Crestone Domes

According to Monolithic Dome Institute’s calculations, a monolithic dome only needs about 1/4 of the normal heating requirements for a regular stick framed house. To calculate how many BTUs a normal stick framed house needs, you multiply each of the rooms and add them up like this:

length x width x height x 4,
and this gives you the amounts of BTUs needed.

In a monolithic dome, you only need one quarter of that, so basically
length x width x height of all the rooms.

Although we didn’t think it sounded like enough heat, Monolithic Dome Institute had done so much research done about it, that we ended up trusting the numbers, crossing our fingers and putting the amount of heating in that they recommended. The winters here in Colorado can be harsh and long, so we were actually pretty worried about wether the tiny hot water radiators we put in was going to be enough to heat the dome.

When the winter came and we turned the heating on, the boiler ran almost constantly for the first two weeks. And although the dome was perfectly warm and comfortable inside, our second worry was what the heating bill was going to be. It didn’t seem very energy efficient to us, and we were biting our nails!

However, we had no reason to worry. We discovered that there were two reasons why the boiler ran so much the first two weeks. One reason was the fact that the concrete had to be charged with heat. This is the case any time you need to heat a large amount of heatmass the first time. The other reason was the fact that the concrete still contained quite a bit of moisture, which had to be dried out. For the first year, the concrete kept releasing moisture, so we ended up having to buy two de-humidifiers to help dry it out.

After the first two weeks, the boiler stopped running so much. In addition, we had a thermostatic timer that turned off the boiler at 10pm and back on at 7am, and it only lost 3 degrees overnight, even in the coldest part of winter! The reason why it held the temperature so well overnight, has to do with having heatmass on the inside of the dome. We have tried living in an ICF house (isolated concrete form), which is supposed to have the same performance R-value of 60, but it didn’t hold the heat as well overnight as the dome did. That is why I say “nothing compares to a dome!”

After the first month, the amount of propane we used to heat the dome was so low that the gas delivery guy asked if we only used the house as a holiday home, since we were using so little gas. (We only used about 50 gallons per month in the winter, and kept the dome at 72 degrees! Not bad for heating 1871 sq ft!)

After the heatmass on the inside of the dome had been charged, it took less than half the amount of propane that a normal stick frame house requires to keep it warm through the winter. As an example, we can compare the propane use with the house we are renting now. The rental, which has radiant floor heat, takes 100 gallons of propane per month just to heat the first floor to 64 degrees in the winter, and the second floor is heated with a wood stove (and this is supposed to be a well insulated house!) Well, like I said before, radiant floor heat is useless, or perhaps I should be diplomatic enough to call it “highly inefficient,” and basically, nothing beats the energy efficiency and comfort levels in a monolithic dome!

In the new dome that we are going to make this summer, we also want to add a sunroom on the south side for passive solar heat and a fireplace in the living room. That way, we’ll probably use hardly any propane to heat the dome through the winter.
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Tags: BTU, BTU calculations, BTU calculator, Construction of a Monolithic Dome, energy efficient homes, heating systems, How to Make a Monolithic Dome, layout tips, Monolithic Dome

Radiant floor heat seems to have become a fad that is here to stay. In my opinion, radiant floor heat is like the emperor’s new clothes, basically useless. Why? For many different reasons:

1) Radiant floor heat is 40% less efficient than for example hot water radiators. It takes enormous amounts of hot water to heat a huge slab, and the boiler will run for maybe 2-3 hours to fully charge it with heat.
2) Radiant floor heat has lag time. If you feel cold, it can take several hours before the temperature in the room gets up to a comfortable level.
3) Huge heating bills every month.
4) You have to put up with hard, uncomfortable floors.
5) If you decide to cover the floors with carpets and rugs, you get even less heat out of the floor and have to pay even higher bills.

The only way radiant floor heat makes sense, is if you can hook it up to a solar water collector with a small circulating pump, or you can hook it up to a system that is heated by a wood stove. Otherwise, if you use propane to heat your floors, you just need to know that it is a highly inefficient and expensive way to heat your dome, and that there are better alternatives out there, such as hot water radiators.
More about that tomorrow.
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Tags: Construction of a Monolithic Dome, heating systems, Monolithic Dome, monolithic domes, radiant floor heat

Living in Colorado, we have to deal with the radon issue. Radon is a radioactive gas with no smell. Some places in Colorado the radon levels are much higher than the recommended levels. Dealing with radon before the house is built is much easier than trying to remedy the problem later, so it is a good idea to consider putting in a passive radon system under the slab.

