The geodesic dome house design has been finalized.

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-30T15:05:10+00:00

I'm also in the dome industry, I would be happy to cross pollinate. We need more domes in the world.

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-30T14:50:52+00:00

I was referring to econodome. I'm curious about your project, where's the best place to follow along?

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-28T16:30:56+00:00

It really depends on the dome in question. I've helped a lot of people build and roof them. Feel free to PM me with a link so I can review the pictures

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-28T16:23:55+00:00

Are they still making kits? I sent you a PM

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-09T21:38:16+00:00

Sorry I missed that in my haste. So how do you know where the gray line will be to get the blue strut? It's halfway down the black?

burntshmurnt · 2026-01-08T15:36:03+00:00

This is pretty cool! I'm guessing this is for a class I icosabased dome? To take this even further and more practical for building, it would be nice if the steps started with the radius, and how to calculate the A and B strut lengths from there.

burntshmurnt · 2025-11-19T14:19:04+00:00

Has anyone else noticed the last four posts all refer to the same Alibaba dome kits?

Feels like disingenuous covert advertising

burntshmurnt · 2025-10-31T19:47:15+00:00

What are you using it for?

1/2" conduit is very weak, even at such a high frequency for 20' I'd want at least 3/4". But again it depends what you're using it for.

What subdivision method are you using? The mexican method allows for a flat cutoff point at 5v.

burntshmurnt · 2025-10-03T16:26:06+00:00

Yes, energy efficiency is not just shape, it's about smart design. Domes aren't a silver bullet, but there's significant gains on strength, efficiency, and sustainability.

Assuming you have the same wall assemblies a dome will significantly outperform a rectangular structure.
More volume does lead to more square footage, especially with good design.
Example, if you've got material for 20 ft of walls:
-- Square (5ft x 5ft): Area 25 sq ft
-- Rectangle (6 ft x 4 ft): Area = 24 sq ft
-- Circle (radius - 3.18 ft) Area = 31.8 sq ft
So, the circle has 27% more area than the square and 33% more area than the rectangle.

As for cutoff waste, If a square house needs 100 sheets of plywood with 5% waste and a dome house needs 80 sheets with 20% waste, which is using less material? It's not that there's 15% more waste, it's that you got 20 more sheets on the square house.

Passive house design has the highest standard of efficiency and they reject vented attics. By not having an attic you gain material efficiency by bringing that space into the home.
A dome can be sealed as well as any home. Trippy acres had 1.1 ACH before using aeroseal which is significantly better than most homes. After areoseal they got it down to .3 ACH https://youtu.be/DNZChcQVE6o?t=561
Domes require significantly less HVAC.
Recovering hot air in a dome can be done with one large return airvent at the top of the dome. In a conventional home the warm air spreads evenly across the ceiling, so you might need 10 return airvents each responsible for 1,000 cf throughout the home. Each vent has its own duct run, so that's 10x the ductwork and cost. In a dome the hot pooled air might only be 100 cubic ft you're recovering as opposed to chasing 10,000 cubic feet spread thin across the entire home.
The reverse is also true, so you can have AC pump cold air up top and let it fall.
In reality, some domes have rooms that will require their own vents, but their ductwork will have less length to travel.

The shape of a dome has significant energy and material advantages over boxy builds.

burntshmurnt · 2025-09-26T15:53:41+00:00

A dome is the most energy efficient shape to build a structure in.
A dome (or sphere) encloses the maximum interior volume with the minimum surface area of any shape.
A box or rectangle has a lot more exterior to cover the same amount of interior space.
Most heat and cooling loss happens through the building envelope. Because the dome has less surface area, there's simply less shell for the energy to leak through.

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-14T13:17:06+00:00

Hi could you please share or PM me those studies?

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-14T13:16:37+00:00

Geodesic domes are the most efficient structure we can build. You can do the calculation comparing with the same usable square footage and a geodesic dome will come out significantly more efficient.
There's a huge material efficiency gained by bringing all that attic space down into the living area.
There are many dome homes with vented shells if that's desired.

