08-28-2013, 01:38 AM
"How about a cement composite dome or adobe ?"
Adobe makes no sense here at all. A composite cement dome is doable but you will need an engineer to handle the design. Sleeping under tons of weight needs to be done right. There is a man here that sprays gunite. He would know more. I think the name is Pacific Gunite. They do good work.
The best dome I have ever seen was in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Completely illegal there and here but it was well built, functioned beautifully and was, in my opinion, quite safe. The builders had a rural parcel and built a hub system wood frame. Over that they placed clear plastic and then proceeded to spray, inside and out, several inches of polyurethane foam. They left some areas of plastic unfoamed for windows/light. The thing was cheap to build and was toasty warm on a winter day without heat. You could walk on top of it without concern. The inside was a series of tiered patios with slate floors and walkways mixed with small gardens, kitchen, bath, seating and sleeping areas. It was a bit unusual to hear the dogs chase each other over the dome with the pounding of dog feet. I was impressed. Totally watertight.
The downside of this is it was not legal, unpermitted. It was not likely to be legal either due to the toxic smoke issues from the polyurethane foam in event of a fire. But otherwise I gave it an A. The owners had a foam insulation company and the equipment was at hand as well as the foam source.
Of all the domes I have seen or built this was the one I could live in.
Adobe makes no sense here at all. A composite cement dome is doable but you will need an engineer to handle the design. Sleeping under tons of weight needs to be done right. There is a man here that sprays gunite. He would know more. I think the name is Pacific Gunite. They do good work.
The best dome I have ever seen was in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Completely illegal there and here but it was well built, functioned beautifully and was, in my opinion, quite safe. The builders had a rural parcel and built a hub system wood frame. Over that they placed clear plastic and then proceeded to spray, inside and out, several inches of polyurethane foam. They left some areas of plastic unfoamed for windows/light. The thing was cheap to build and was toasty warm on a winter day without heat. You could walk on top of it without concern. The inside was a series of tiered patios with slate floors and walkways mixed with small gardens, kitchen, bath, seating and sleeping areas. It was a bit unusual to hear the dogs chase each other over the dome with the pounding of dog feet. I was impressed. Totally watertight.
The downside of this is it was not legal, unpermitted. It was not likely to be legal either due to the toxic smoke issues from the polyurethane foam in event of a fire. But otherwise I gave it an A. The owners had a foam insulation company and the equipment was at hand as well as the foam source.
Of all the domes I have seen or built this was the one I could live in.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
Punaweb moderator