In the other dome we made, we first made the forms for the foundation. Then we spread out a thick layer of potato rocks. This will allow the gas coming out of the ground to move freely under the house. Since radon gas wants to move up and out, we also added a pipe that the gas can escape through. We used a 4″ plumbing pipe with an elbow on the bottom. We stuck one end into the potato rock and the other end went through the bathroom wall, all the way up and out the roof. (When you are about to pour the foundation, you just need a little piece of pipe sticking up, and you can add the rest later).

The next thing we did was to add a thick membrane of plastic on top of the potato rock. This is to prevent the gas from coming into the house. Then we lay the mesh and poured the slab.

This system works incredibly well. The radon levels in the first dome were almost non-existent. If you do this and you find that the radon levels are still too high for some reason, you can easily add a fan to the pipe that sticks out of the roof, so putting in a passive radon system like this makes it very easy to remedy radon problems later if necessary. When we did it, however, that never became necessary.
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Tags: Dome, Monolithic Dome, monolithic domes, passive radon system, planning tips, radon

Once you figure out which rooms you want the sun to enter at which time of day, it is time to talk a bit about the layout of the rooms inside your monolithic dome. The first thing you have to decide is whether you are going to have one or two floors. Some people argue that if you make two floors, you are going to lose a lot of square footage where the stairs go up. This, of course, is pure nonsense. The square footage you gain upstairs more than makes up for the space that is taken up by the stairs. Besides, it doesn’t really have to be a loss of square footage at all, because the space under the stairs is still usable space. You can put your TV and stereo under the stairs, or you can enclose the space and use it for storage.

The next thing that has to be decided is where your utility and laundry room is going to be, as well as your electrical panel. When designing your own dome, it is easy to forget about utility room, laundry room and even closets. Everything has to be remembered and drawn on paper because a dome is literally “set in stone.” You don’t want to change your mind, or start cutting through reinforced concret walls later because you didn’t think it through properly before you started. Nigell’s philosophy has always been that “if it works on paper, it will work in real life, too.” And so far, his philosophy has never let us down.

The placement of the electrical panel also has to be considered, since the code requires that it can’t be inside a closet or hidden in any way. It has to be easily accessible, and you can’t cover it with a picture or put a table in front of it. So consider the placement carefully and put it on your drawings.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions, if you have any.
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Tags: design tips, dome construction, How to Make a Monolithic Dome, layout tips, Monolithic Dome

Once you have decided which piece of land to buy, you have to start thinking about your monolithic dome layout. Which way are you going to position your house and how are you going to lay out the rooms inside your dome? There are many things to consider. Here are the 3 main ones:

1) View
2) Solar Exposure
3) Cold

To me, solar exposure is the most important thing to take into consideration, since the sun provides both light and passive heat. It can also lift your spirits during dark winter months if you can get it to come in through the right windows at the right time of day.

I have seen houses that were built with the living room picture windows facing the mountains, but because the mountains were on the east side, they only got the morning sun, and the rest of the day, the house was dark and gloomy. A better solution would have been to have the bedroom face the mountains. Then you get the morning sun, and you can enjoy the view when you get up.

Another great solution would have been to face the kitchen towards the east. Then you can watch both the mountains and the sunrise while you are having breakfast. If your view is not towards the east, and you have to choose between view and sun exposure, sun exposure is much more important than view. Without heat and light, you won’t enjoy the room with the view very much anyway, so sun exposure must be the first priority, and view is secondary.

I also remember a house that had a dining room facing south. This was a big mistake, because by the time the family gathered to have dinner together, the sun had already passed this window, and the room was dark and dingy. At noon, this room was absolutely lovely, but nobody was ever there to enjoy it at that time. It should have been turned more towards the west.

If your view is facing west, put your living room windows towards the west. If you go to work every day, you’ll probably spend time in your living room only in the afternoon or evening. So if you face the windows in your living room towards the west, you get to enjoy the sunset and the last rays of the sun every day.

