Crestone Domes

If you make a tight monolithic dome in a cold place, you’ll have a condensation problem in the winter time. When it is super cold outside at night, the air inside the dome will hit the cold windows and create condensation that has to be wiped away in the morning. This problem can be solved [...]

Now that you know some electrical code basics, it is time to plan out what electrical lines that go through the walls of your dome shell. Basically, you only have one shot at getting this right, so plan it well and don’t make mistakes!!!
When we made our first dome, we used smurf tubing because it [...]

Do you love beautiful faucet and shower fixtures? Do you have your eye on that really awesome $600.00 kitchen sink? After all, if your monolithic dome is going to be your dream house, you want what you want, it is as simple as that. But what if it is going to cost way more money [...]

Why make a post about holes in the walls? Because when you make a monolithic dome, it is easier to plan out where you need holes in the walls before you spray the concrete, than after, when it is all “set in stone.” So, let’s go through one room at a time, starting with the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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) [...]