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Dome Homes as Survival Retreats by Rourke
Domes have been the long term favorite of futurists, and while they
suffer from some peoples’ non-acceptance of the unconventional
features, they do have several features very desirable to survivalists.
The dome of course is a near perfect form of nature. Take an arch,
known for its strength in building and bridge construction, and turn
it in a circle. Now it’s a dome, and it’s even stronger.
Domes use the force of gravity and the extreme compression strength
of materials like concrete (cement and sand/gravel mix) to give a
clear span, and support tremendous weight on top of it. This can
make it a very good choice for underground or earth bermed structures.
Depending on your location though, and the fallout or weather you
anticipate receiving, covering it may not even be necessary to survive
the most extreme conditions. (Note that I am not considering geodesic
domes here; note they are more conventional in material and construction)
Sound intriguing? Well, let’s start with the bad news. Here are
the down sides, the three problems that stand in the way for most people
to buy or build dome homes or survival retreats:
- Lack of reasonable conventional financing (from banks and mortgage
companies) since dome homes are not conventional buildings. Not many
of us can pay cash for or even build for cash a house or cottage.
- The risk of low resale value. Dome buyers are few and far between,
thus finding a buyer to pay at least what you have into can be
really difficult. This limits you to almost never moving, or if
you do, taking
a sizable loss.
- One spouse/significant other simply not willing to be so non-conventional
as to not have non-vertical and inward sloping walls, and round
or pie shaped rooms.
But now the good news, the advantages of having a dome survival retreat:
- Most have a very high R [insulation] value, and are extremely energy
efficient and cheap and easy to live in.
- Most cost about the same as conventional construction, $100 per
square foot finished turn key. For the do-it-yourselfer, you
can put up the
shell for around $30-35 per square foot.
- Most will survive the winds and even the debris from a F5 tornado,
or Category 5 hurricane. Pay for a little extra concrete
and it will outright stand up to a rifle bullet. Remember also,
the aerodynamic shape is helping you too. Wind blows around it,
and bullets
and debris to some extent are deflected (as with any building,
your windows are your weak point, consider shutters). Also note
your entire
dome (retreat) survives, not just the bunker. It is far more
difficult, dark, and energy intensive to live in a bunker after TSHTF in
a world where there is no insurance check coming to rebuild.
- Concrete, steel, and ever fiberglass are fire resistant (or fire
proof) materials to built with. They are also impervious to
insects, critters,
and can last practically forever if built right.
- If designed correctly (open concept) they can be equal to or
ever cheaper to build than conventional buildings, especially
for the
do-it-yourselfer.
- In an area of limited access, some of the pre-fab models
may be very good choice than attempting to do a conventional
stick
build.
- Many are modular in design and allow you to plan a really
nice multi-family development for a survival group.
- They can be made to be practically air tight, far more
so than conventional construction.
These are the four major types of non-geodesic dome homes:
1.) Concrete Domes. The clear leader here IMHO is
The Monolithic Dome Institute, http://www.monolithic.com Since
around 1970 David South has continuously innovated his unique and near
perfect (IMHO) method of constructing the “monolithic dome.”
A heavy UV resistant and
waterproof membrane is manufactured by Monolithic per design, and then
tied down and inflated on site secured to a completed
round foundation. You then enter through an “air chamber” (plywood
box) as industrial fans keep the dome inflated, and spray polyurethane
foam on the inside if the dome several inches thick (depending on dome
size). The dome now stands on its own, and using some ladders, scaffolding,
you can now use some clever little pieces of metal to hold rebar to
the foam on the inside at just the right gap. Using special a concrete
pump, nine bag mix (optimal strength) concrete is sprayed on the inside
to make dome of a single pour of concrete, thus being monolithic – all
one continuous rock. This creates a very pure and very strong dome,
but even better, it can have an insulation factor of up R65. So efficient
is that, they recommend cooling it with a just a RV air
conditioner, and only the smallest wood stove or fireplace or you will
simply over
cool or overheat yourself. Another great feature is the flexibility.
Domes can be stretched wide, tall, or oblong to order, and even better,
molded into one another (continuous attached multi domes). A great
design is a home with one dome for each room, see http://www.mountainviewdome.com .
Making a monolithic dome is something you can hire a certified contractor
to do, or you can go to Texas for a week and get certified yourself.
Check out the monolithic.com site, it is just loaded with information,
articles, and other spin off sites.
2.) Concrete Dome Home with Square Walls: This company
is about as close to conventional as you are going to get with a concrete “dome” home. http://www.terra-dome.com The
come to your site and use elaborate forms to create buildings made
up of either 24’ x 24’ or 28’ x 28’ modules
with very heavy concrete roofs. The site has several plans shown. I
happen to like #12 for a three bedroom retreat. A lot of concrete in
this design, and a very strong building that also gives you a more
conventional feel to it inside at least.
3.) Fiberglass Domes. If you are building in a very
remote location, an island in particular, where shipping weight is
a major
cost and concrete
may not be available, consider http://www.domesintl.com These
modular and lightweight domes can also be made with extra fiberglass
to make them strong to the point of being bullet resistant. These models
are fast erecting, efficient, and able to withstand extremely high
winds. Be sure to see the multi-family designs too, and imagine a survival
condo development.
4.) Steel shell underground dome or arch homes. The
other option here is the more conventional approach, using a steel
structure
to make an
arch with a half dome on the back, and then bury it. I’ll offer
three sites for this, but also an article as a warning on steel corrosion
underground,
just to be fair since it is a concern. Remember, no matter which method
you use to build underground, pay for proper, if not extra, water proofing.
The cost of corrective repair, digging it up, is high. See: http://www.formworksbuilding.com or http://earthshelter.com or http://www.americansheltertechnologies.com and
(note warning about underground steel corrosion http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1280 )
Sorry if I have missed some types or manufacturers, I tried to present
the major ones. For more information on concrete domes in particular,
see this association http://www.itsa.info and
for some cool further ideas of what you can do, check out this builder http://www.cloudhidden.org/ -
Rourke (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/survivalretreat/ )
