Frequently Asked Questions

There is so much variety in sizes, shapes, and uses of the Monolithic Dome that developing a general price sheet is impossible. Even within a single category such as homes, costs can vary drastically. A small, one bedroom home may cost only $45,000 where a three bedroom home, complete with chandeliers and gold plated faucets, could cost $500,000. What you put in your home is as important to its cost as whether you build a dome or a conventional structure. In an effort give a general idea of how much domes usually cost we have compiled the following guidelines. But just like your home, one size does not fit all. (related article: True Cost of a Dome Home.)

Homes:

Homes: The Monolithic Dome is built using expensive materials. The insulation costs three to ten times more than standard insulation. The primary structure is steel reinforced, concrete -- normally considered too expensive for conventional homes. It is only the efficient manner in building these domes that keeps their costs down. In general, a Monolithic Dome will cost about the same as a traditional home of the same size and finish. With the strength, energy efficiency, life span, and durability of the Monolithic Dome it is a miracle that it doesn't cost substantially more. Our rule of thumb in estimating the final cost of an average, finished Monolithic Dome home is $110 per square foot (2006 pricing) of floor area. This includes everything but your furniture and land. The dome shell with rough openings for doors and windows costs about one-half the "finished square-footage price" and the materials used for the dome costs about one half of the shell cost per square foot.

Monolithic Dome churches, schools, and other institutional buildings usually cost much less than comparable conventional structures. There are two reasons. One, institutional buildings must meet tougher building codes than homes, therefore, they are built using more expensive materials. A standard Monolithic Dome already meets and exceeds these codes. Two, it is a mathematical fact that domes cover more space than any other shape. This fact creates a margin of efficiency between the dome and "square buildings." The bigger the building, the larger this margin becomes. These two facts helped the Payson Elementary School in Payson, Arizona, save a lot of money. The school cost $64 per square foot versus the state-wide average of $84 per square foot. (prices in 1994) (related article: How Much Does a Monolithic Dome School Cost?)

Storages: Nothing beats the Monolithic Dome for cold storage, freezers, corrosive resistant storage, large bulk storage of any material, specialized storage, or nearly any storage.

Stadiums: The size of the dome is so large when building a stadium that the mathematical efficiency of the dome becomes a major factor. A Monolithic Dome stadium can cost half as much as a conventional stadium, and it will be made of concrete!

Is the Monolithic Dome suitable for hot/cold or dry/moist climates?

Yes! From north of the arctic circle and down to the equator, in deserts and the tropics, the Monolithic Dome has excelled in all environments. In fact, the less hospitable the environment, the more you need a Monolithic Dome.

Do I need to care for or coat the fabric Airform?

The Airform -- used to form the shape of the dome during construction -- is left on as an outer covering and first line of defense for a Monolithic Dome. It protects the polyurethane foam from the UV radiation of the sun and repels rain, snow, and more. The Airform takes a lot of abuse and requires care. It needs to be coated within five to ten years after a dome home is finished. Airforms for larger domes are made out of heavier material which shouldn't need to be coated for 10 to 30 years. When you need to coat the dome depends on your climate, the type of material used in the Airform, and the desired aesthetics for the dome. A variety of coatings are available ranging from elastomeric coatings, stucco, shotcrete, and metal cladding.

How long does it take to build a Monolithic Dome?

Monolithic Domes can be built quite quickly. In general it takes about six to eight weeks to get the Airform ready. Then about two to four weeks to build a house sized dome shell. Large buildings require about six to ten weeks. As with any building project, the finish work requires a great deal of time, usually three to six months for the interior of a home.

How do I design a Monolithic Dome Home? Affordable feasibility study

David South, President of Monolithic Dome Institute, Inc., says, people who are just thinking about building a Monolithic Dome home, but don’t know if they can afford to, need some convenient stopping points. So, MDI has initiated two different programs to do just that.

The first of these is a Free Evaluation. This requires describing your dream dome home either with a word picture (see Word Picture) or a sketch. MDI’s professionals will then evaluate this information and give the prospective dome builder a cost approximation.

