Unkle_John
02-13-2006, 06:24 PM
I was asked what type of dome my wife and I wanted to build. We have decided on fiberglass. Yeah "fiberglass" sounds weird and non-eco-friendly in the long run, but there is alot of factions why we chose it. The dome company we are looking at (listed below) shows that they have rated the domes for tornadoes and hurricane force wind (and flying debris). The dome peices are also heavly insulated, as you can see on the site. We also chose these type of domes over monolithic domes and geodesic domes.
Monolithic domes are very strong and safe. BUT when we toured the grounds of the monolithic dome institute, we were not happy about the overall quality of the domes and how we were treated as people by the owner. The domes had cracks in them, cosmetic yes, and the interior walls (concrete) were "bubbly" and not as smooth as you would expect. We also talked with the owner (though we wanted to talk to the inistitute's engineer) about what we wanted to do with the dome. Basically have it wired for solar power and such. He acted like we were insaine and asked "why we wanted to do that" over and over. He then told us how much it would cost for a structure under 1000 sq. feet, in the tone of "you are wasting my time and you couldn't afford this" tone in his voice. A dome about 1000 sq. foot would cost us over $100K. That doesn't include interior walls.
Everyone pretty much know about geodesic domes, so i'm not going to touch much on it. Only the fact we nixed the idea of using it was the cost of wood, and the location of our ranch (out in the desert). We get high winds, blistering sun, and colder-than-a-well-diggers-ass cold winters. We chose the fiberglass dome because of it's duribility to our area.
What we have planned for living "off the grid" is solar and wind generated power. We will possibly have the house tapped into the grid untill a battery bank can be purchased. But that plan can change, we are talking 10 years from now. We also plan on having a well dug so we can wash dishes, shower, and water the garden (which will be in a green house and supply our major source of food). Drinking water will be brought in from town (where out mail box will be). The local Farmers CO-OP allows us free water for out water trailers. I also mentioned the incinolet. That will take care of flushing good water and the ash can be used in the garden. Heating the house will be easy. We plan on using our pot belly stove in the center of the house. The interior walls will not touch the ceiling so air can flow through the rooms. Same thing with the AC. One window unit should do. What about keeping food cool? Well I am playing with the idea of a basement for storing home canned goods (which my wife has been doing since a little girl). We are also looking into a propane cooled fridge, or one that runs on 12v.
How will we survive with out much money? Money won't be a problem. We have our home business site. Plus we will be leasing the ranch to other ranchers, and we will be recieving money from a few oil companies for using a few of our acres to keep water tanks on them. Granted this isn't our money yet. But after we move, the inlaws plan on sharing the wealth with us, and when they pass on in the future, we will get those checks. Those combined with the sell of our current house and items (when we condense our collections and belongings), we should be ready to go.
I do have the plan going right now. We are in a debt managment course. In 3 years all of those credit cards will be paid off and we don't plan on activating them or any more. With that out of the way, we will save money up to buy the solar panels and the wind mill. We won't buy them right away for two reasons: Technology will probably change, and the prices way come down. I also plan on getting a small green house for this place and experiment with what I can grow (that is not zoned for this area) and experiment with solar panels.
Here are the sites: BTW we are looking at the "baywest" design:
http://www.domesintl.com
http://www.cds-us.us (same as above, but better site layout and more photos)
http://www.incinolet.com
http://www.paisleydays.com (Our home business)
Peace frog started a similar thread a few years ago: http://www.happyhippie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=61
So what are your thoughts on living the alternative way? What types of homes have you guys considered, besides domes?
Monolithic domes are very strong and safe. BUT when we toured the grounds of the monolithic dome institute, we were not happy about the overall quality of the domes and how we were treated as people by the owner. The domes had cracks in them, cosmetic yes, and the interior walls (concrete) were "bubbly" and not as smooth as you would expect. We also talked with the owner (though we wanted to talk to the inistitute's engineer) about what we wanted to do with the dome. Basically have it wired for solar power and such. He acted like we were insaine and asked "why we wanted to do that" over and over. He then told us how much it would cost for a structure under 1000 sq. feet, in the tone of "you are wasting my time and you couldn't afford this" tone in his voice. A dome about 1000 sq. foot would cost us over $100K. That doesn't include interior walls.
Everyone pretty much know about geodesic domes, so i'm not going to touch much on it. Only the fact we nixed the idea of using it was the cost of wood, and the location of our ranch (out in the desert). We get high winds, blistering sun, and colder-than-a-well-diggers-ass cold winters. We chose the fiberglass dome because of it's duribility to our area.
What we have planned for living "off the grid" is solar and wind generated power. We will possibly have the house tapped into the grid untill a battery bank can be purchased. But that plan can change, we are talking 10 years from now. We also plan on having a well dug so we can wash dishes, shower, and water the garden (which will be in a green house and supply our major source of food). Drinking water will be brought in from town (where out mail box will be). The local Farmers CO-OP allows us free water for out water trailers. I also mentioned the incinolet. That will take care of flushing good water and the ash can be used in the garden. Heating the house will be easy. We plan on using our pot belly stove in the center of the house. The interior walls will not touch the ceiling so air can flow through the rooms. Same thing with the AC. One window unit should do. What about keeping food cool? Well I am playing with the idea of a basement for storing home canned goods (which my wife has been doing since a little girl). We are also looking into a propane cooled fridge, or one that runs on 12v.
How will we survive with out much money? Money won't be a problem. We have our home business site. Plus we will be leasing the ranch to other ranchers, and we will be recieving money from a few oil companies for using a few of our acres to keep water tanks on them. Granted this isn't our money yet. But after we move, the inlaws plan on sharing the wealth with us, and when they pass on in the future, we will get those checks. Those combined with the sell of our current house and items (when we condense our collections and belongings), we should be ready to go.
I do have the plan going right now. We are in a debt managment course. In 3 years all of those credit cards will be paid off and we don't plan on activating them or any more. With that out of the way, we will save money up to buy the solar panels and the wind mill. We won't buy them right away for two reasons: Technology will probably change, and the prices way come down. I also plan on getting a small green house for this place and experiment with what I can grow (that is not zoned for this area) and experiment with solar panels.
Here are the sites: BTW we are looking at the "baywest" design:
http://www.domesintl.com
http://www.cds-us.us (same as above, but better site layout and more photos)
http://www.incinolet.com
http://www.paisleydays.com (Our home business)
Peace frog started a similar thread a few years ago: http://www.happyhippie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=61
So what are your thoughts on living the alternative way? What types of homes have you guys considered, besides domes?