An introduction and how I came to Monolithic

[donw]

Hi, my name is Don. I am an electrical engineer living in Mesa, Arizona. I work out of my home, which I built in 1992 as an owner builder (general contractor). It is a 3000 s.f. 2x6 wood and stucco home which I designed. Back when we were looking to build, I considered adobe, SIP, and various insulated block. For adobe to work well in Phoenix, it would have to be 3' thick. SIP was interesting but only cost-effective if building multiple identical structures. Insulated block, at the time, consisted of masonry blocks with fewer webs and foam sprayed inside. Still more expensive and not all that thermally efficient. Being a first time builder, I decided to play it safe and build traditionally. It has been a great home for our family of four. Our kids were born and raised in it.

But I kept looking at energy-efficient building technology - this time, planning our retirement home. I went through the straw bale phase, thinking I could build a lot of it myself. But straw bale requires thicker footers and, unless load bearing, it requires posts and beams. Costs end up maybe 15% more than stick. I dabbled with the idea of earthships, but came to the conclusion that I would never put that much physical labor into building our home. Then I ran into http://tribes.tribe.net/quonsethome a couple who built their home in Canada out of a steel quonset (barrel vault) building. They used 2+ inches of poly urethane insulation on the inside of the quonset and covered it with masonite on the inside (does not meet code). A quonset hut is probably the least expensive shell that one can build, but it has issues with creating a livable interior. It was while looking for solutions to the interior issues that I ran into Monolithic domes. Doing a Google search, I ran into this BBS. My wife never bought into the idea of living in a metal barn, uh, quonset.

Now, our goal is to sell our home when our kids graduate from high school (4 more years) and build a MD here in Mesa with cash. We'll downsize to 1500 or 1600 s.f. and hopefully reduce our energy costs to 1/4 our current. I've been drawing our floor plan in AutoCAD and think I'm close to something workable. It has 3 intersecting domes - 28'-32'-28' - based on one of Monolithic's stock plans for the shell. My wife is on board and wouldn't mind living in a totally unique home that's nearly indestructable and highly energy efficient.

[timbau]

Don

Welcome to our little world of Domes....

There is a plethora of information to be found here concerning the dome building process. David South and Jim (Cloud Hidden) are just a few folks that are a variable cornucopia of dome knowledge. Jim has been working on a new system called Hybrid that utilizes ICF's and dome technologies. You might want to take a look at Greg's efforts (located under Introducing: Fort Denali topic) for further information on this system. Greg has been great at keeping us informed on his new dome construction project with pictures and answers to our various questions.

I hope that you'll take advantage of the vast experiences here and fine your home building experience a fruitful and pleasant one...

[Mountain View]

Hi Don,
Dreams do come true so keep on dreaming and designing or at least think of what you want in your future house.
Beth and I spent 5 years dreaming and then a year of frustration followed by 6 months of excitement as our dream transfered to paper. Now we are in our dream home!
It helps to visit other domes so if you feel like a trip to Colorado come on over!
Ray

[donw]

timbau, thanks for the welcome. I've been talking (through posts) with Jim some. He probably lives within 20 minutes from me, so I should meet with him at some point. I may need his consulting services, some, or maybe his design services. Who knows at this point.

Ray, thanks for the encouragement! I have checked out your project - it turned out very nice. I do have a brother who lives in the Denver area, but haven't been to visit him, yet. I don't know if you are near there or on the way from Arizona, but I'd love to take you up on a tour. Speaking of visiting domes, I plan to visit the Yorkie Dome (I believe that's what it's called) here in Mesa during the Monolithic open house. My wife is having trouble envisioning the inside of a dome, in spite of the pictures I've shown her, so I hope that will help.

[LongevityLodges]

Hey Don,
Go visit your brother in Denver as soon as you can. Go through Albuquerque, New Mexico. Take I 25 north to Denver and you will go near Ray's Mountain View Dome home. Write him for directions and let him plan for your visit. This visit will give you and your wife a great deal of insight into how nice dome life can be. You will love domes when you have seen theirs. Have fun as I know you will.

Bud

[Mountain View]

Yes we are on the way to Denver. We are just east of Colorado City which is about 25 miles south of Pueblo.

[donw]

I'd love to go to Colorado(and to see Mountainview), but doubt I can soon. My brother is actually flying here in October.

[Bill Burkett]

Don, we're an hour or two north of the Phoenix metro area in Mayer. Come on up and for a visit if you want. Get in touch and we'll work it out.