MDI’s second program is a Home Feasibility Study that is much more detailed than the Evaluation. The Home Feasibility Study includes a floor plan with necessary elevations, notes, and estimated construction cost estimates. An Evaluation or a Home Feasibility Study take approximately two to four weeks, depending on work load.

Do you offer how-to classes?

Yes, you can learn how to be your own Monolithic Dome builder! Training workshops are held at Monolithic Dome Institute headquarters just 50 miles south of Dallas at Italy, Texas. The workshops start Tuesday with polyurethane foam, on to reinforcements on Wednesday, engineering and concrete on Thursday, design, layout, and equipment are added for Friday and Saturday. Approximately 50% of the time is spent in class, the rest is spent in hands-on training, building a Monolithic Dome. Click here for more information or to sign up.

Do I have to build it myself?

No, you do not have to build the dome yourself. Approximately 1000 prospective builders have attended our training classes and there are others who learned to build from our Training Pak. Many are now in the dome building business. We have names of several builders that would gladly help you build anywhere. We may also direct all work for you.

The Airform, clamp straps, and rebar hangers you get from us. Everything else you can get locally. We have developed a small line of concrete pumps the builder may want to get from us. We also offer design services, training, and more. The bottom line is that you can be as involved as you want, from doing everything yourself to turning it over to someone else.

Can I build a second floor?

Yes, but carefully consider your options. In a Monolithic Dome a second floor will probably not save any money. A series of low-profile domes connected together and using only one floor can have the same floor area at a similar cost. A second floor may be appropriate because of the cost of land or the purpose of the building, or you may simply prefer a multi-story building. Multiple stories can be "hung" directly from the dome, supported by interior walls, or a combination of both. (related article: Considering a Second Floor?)

Can I build a dome over a basement?

Yes, but we do not recommend it. A basement is an uninsulated, concrete structure built using an expensive "forms" process. Then you build an insulated, concrete dome on top using a very efficient construction process. This is redundant and wasteful. It is easier, less expensive, and usually much better to build a larger dome.

Can a Monolithic Dome be buried and how deep?

For all intents and purposes you can bury a Monolithic Dome as deep as you want. Near the Rio Grande there is a 30 foot dome buried 28 feet underground. A heavily loaded dome tends to become like a cookie cutter, therefore, the footing must be wider to sustain the load. The structure itself needs a little more strengthening, too. Advanced planning and engineering is necessary. A standard Monolithic Dome will handle earth bermed against it without any special consideration other than drainage. Any buried structure must be carefully drained and protected from water. (related articles: The Invisible Dome Home, Below Grade)

Is installing electrical and plumbing in a Monolithic Dome different than in a conventional house?

For plumbing, there is no difference. All homes, including domes, run sewer and water pipes in the interior walls of the home. There is no reason to penetrate the dome wall other than for a garden hose connection and vents.

Electrical wiring requires a little more planning and preparation before constructing your dome. Plan where you want electrical outlets and lights in the dome wall. During construction of the dome, attach plastic or steel conduit to the rebar. Also fasten the electrical boxes in the appropriate places. After the concrete is sprayed, wires may be pulled through the embedded conduits to their appropriate boxes.

What about ventilating systems for the Monolithic Dome? Aren’t they really airtight?

Yes, the Monolithic Dome is much more airtight than a conventional building. This has obvious energy efficiency advantages. However, it also creates the need to provide for fresh air into the home. In every Monolithic Dome home the vents from the bathroom and the kitchen range must vent outside. This, combined with the use of the family clothes dryer, will provide enough pull on fresh air into the home to be more than adequate. There is one exception — if a lot of indoor pollution is brought inside, such as smoking, it is recommended to have an air-exchanger for a more consistent exchange of air.

See: Heating And Cooling Systems, Design Criteria for HVAC

What does one do about humidity in a Monolithic dome?

