, and Monolithic seems pretty adamant that the ecoshell doesn't have the same insulative potential. The plan is to build this in far northern Michigan, and it can get chilly there!

Does anyone have any experience building very small domes using the full insulation/foam construction, or can point me towards some resources for potentially doing this?

[Cloud Hidden]

We built a 10'D one as a storage shed to go along with a house in Leicester NC. It ended up real cute. The one "problem" was that the small spaces made working difficult. The heat of the foam as it sets up made a near-furnace for the foamer, and the fog of the shotcrete made it impossible for the shotcreter to see. He said he had to work from memory of where he was and where he had already shot.

Any size can be done if it's properly planned. You'd use the same people who'd do domes of other sizes, whether that's experienced dome-builders/designers or local talent.

[James Jackson]

Have you considered the Monolithic cabins? They are small... about 12-feet wide, and various lengths... the smallest is probably about 12.5 feet long - or about 150 sq feet.

Just a thought...

Regards,

James Jackson

[LongevityLodges]

Hello Llavoy. The smallest cabin is 12ft wide and 15ft long. The cabin shell is built with conduit in place and an open floor plan, no bathroom. It cost $15,759.00 plus tax and shipping by semi-truck from Italy,TX. The cost would depend on where it will ship to. This price can change until the order is placed. It would also change if you need 1inch of foam added to the floor. You will also need to have the ground work the way you want to place it and schedule a crane that can lift 18,000 lbs. to be there the day of delivery. Two units can be shipped on one truckload on most roads. This size would be nice for two beds and a desk or two. You can have two bedrooms near complete rather quik and for less then the cost of having someone travel with equipment and cost of housing for a crew while building two small domes. They can be customized to fit your needs from adding a bathroom, to a kitchen area, to completely furnished with heat and air. I think they will provide you with the rooms you are wanting and they are portable so you can sell them at a later date if you need to do something else in the future. Let me know when you are ready to order or if you have any questions. Thank you.

[LongevityLodges]

Hello Llavoy, did you find a builder for the small domes you were interested in? You said you were looking for full insulation domes and someone who could build them. Where are you wanting to build at? How many do you want at one time? Do you have housing available for a crew of six men for as long as it will take to build all your domes at one time frame? Do you have all the funds without going through a bank process? Do you need the ground work done as well, or is the site ready with footers dug to the exact sizes needed? Can you get all permits required to build small domes? Will you be supplying power to the domes? If these questions can't be answered then chances are you won't be able to find anyone that will build them. You can come closer to getting extra rooms with the Cabins and you can order them built the way you need them from Cabin shells w/ conduit to Standard Cabins unfurnished or furnished to Deluxe Model Cabins Furnished, Monolithic Stucco, Silicon coating, and Foam insulated floor. You can order various sizes from 12ft x 15ft x 10ft high, 12ft x 18ft x 10ft high or 12ft x 24ft x 10ft high. Send me a Personal Message if you are interested and I will help you get started.

Good luck,

Raymond Spence