If your view is facing south, you might want to put your living room windows facing south, but remember to put in a few windows on the west side, too, so you can enjoy the sunset when you get home from work.

If you view is facing North, put your entrance door towards the north so you can see the view when you leave your house. Don’t even think about putting picture windows that way. That would be a big mistake because the heat loss in the winter would be terrible. Because the north side is the coldest part of the house, it is also important to put less windows on that side, or at least smaller windows, to cut down on heat loss in the winter. If you have an entrance door on the north side, it would also be good to have an enclosed boot room on that side, or at least a storm door on the outside to protect your exterior door.

So, basically, think about which rooms you plan to be in at what time of day, and try to create a layout that not only maximizes your sun exposure, but that also brings sun into each room when you are most likely to spend time in it.

If you are making a monolithic dome, you might also consider a sky light or a solar tube. Solar tubes can light up dark rooms, and sky lights light up the whole room in the daytime, and at night you can watch the stars through them. In the dome that we are going to make, we are going to have a 4′ octagonal opening sky light at the very top which will light up our west facing living room.
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Tags: building tips, Dome, Monolithic Dome, monolithic dome layout, passive solar house plans, solar exposure

Utilities can easily become an unexpected expense when buying a land. The first thing you need to find out is whether any utilities are available near the lot. The phone company will usually give you a credit for bringing phone service to your land, but once the credit has been used up, they will charge you by the foot, which adds up very quickly!

If you find that bringing in phone service is going to cost a lot, you have two options – either get a cell phone for your phone service, and satelite for your internet, or rent a machine and dig the line yourself. Then all you have to pay for is the cable, which isn’t too bad.

If water is not available, you may have to drill a well. Contact a local well driller to find out what the going rate per foot is, and also ask how deep he thinks he may have to go. In addition to drilling the well itself, you also need to figure in at least $5.000 to have the pump and pump accessories hooked up, to make a pump house, and to bring the water to your house. All these expenses are easy to forget when the well driller gives you a price per foot.

If sewer is available, you need to make sure the lot isn’t lower than the road where the sewer pipes are buried. If it is, you might have to have your sewer pumped uphill, and a sewer pump system can easily add thousands of dollars to your bill. So unless the land is so gorgeous that you simply must have it, you might be better off looking for a different piece of land.

If sewer is not available, you’ll have to put in your own sewer system. Sewer systems need drainage, so look at your soil to get an idea of what kind of drainage you are dealing with. Clay is horrible, sand is better. If the drainage is terrible, the inspector might not approve a septic system at all, so you might want to make a call to the inspector, too, before you make your decisiong to buy. If the drainage is workable, you might have to bring in extra drain rock, which could also be expensive. If the drainage is good, your septic system might not end up costing you too much. Talk to a septic installer and he can give you an idea what numbers you can expect for the piece of land you are looking at.

Once you get all your numbers, add them up before you even buy the land. If no utilities are available, putting utilities in can easily cost you at least $30,000 in addition to the cost of the land. This is money going out before you even start your foundation! So get your calculator out and add it all up so you won’t get any upleasant surprises later!

Building a monolithic dome takes a lot of planning, calculation and budgeting. Once you get your numbers in order, and you are still good to go, it is time to plan out the layout of the dome on the land.
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Tags: Buying Land, Monolithic Dome, Tips for Buying Land

The next thing you have to consider, when looking for the perfect piece of land to put your monolithic dome on, is what happens when it rains. If flood rain was pouring down, where would the water go, where would it collect on the land, how deep would it be, and would this be a problem for your house or garage? I have seen people building houses in the middle of gulleys! I have seen people putting their front door at the bottom of a hill where rain water pours in through the front door and across their living room floor! Now what in the world were they thinking???

The truth is, they probably weren’t thinking about these kinds of issues at all. They just flattened the dirt a bit and plopped the house down where they wanted it, without any thought behind it. So, beware! There are so many things to think about when buying a piece of land. Here are just a few:

Number one is AFFORDABILITY
Number two is LOCATION
Number three is THE LOOK OF THE LAND, view etc.
Number four is WATER ISSUES, which is what this post is about.

