Nathan left a message on the dome calculation pages about building an underground dome, I''ve moved it here as it sounds like a worthwhile discussion topic that others may be interested in.
High Paul i''m new at this and i was wondering if i could seek your council on a project of a 2v dome with a radius of 15. Also wondering the weight this dome will bear and wich materials you suggest for a underground dome. Great site, most usefull one i have found would greatly appretiate your opinion lol id hate to put the effort through just to have it collapse.
[ Comments 10 ]
posted by
admin
31/12/2008 22:00:59
I could use a bi tmore information like: you say the size is 15? feet or meters/diameter or radius.
My first thoughts would be to build a 3 frequency dome as it would have more struts and is more spherical than a 2v. It's not more difficult building a 3v dome there are just a few more parts, so I would consider this first.
posted by
Nathan
03/01/2009 09:30:44
Hi sorry i put this under the wrong section earlyer i was tired lol. Anyway i was thinking of various sizes of dome and ive settled on a dome with the diameter of 20 feet. But im still having troubles of the height due the shape, and exactly how deep i will have to bary it and how much weight it would bare.
posted by
admin
05/01/2009 02:29:59
OK Nathan, 20 feet, thats 6 meters diameter, that would give an internal hieght of around 3 meters (10 feet) If you need more hieght just put it on a riser wall. I would build a fairly light weight dome and use it as a former covered in concrete. I'll do you a drawing if sizes look OK for you, just let me know. Cheers, Paul
posted by
Nathan
06/01/2009 06:18:46
Also i know these are used for growing above ground like a green house but how hard would it be to grow underground. Such as humidity conduit electrical and air. My father can do the air and humidity but we are kinda lost on the electrical have you had experience with electrical. Like possisbly a inner shell wiht about 3 inches space between shells to run 2.5 inch conduit for electrical. appretiate the help your a life saver, i am intrested in the drawings. am surprised theres not more views on this blog due to this room can be used for multiple things lol. Thanks Nate
posted by
admin
08/01/2009 23:06:38
Here you go Nathan,a diagram that shows some of the basics of building an underground dome.
As for growing things underground, you would be struggling against nature a bit. You would have to provide UV light water, everthing the plants need. I would probably have the dome half burried, that way you would egt the benefit of ground heat (so no frosts) and still get natural light. That siad if you have to be fully underground you can get some really neat LED growlamps that don't use as much energy as other grow lamps. You could lay the conduit for electrics around the outside of the dome before you put the concrete on top, this would save on having a double skin. Interesting idea building a dome underground, I'll have a look in more detail and maybe do more designs when I have more time.
posted by
Terrance
23/07/2009 01:42:32
I would like information on architects that may be able to build such an underground dome as a bomb/meteor shelter that can sustain human life for at least 5 years. Thank you for your time.
Terrance
posted by
jo
07/05/2010 06:37:56
Hello
Are there alternative coverings, other than cement? Still want underground but would prefer not to use cement.
If anyone has any thoughts, i'd be grateful
Jo
posted by
Jack
11/07/2010 07:17:27
I'm currently looking into designs of underground/dome houses. William Lishman built a pretty amazing underground multi-dome house back in the day. He used shotcrete which is basically concrete, but can be applied to all kinds of differently shaped metal forms, and it's much faster. It has great structural integrity, is light weight, and provides it's own internal insulation from what I understand. It's probably what I'm going to use . . . once I save up a little nest egg in a few decades :( but an underground dome home would be fairly easy to make into an off-the-grid, self-sustaining home.
posted by
Jack
11/07/2010 07:20:45
I do have a quick question as well. I don't know how much anyone knows about shotcrete AND domes, but do you think it would be possible to get a dome frame, such as a 2v, add extra rebar or mesh to the framework, and shotcrete that? I feel as though that would be the easiest/most cost effective route for an underground dome, let me know what you guys think!
posted by
Rick
25/07/2013 06:01:32
I have built underground domes and they require a lot of planning. We used shotcrete and rebar cages in our construction. we had a waterproof barrier and that is mandatory. All of our domes are insulated with spray on foam, about 3 to 4 inches thick. Inside of the insulation we would hang our rebar, both vertical and horizontal pieces, and then we would shotcrete from the inside of the structure. If you put your rebar and concrete on from the outside you should then insulate on top of the concrete and then apply some type of water barrier and make it a good quality product.There is nothing so discouraging as a flooded shelter. If you do not use insulation any heat you put into the structure will be drawn right out thru the concrete into the soil. I would also have my air ventilation pipes come into the bottom of the dome as well as the top so that there is air movement in the structure