So I was looking around online at prefab sheds and got sidetracked and found some prefab dome house kits for sale. This one in particular caught my eye: http://econodome.com/
Their kit seems to be really inexpensive for what you're getting and I was wondering if it seems feasible to build one of these at lower cost than a modular or custom built home and by someone who is not a professional.
>>904327
>it seems feasible to build one of these at lower cost than a modular or custom built home and by someone who is not a professional
no
also, it is a gimmick, nothing more
>>904328
But why couldn't you get a bunch of triangles shipped to you and assemble them? The basic concept seems like it should work to me and be cheaper than a lot of current construction methods.
>>904330
you can, of course
cheaper? lol, no
>>904330
#1 drywall and plywood doesn't come in triangles.
#2 you lose space on your second/third story because the slope of the walls gets big enough to be a concern, you can't walk near the perimeter anymore.
#3 Your cabinets all need to be custom or you can go ahead and put square rooms inside your dome, but then you lose a lot of footage.
>>904340
Oh, and it's difficult to seal the dome against weather. You have hundreds of joints instead of three or four.
>>904340
http://econodome.com/floorplans.htm
It seems that there are some ways to do it quite nicely since it's a got 10 flat sides. You can get about 1000 square feet per floor from a dome under 40' in diameter.
Also, you don't need to put in drywall, you can just have the wood showing with blocking in-between.
You can waterproof it with elastomeric coatings, thermoplastic membranes, or similar methods where you basically just roll it on with a brush.
>>904352
>Also, you don't need to put in drywall, you can just have the wood showing with blocking in-between.
I. What? So just live in an unfinished shed?
That's not a livable space. you'll never get an occupancy permit.
Another issue, it's a pain in the ass to get your plumbing stack high enough and away from your windows because your windows are going to be right next to it because your wall is sloped.
They are a gimmick from hippies. They are not cheap or desirable.
I think building a big geodesic dome greenhouse, and living underground inside of it would be really cool.
>>904355
the keyword here is cool
it is used by kids
>>904352
>You can get about 1000 square feet per floor from a dome under 40' in diameter.
Just about any lot you buy will have 4 sides and be at least roughly rectangular. If your dome has 10 that means you will have land in the 'corners' that is unused. Guess how many square feet you get in a home that is 40x40 square? 1,600. Last I checked 1,600 > 1,000.
>Also, you don't need to put in drywall, you can just have the wood showing with blocking in-between.
And what is gonna be covering your insulation between the 'blocking'? Just gonna let that haug out?
>You can waterproof it with elastomeric coatings
Which you can also do to a normal house. Or you could just build a traditional house using standard techniques and save a bunch of money.
Dome houses look cool. They are not cheaper. They are not easier to build. They are not easier to maintain. We build houses the way we build houses because they are the cheapest and most efficient way of doing it.
>>904352
If its sides are 40 feet from one flat to another (not from corner to corner) than its area should be about 1300 feet. If it IS 40 feet from corner to corner you are only about 1280 square feet. As >>904360 said you are losing a lot of area by going with a decagon instead of a square or rectangle.
>>904330
Have you ever seen jamie on youtube?
He wanted to build a hexabot and live in the woods.
He built his own structure out of a pattern like that. I believe he used these containers used for shipping soda bottles. I haven't watched his videos but I've seen the structure he built. The roof of it is made out of interlocking containers.
If you want to build a structure and save money, using matching parts isn't going to save you money unless you are reclaiming materials.
People have been building homes for many years, and they have gotten pretty efficient at it. You're only going to save money building a structure if you use reclaimed material. Otherwise you're just building something to your tastes. The dome is not more efficient unless you are a gas that disperses throughout the entire volume of your home or you're building something which would specifically benefit from the shape of the structure. Internal volume doesn't necessarily equate to efficiency.
>>904360
>Just about any lot you buy will have 4 sides and be at least roughly rectangular.
normal people don't build houses right up to the boundary or else you would be looking in eachothers windows and you wouldn't be able to get out your front door there would just be a wall
it would be like living in new york
>OP asks if doing x is better than y
>everybody explains why y is better than x
>OP still in denial
Classic /diy/
>>904442
>normal people don't build houses right up to the boundary
Most towns have building codes stipulating minimum distances you can build from the property line. It has to do with population density zoning. Low density single family dwellings generally has restrictions and wont let you build any permanent structures on or near the line. If you live outside of a municipality or someplace without such codes you are fine. Even so, most buildable areas on a lot are mostly rectangular as most lots are rectangular. To get the same square footage from a decagon you would need to build it larger. Either way you are wasting space. Just face facts; domes are not the best way to go for a conventional home.
>>904327
"We capsule corporation now"?
>>904360
You're thinking of traditional insulation. With spray foam insulation it wouldn't matter. I saw a thing on tv where they were making a dome house. It went something like this:
1)inflatable dome is blown up
2)spray foam the whole thing
3)spray cement over that.
Or something like pic related. BUT, that would obviously be very expensive just for the spray foam. Domes are a great practical design for places that get hit with hurricanes or tornados. They're aerodynamic instead of a popsicle stick box getting blown down.
>>904485
Also land subsidence. Boundaries shift over time. Over 50 years your neighbour could lose a meter off their property lines.
if you want to live in a round house, just get a yurt
>>904535
Uhh, no. Not unless people are strait retarded up where you live. An acre of land is an acre of land (or whatever measure you use) regardless if its on a hill or flat ground. When they survey they take great pains to make sure that, when viewed from above (like on a map), one acre is the same area as all the others. So if your land is on a hill and it shifts causing the property markers to move you get your land resurveyed and the markers put where they are supposed to be. You don't 'lose' land just because shit happens. Well, unless it falls into the ocean or something.
>>904549
Do you know what a yurt is? They're traditionally made out of mud.
>>904619
You dont seem to know either.. Yurts are not made of mud.
>>904549
Yurts are expensive, get a tee pee.
>>904631
Kek
>>904630
for the same price as a 210sq foot "tiny house" you can get an 800sq foot yurt.
>>904354
>They are a gimmick from hippies. They are not cheap or desirable.
Not desirable unless you want joints everywhere you look.
>>904441
>unless you are a gas that disperses throughout the entire volume of your home
Fucking classic solid privilege right there.
Do you know how hard it is to find a house without a ceiling fan? Hit the wrong switch and BAM day ruined.
>>904619
I think your thinking of bricks
>>904619
Yurts are very much like tee pees in that they're made of wood and fabric. However a tee pee is held together mainly with compression of the roof, while a yurt is held together with compression, tension, and and expanding forces making it more structurally sound. With modern building materials you could live in one all 4 seasons even in the cold areas of Canada or Alaska.
Fun 3D dome calculator:
http://www.acidome.ru