Usually the air-conditioning system in the home will be adequate to take care the humidity. If no air-conditioning is required consider using a dehumidifier.

Should I use gas or electric in my Monolithic Dome?

We encourage our customers to stay away from using gas in a Monolithic Dome -- either propane or natural. Domes are very tight. Any leakage from gas appliances can accumulate in the dome which can produce health problems. If you insist on using gas, we suggest putting the gas-powered hot water heater in a separate room which is sealed away from the house and a fresh air pipe vented from the outside into that room. Gas stoves must be equipped with electric starters so the pilot light isn't running constantly. The stove needs to be coupled with an automatic hood fan so when the stove is started, the hood fan automatically turns on to circulate air.

Is the Monolithic Dome code compliant?

Yes, Monolithic Dome buildings comply and exceed all of the usual building codes in every way. In many cases the Monolithic Dome can be placed immediately adjacent to other buildings because of its superior fire code conformance. This can be really important in commercial buildings, schools, and churches.

You should check with your local building inspector to find out which of the national building codes he uses. Then ask if they have local variations added. For instance Houston, Texas uses mostly Uniform Building Code; but have their own additions. Most of Texas uses the Southern or Standard Building Code.

While checking on the codes find out what the procedure is to obtain a building permit -- including costs. This is different from place to place.

Can I use steel fibers in place of steel reinforcement bar (rebar) as the primary reinforcement in a Monolithic Dome?

Concrete is a fantastic construction material. However, the real strength of concrete is in compression. In tension, concrete has little reliable strength. We make up for lack of tension strength by using reinforcement. We have learned that steel reinforcement bar (rebar) adds the best tension strength for the lowest cost of any reinforcement material. Many other reinforcements are available. They range from bamboo to carbon strands to fiberglass rebar, etc. In addition many fibers (glass, polypropylene, carbon, nylon and steel) have been used primarily for secondary reinforcements.

Fibers are used in hundreds of concrete applications for both primary and supplementary reinforcements. But we are concerned with its use in thin shell domes. Rebar is the only reinforcement recognized by the codes for primary reinforcements. Small domes can be fiber reinforced but they will not meet codes and they are not as tough as rebar reinforced buildings. So far, we have had serious failures on several projects where we used steel fibers as the primary reinforcements. There is no way I will ever be convinced to try it again. As recent as 1998, we tried one more time on a small dome (20 feet in diameter). It was a failure as well. Even though it did not fall in, it did developed cracks. Cracks are not a problem with rebar, but they are a disaster with fiber reinforcements.

Even if they worked (and they do not) as the primary reinforcement, you would have to overcome the lack of code acceptance. Concrete and rebar are well known, accepted and available worldwide. Even more important is the fact that steel fibers are expensive and difficult to handle. It has been our experience that the extra cost of the fibers will pay for hanging the rebar. Lastly, the rebar acts as a depth gauge. If it is properly embedded the concrete is generally thick enough. With fiber concrete you cannot tell by looking exactly how thick it is. It can vary from ¼ inch to 12 inches.

See: Never Use Steel Fibers Instead of Rebar in a Monolithic Dome

How do I find insurance for a Monolithic Dome?

When you call for insurance on a Monolithic Dome, you have to remember the agent will not have a page in his book for Monolithic Domes. He will have a page for an "all masonry constructed" building. The buildings are constructed with reinforced concrete walls and roof. You need to be prepared to tell the agent what materials are utilized for the interior framing. Is it steel studs and sheet rock. If there are second floors -- are they made out of concrete, steel, or wood. You should also be prepared to tell them that the roofing is single ply roof membrane. This is the roofing system that is used on many commercial buildings.

Ask several companies about insurance, not just one. Remember do not get off in deep water about your exciting new Monolithic Dome, just stick with an all masonry constructed building. If you do the above you will get the lower cost insurance fitting the safety advantages of a Monolithic Dome.

177 Dome Park Place - Italy, TX 76651
Tel (972)483-7423 - Fax (972)483-6662
| Press Room