Besides looking at where the natural water ways are, there could be “unnatural” water ways, too. Look around to see if someone has diverted a culvert onto the land you are interested in. Unbelievable as it may seem, I have actually seen this happen. Sometimes, people will put up a piece of land for sale because the water that flows through the land makes it virtually unbuildable, unless you are planning to build your house on sticks. And, there is no way they are going to tell you, a potential buyer, what you are getting into. So, you must be aware, or you can get yourself in more trouble than you can imagine!

The third water issue has to do with drainage. If the plot is flat and the ground is clay, you’ll have drainage issues and water can collect and turn your whole yard into mud. Don’t buy a piece of land with drainage issues, even though it may be cheap. (That is probably WHY it is cheap!)

And, while we’re talking about water, you might also want to check with a real estate or insurance agent if the land is in the flood plain, just to be on the safe side.

Once you have assured yourself that the lot is both affordable and buildable, and that your house will stay dry, no matter how much it rains, put a ring around the lot number to mark that it is a definite maybe, but don’t make a final decision yet.
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Tags: Buying Land, Monolithic Dome, Tips for Buying Land

After dreaming about building a monolithic dome for a while, and playing with the layout and design on paper, it is time to look for a good piece of land. The first thing to decide is what price range you want to look in. Be realistic! I know too many people who fall in love with a gorgeous piece of land, and they want it so much that nothing can stop them from buying it, even though they can’t really afford it. This is mistake number one!

Solution: Decide how much you can afford and stick with it, no matter what. If you don’t, you might end up with a killer piece of land that you can live on – in your tent! Or, in an unfinished house…

Running out of money in the middle of a project is a total bummer and a huge source of stress. Or, if you think you can just refinance if you run out of money, think again! Two things can happen if you consider refinancing midways – either the bank turns you down, which means you’ll have to live in an unfinished house, or they accept your application and you end up with higher monthly payments than what you were prepared to pay.

The whole point of owning your own house is to have a safe place to be that gives you peace of body and mind. So, just eliminate future stress by realistic budgeting. Decide how much you can afford to spend on the land, and still afford to finish your future house, and then stick to it! Don’t even look at land you can’t afford, because if you do, you’ll never be happy. Just look in your price range until you find something you like, and then, buy it and be happy with what you got. You can always make it more gorgeous over time by adding creating landscaping, walls and hedges.
(Subscribe to our feed for more tips for buying land).
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Tags: Buying Land, Monolithic Dome, Tips for Buying Land

Hello World.
My name is Mati Fuller and my husband is Nigell. We are just about to start making a monolithic dome, which is, without a doubt, the most energy efficient type of home you can possibly build. In addition to energy efficiency, a monolithic dome is also earth quake proof, hurricane proof and fire proof. So, why would anyone build anything else?

Besides habit, it is a lot quicker, easier and more familiar to just throw together a few sticks and put a roof on it. Who cares, if you have to pay huge bills every month to heat the place? Who cares, if you have to share your house with rats, mice and termites? Who cares if a fire comes through, and your house gets wiped out?
Well, if you DO care, it is better to look for alternative building methods, since a stickbuilt house has so many downfalls.

Over time, we have lived in many kinds of homes, like wood, brick, strawbale and ICF (insulated concrete form). Based on our experience with alternative building methods, nothing – absolutely nothing – beats a monolithic dome when it comes to comfort levels, energy efficiency and safety. Yes, it can be a real pain in the backside to actually build the thing, but once it is done, you’re all set since a monolithic dome is practically maintenance free once it is finished. And the fact that your utility bills are minimal, makes it worth the initial effort that goes into building it.

We have already made one monolithic dome in the past. Unfortunately, we sold it, thinking we wanted to move to a better place, but after traveling all over the North West last summer, we still ended up back here in Crestone, ready to start over again as soon as the snow melts.

This new monolithic dome is going to be our DREAM HOME, and in this blog, we’ll take you through the whole process, step by step, since we know how to do all the different parts of the process ourselves. If you are one of those people who are dreaming of making your own monolithic dome, make sure you subscribe to our feed (upper right corner) so you can keep track of our progress and learn everything there is to know about what it takes.

Tags: alternative building methods, Dome, dome home, energy efficient homes, Monolithic Dome, monolithic dome home, monolithic dome home pics