When and How Will the World End dome Straw Bale Houses home Log Home Plans and Kits dome How to Beat Depression
Geodesic Dome T-shirtA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory.
A Dome resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. They became popular in Western Europe during the Renaissance period.
A geodesic dome is based on a design of triangles laid beside each other usually in circles depending on the size you want. While a monolithic dome is a made of one piece over a form, usually made of concrete.
Domes are really strong and get stronger as it gets larger. They can withstand earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes but are hard to seal against leaks. Because of the many seams in the geodesic dome and the flexing it does as it warms from the sun, waterproofing becomes a challenge. The best method is to use shingles on the dome or to overlap the triangles to shed water.
Several Monolithic domes withstood hurricane Katrina in 2005 and wildfires in Oklahoma and Texas with the only a slight blackening of the exterior form insulation.
A Geodesic Dome is an almost spherical structure based on a network of struts arranged on great circles (geodesics) lying approximately on the surface of a sphere.
A Monolithic Dome (from Greek mono- and -lithic, meaning "one stone" is a structure cast in one piece over a form, usually of concrete or similar structural material.
Dome Homes for Sale Affiliate links from EPN
Underground Design for Twenty-first Century Living
Commissions Earned
Do you dream of building a Geodesic or Monolithic dome home? If so this is the place for you to find information on these types of homes.Geodesic domes are made in a spherical shape. The surface of the sphere is made of circles or triangles. The result looks like a half of a ball. Notice the photo above to see these triangles clearly. The "Geodesic" name comes from R. Buckminster Fuller who gave the structure its name and invented the math to figure out how to make these domes.
The Geodesic dome is strong for its weight and can give protection from tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. The down side to a dome home is the greater cost of materials and issues with leaking.
The monolithic dome looks similar to the geodesic except it is made from one piece instead of many triangles on the surface. The igloo is a good example of a monolithic dome house. Monolithic domes are more durable than the geodesic dome and can survive a lot of disasters. FEMA rates them as "near absolute protection" from F5 tornadoes and Category 5 hurricanes. They also don't have the problem of leaking because of the one-piece structure with no seams.
The monolithic dome is very efficient is keeping down energy costs. It holds the heat in or out depending on what you want. But like the geodesic dome it is costly to build. Construction companies usually aren't trained in monolithic buildings and the cost of a crew trained in this type of construction would be high. One possibility would be to build it yourself but a lot of research would have to go into it before starting or else you might find that your home is crumbling around you.
On this page you will find Geodesic and Monolithic dome floor plans, kits and books to help you get started.
Dear Dome Fans,
I am writing to you in behalf of your Heavenly Father. He is seeking you like a lost sheep. You remember the Bible story? It is about a shepherd who has 100 sheep. But when he brings the sheep home one night, one is missing. He then leaves the 99 sheep and goes out into the wilderness until he finds that lost sheep.
In this parable the shepherd goes out to search for the one lost sheep-the very least that can be numbered. So if there had been but one lost soul, Christ would have died for that one. To read more click Lost Sheep
Susan Dietel
Web Programmer
Email:
susansdesign@yahoo.com
Web Site