Buy - Sell

At times, we are asked to set up a business partnership or a corporation with friends, relatives or acquaintances. Over time, the players in such an arrangement often change. These changes can occur because of death, sickness, financial considerations, disagreement, etc. How do we handle such a change?
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Flooding -- Effect on a Monolithic Dome

Flooding is a disaster with often enormous ramifications. But a Monolithic Dome offers some protection against common problems associated with flooding.

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The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing!

Aerial View of Research Park in Italy, Texas

For most of my life, bringing the benefits of concrete thin shells to the world has been my main thing.

Here at Monolithic we use our own unique terms to quickly identify the thin shells we design: Monolithic Domes are insulated structures, while Monolithic EcoShells are uninsulated ones. The term Airform describles the system we use to form the shape of our thin shells, and that system has proved to be both simple and beneficial. Read More...

Celiac Disease

“Celiac Sprue” is the most insidious, undiagnosed medical problem in the United States. It is an inherited gene that comes out of northern Europe. Even though it effects large numbers of people in the United States most are undiagnosed. In Readers Digest a few months back listed it as the most undiagnosed medical problem in the United States.

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Changing Temperatures With A Switch or It's Not What You Feel

In what seems like a lifetime ago, I worked for the Chicago Northwestern Railway, managing the keypunch department of their computer operations. Inside a room large enough to be a small gym, my department included all the equipment for 45 keypunch machines as well as areas for material handling and for the department manager and his assistant. Read More.

High Fuel Prices Drive the Demand for Energy Efficient Vehicles

... Early last night, I crossed most of Wyoming. Interstate 80 presents some substantial hills. I set the cruise control at 80 miles per hour. The Prius never budged even one mile off the setting. It went up those hills better than any vehicle I've ever driven. Down the hills it regenerates the battery. Up the hill both motors kicked in and we sailed over the hills. The most astonishing thing was that we averaged 48 mpg crossing that terrain. We verified that by its own internal monitoring and by how much fuel we put in the tank.

Fighting Fire With Fire: Our First Guest President's Sphere : by Randy John South

... I ran across the shop, reached over, and took the torch from Barry with my bare hand with the intent of getting it secured. Little did I know that the flame had been burning inside of the brass handle all of this time. This action seared the entire flesh of my right hand and fingers instantaneously with third degree burns! The pain was intense!...

NEW BOOK! Think Round, The Story of David B. South and The Monolithic Dome -- The Perfect Gift For Domephiles

Written by Freda Parker to whom David told his story, this book is absolutely chockful of photographs, so you can see as well as read about the people and events David describes. Those events are true-life experiences and fond memories, many funny and some sad. David recalls his grandparents and parents, their triumphs and tribulations and the lessons they taught him that ultimately helped shape the person he became.

Some Lessons Are Learned the Hard Way

We had a project to do in Oklahoma which involved two big domes, each 105' in diameter. We built the first one and had it almost finished when the top fell in. When it fell, we thought one of the contractors helping us had opened both doors and let the air pressure drop too soon. So we put it back to together. Everything seemed fine, so we started on the next dome. When we had almost finished the second dome, we were taking a break when KABOOM! the top came crashing down out of the first dome again. We immediately switched back to rebar and rebuilt both domes.

Antiterrorism Buildings

Monolithic Domes can withstand terrorist attacks better than most conventional buildings.

Equipment Designed for Dome Builders

The equipment we develop has many more uses than just building domes. For instance, the Monolithic Portable Concrete Mixer is not just a great shotcrete mixer. It is perfect for mixing soils, bricklayers' mortar, fence post fill and many other yet-to-be identified uses.

Carbon Dioxide Monitoring

Maintaining reasonable CO₂ levels by measuring and controlling is far better than guessing -- as is most often done in commercial and residential buildings. This ineffective procedure is partly due to the cost of CO₂ meters.

Why the Crenosphere Was Invented

The construction technique for Crenosphere Domes makes it possible to build very huge, very durable structures, with clear-span interiors much more affordably than ever before. The Crenosphere?s other advantages include a life-span measured in centuries, superior insulation, low energy consumption, low maintenance, reduced construction time, disaster survivability and affordability.

Deciding on Windows

In today's world, we have a tremendous choice in windows. A typical window, 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall, for a home, can be made of aluminum, wood or various plastics. Not only do we have a choice of window frame material, we have a choice of single pane, single strength glass, double strength glass, plate glass, tempered glass, dual panel and more.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes sure tear up real estate! Not a year goes by that we don't suffer horrible devastation caused by tornadoes across the US and other parts of the world.

What the Customer REALLY Wants

At each stage of a major project a variety of people with different specialties are involved. Each separate ego can add an element to the finished product that wasn't intended to be there. Communication problems, vague instructions or budget problems can also interfere with what the customer WANTED compared to what the customer GETS.

Why We Need Io-20 Residence Inns

Why Building From the Inside Is Easier and Better Than Building From the Outside

I used to tell people, "I am from Idaho, and nobody told me you had to put the roof on last. We establish the roofing membrane first, then insulate the building, and then put up the structure, working on the inside, out of the weather."

Construction Costs Continue To Rise--

Construction costs for schools, churches, commercial buildings and houses have been increasing by nine to ten percent per year for at least three years ? and probably will continue doing so.