Cabin Construction Journal Jan. 16th

 

We finished the concrete spraying yesterday.  We placed a propane heater inside the dome last night to help speed up the curing process, so that it would be liftable this morning.

First we set up a level area to the side where we could set the building.  We then placed some concrete blocks down to set it on.  The blocks are going to help keep the beams clean.  We rigged up the crane and started lifting.  The Monolithic Cabin came off the pad beautifully, and we were able to swing it around and set it on the pads.

Today we plan on painting the interior and starting to form the next dome.  Next week we will continue to do both the new floor, and the interior construction of the first cabin.

Click here to see more pictures

Cabin Construction Journal Jan. 15th

 

One challenge of documenting a dome that Javier is building, is that you have to almost stay on site the whole time he moves so fast.  Not to mention on a smaller sized dome like the Monolithic Cabin.

We now have all the foam, rebar, and electrical done.  Javier is now spraying concrete.  He sprayed about an inch yesterday, and should finish the last inch to inch and a half today.

Once the cabin shell is complete, we can move it from the pad to another area to construct the interior walls.  Click here to see more pictures

Cabin Construction Journal Jan. 13th

 
We got the airform inflated last night and the door bucks installed.  Javier has installed the door bucks, and is currently spraying the foam.  We expect to have some rebar hung by the end of the day.

Click here to check out the pictures on Flickr

Monolithic Cabin Construction Journal

 

We have started a new project here at the Monolithic Dome Institute. Monolithic Dome Cabins.

The Monolithic Cabin is a modified Monolithic Dome – like a tunnel with rounded ends. These domes all have a diameter (width) of 12 feet. The total length will depend on the model. The model number designates the total square footage. Thus the Model 150 is 14.3 feet in length. The model 201 (shown here) is 18.5 feet in length. The model 266 is 24 feet in length. All models will be nominal 10′ high from bottom of cross beams to top of roof.

These cabins are designed for many uses.  Primarily we expect to sell them for rental units, in our efforts to create more low cost housing that isn’t necessarily “cheap” houses.  These Cabins can be shipped anywhere, and setup in a few hours.

These cabins aren’t limited to just homes though.  We have been talking about using them for freezers, utility sheds, communication sheds, housing for pipeline workers, etc.

Javier Figueroa is the crew chief on the job, and he has been doing a great job.

I will be taking pictures throughout the construction of the first Monolithic Dome Cabin and putting them up on my Flickr account. So be sure to check them out.

• Click here to see the pictures
• Click here to read more about the Monolithic Cabin on domeliving.com
• Click here to visit Monolithic.com
• Click here to buy a cabin at the Monolithic Marketplace

Monolithic Stucco Goes Green

We had an interesting project last month that I thought would be fun to share.  Monolithic has been developing a new way to coat the airform using a concrete stucco that we call “Monolithic Stucco”.

The Monolithic Stucco we use today is a heavy mix of concrete, MC-76 (a chemical used to make lots of stucco base materials), polystyrene beads and colorant if desired.  Here is a list of the steps we take to spray Monolithic Stucco:

1. We first spray a coat of the Monoform Primer.  The Primer is sprayed with a standard airless paint sprayer.
2. Then we start to mix the Monolithic Stucco using: concrete sand, cement, MC-76, polystyrene beads, and the green colorant.
3. We then used our GHP 2500 to spray the stucco on the outside of the Monolithic Dome.

The polystyrene beads help keep the expansion and contraction of the concrete at bay, while a combination of the monolithic primer and the natural mechanical adhesion of concrete keep the stucco on the dome.

Coloring the concrete is optional and we have sprayed a lot of the domes with gray concrete and then coat them with Sil-Shield.

To see more pictures of the stucco process click here.

St. Joseph Update

We are still working hard at the St. Joseph Church in Commerce, Texas.  I have posted more pictures to my gallery and welcome you to go and see them.

You will notice in some of the pictures the new vertical style rain gutter.  It not only looks great, but adds some protection from ice sheets sliding off the dome.

Monolithic Constructors Poland

I have a good friend named Jan Pregowski who came to the U.S. many years ago to learn about dome construction.  His church wanted to build a Monolithic Dome, and thats why they sent him, so that he could come back and build it.   Thats exactly what he did.

He now lives in a dome house that he built, and has formed Monolithic Constructors Poland (MCP).  He has built many domes for us and Dome Technology in all parts of the world.  In fact he just completed building a dome in Latvia.

The reason I am posting this is to give you a chance to look at his website http://www.mcp.slask.pl/.  Click here to see a walk through of his beautiful home in Poland.

Featured Dome Project in Temple, TX

This is a feature of a 36′ dome that was built by Monolithic in Temple, TX. This dome is unique because of its tube entryway and inset shower.

The floor was poured onto white rock road base, which made it hard to dig and form. Once we got the footing dug, the rest fell into place very nicely because the owner did such a good job by providing a level job site. Since this floor was being inspected, we were required to put plastic underneath the floor.

After the concrete was poured, and the uprights were bent down, we attached the Airform, using stainless steel straps and stainless steel Rawl spikes. The reason we used the stainless was that we were going to pour concrete against them, and the owner was worried about the concrete eating away at the galvanized straps that we usually use.

The tube entry was inflated with the dome and turned out really well. Javier was able to use plywood to form a doorway into the entryway. Javier sprayed the tunnel and one side of the plywood with concrete, then he removed the plywood and sprayed the other side.

Be sure to ask questions in the comments section and review all the pictures on my gallery.

St. Joseph Connector

Here are more pictures of the church we are building in Commerce, TX. We are currently constructing the block wall sections that connect the old church to the new church.  We have finished the walls and the roof on the lobby, and we should finish the block connectors next week.  Click here to see the gallery.

My Conference Presentation

We had the Monolithic Dome Convention this weekend, and there were a lot of people that weren’t able to come to it.  I have taken my presentation and made it into a pdf available for download. 

My presentation was about equipment.  I kept it fairly general except for the new Paxis Scaffold.  Go through it, and if you have any questions, just ask them in the comments and I will answer ASAP. 

• Equipment Presentation Low Res 
• Equipment Presentation High Res (coming soon)