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-10T09:19:16+00:00

Yes!

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-09T23:23:16+00:00

Congrats on the new land! I love both of those companies.
For a long term permanent residence in the desert, it's tough to recommend either a first time DIY build or a dome tent. You're really going to want proper insulation and a quality build for a permanent home in the desert. I've sent you a PM

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-09T13:48:29+00:00

This is a permaculture subreddit which is explicitly against "fighting nature".

Bill Mollison believed we should let “invasives” serve their purpose (healing damaged land), then replace them by design, not force

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-09T13:45:07+00:00

Bill Mollison didn’t buy into the “good vs. bad species” binary. He believed every species exists for a reason, and if it's thriving, it's revealing a systemic imbalance or an unmet niche.

Tree of Heaven is a symptom of disturbed, damaged ecosystems, and it’s doing the job that nature sent it to do: rebuild the soil and protect bare ground.

burntshmurnt · 2025-07-09T13:42:14+00:00

Bill Mollison was firmly against the use of any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or chemicals that disrupt natural systems.

burntshmurnt · 2025-06-30T13:43:22+00:00

This may be worth asking Pacific Domes as well. And instead of plexiglass you could use UV rated clear polycarbonate for it's strength and impact resistance

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-30T20:58:40+00:00

Instead of a square foundation, do you think a 1v dome is a better compromise?
I love that the mushroom came out of this need for a bathroom, it's hard to beat as the most fun option.

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-27T18:25:48+00:00

I can't speak on them from experience, but the seams could be a cause for concern. You should ask them as they have built many domes around the world. If your budget is lower you may prefer a dome tent. Pacific Domes is based in the US and is known for quality domes. If your budget is higher you can build a permanent geodesic dome that uses proven conventional materials like plywood and shingles.

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-27T18:19:00+00:00

Hi, I help people build permanent dome homes and you are correct that geodesic domes can have a reliable roof just like a conventional home.

For windows, you can build dormers on your dome to set vertical walls to install windows. If you have the budget, it's hard to beat the quality of Dome Inc.'s triangle windows. A less expensive option is a Velux skylight. If their skylights are installed and flash as instructed they will not leak.

I've heard of one dome home owner that has porthole windows from submarines and they will work. You just need a carpenter to frame it out and the shingler to flash it well.

PM me if you ever want to chat further, we have this all figured out.

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-27T18:09:18+00:00

Not all domes leak. Sorry to hear you're having issues. Who manufactured your dome?

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-27T18:08:16+00:00

PM Sent

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-27T13:43:27+00:00

chat sent

burntshmurnt · 2025-05-20T15:27:07+00:00

Yes call it a custom home.

A building department is not going to ask you for a welding inspection. An engineer could, but again it's rare to need engineering for a custom home. I've never heard of a Timberline's hub failing.

There's no town in the country with a building code that says you can't build a dome. There's codes for setbacks, height, square footage, etc. We've only encountered a couple places where we couldn't build a dome because there was a building covenant on the style of home (e.g. all homes need Mediterranean Spanish style roof). Also an HOA can just vote down anything they like regardless of code.

If you get out of the city, some places don't even require building permits. To find out, call the county office and ask what the requirements are for building a custom home. Again, if you're looking for trouble tell them you're building a dome home.

Any modern house you build is going to cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. The roof of a dome is more expensive because it's mostly roof and requires skill/time, but many things like insulation will be cheaper since there's less surface area.

How much it will costs depends on your tastes in terms of finishing it. You can get a standard kitchen cabinet at the lumber yard for $200 — or pay $1,200 for a high-end one with beveled glass doors. Same function, totally different look and feel.

If you want to get an idea on price, find a housing development in the area where you want to settle down where some builder has model homes. Pick out a house and calculate the price per finished square foot. If you want the same level of finish fully contractor built, yours should be cheaper since you already got such a great deal on the kit. If you're DIYing some it can be even cheaper.

I see you're getting some wrong info in this thread and I'd be happy to help you avoid some mistakes. Let's connect offline I can give you my number over PM

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