Styrofoam dome homes

I know someone who did this as a school project in the late 1970s. They used a geodesic pattern of molds to pressure mold triangles 3" thick laminated with aluminum on the outer shell and something else I don't recall on the inside.

The triangles were then assembled with epoxy that was donated by Dow Chemical in 55 gallon drums. They started with the top of the geodesic dome, epoxying the triangles together and then lifting the resulting pentagon up to assemble the next course of triangles until the dome was complete.

One of the comments after the article mentions how easy it would be to break in a house like that. Acetone was mentioned but even a sharp utility knife would permit easy access. I don't know about Japan, but over here, it wouldn't fair very well (protecting against thieves, anyway).....I'd come home to find a hole in the wall the size of the plasma TV....

Acetone was mentioned but even a sharp utility knife would permit easy access.

In this country the theif would probally cut himself breaking in and sue the homeowner.........and win.

Hate to rain on your parade:

Most people would need a whole week to figure how to break into the place. But the self inflicted wounds are real, you got it point on.

Oooh... and glass is SO strong .

I bet these would stand up well with a coat of thin set mortar or All Crete product allpied on top of it. Alcrete holds up well at the beach with all the salt, sand and stroms. All Except for hurricanes

Yes, and the dome shape should offer better wind protection than a traditional rectangular block house. I want mine painted white - not for energy efficiency, I want it to look as much like an igloo as possible!

They look surprisingly attractive, but a little bit "Deja Vu", as I am expecting some Hobbits to come out of the front doors.......!! (Lord of the Rings!)

By the way, no homes are really safe from thieves today, just search on YouTube under "Lock picking" or "lockpicking"or "pick Gun", you will see just how easy it is to open most locks without even damaging them......in seconds and almost silently.....

I test each lock to see if I can pick it (then I don't buy it at all!) and I have a special electronic alarm system that reacts to changes in both air pressure AND basic house frequency and I still do not consider that the house is perfectly safe as NOTHING EVER IS......but at least there are plenty of other houses around that are far easier to enter than mine - Hopefully he says!

So sorry, but they look like warts. Maybe I am getting too old, but I like my walls straight up and down. Besides, hanging pictures would be a challenge.

The houses are coated in a layer of concrete so the noise generated by someone breaking into one of these domes through the wall would surely generate as much or as little noise as someone breaking your lock or smashing a window? Wouldn't it still be easier for a thief to break in through a door or window anyway? I mean these domes have 'em.

I'm wondering how they deal with disposing of these eco-wonder's materials if they get damaged or if someone wants to rebuild.

Same as with conventional stick-built or cinder block houses - off to the landfill with the bulldozer's leavings! At least wood eventually rots...

Rotting wood gives off CO2, the same amount that it removed from the air when growing. Burning wood gives the same amount of CO2 but gives heat energy out at the same time, so in this case, burning is better....provided you use the energy in a useful manner....

Concrete probably takes a few million years to decompose, unless it is given a helping hand. Here in Germany, all builders waste such as concrete and bricks etc. are collected and turned back into aggregates for buildings and roads.....they collect for free, or you can bring it and they sell it back to the builders!! Neat!! There is NO need to put it into landfills or similar.....

There's no NEED to put it in landfills HERE either, but that's what happens...<sigh>

...wall sections made of 100% expanded polystyrene foam (styrofoam).

Styrofoam is a trademarked brand name of Dow Chemical and refers to extruded polystyrene. Expanded polystyrene is the usually white beaded foam used for coffee cups, packaging, soil stabilization, insulated concrete forms (ICFs) and a host of other products. Perhaps its biggest usage is as a superior insulation as calculated by its energy savings per dollar of investment.

...does not rust, rot or attract termites.

Expanded polystyrene does not attract termites, but provides extremely easy tunneling to the food source. If you are contemplating a dome home or ICF home and you are in a termite area, see if your material is treated with a borate compound that discourages these little rascals.

The styrofoam used in the Dome House's 175-millimeter (7 in) thick walls is significantly denser and stronger than ordinary packing foam.

At 7" thickness, this should provide an R value of about 28. This could be heated by occupant flatulance.

Once the shell is put together, coats of mortar and paint are applied for further protection from the elements.

I guess that the weed whacker is not classified as an element.

The folks at monollithic.com basically

1. Blow up a bag
2. Foam the interior (polystyrene rather than styrofoam)
3. Shoot concrete on the inside, let it dry, then turn off the fan that blew up the bag.

if you are really gung-ho, you can also put a thin layer of concrete on the outside for 'durability' too. Their bags are vyinl covered fabric.

The foam gives great insulation, the concrete makes 'theft' a more difficult thing. The fabric has about a 10 year life span, before then, paint it or put on a protective concrete layer. The 10 year rating is in central Texas where Monolithic is based.

I hate to break the news to you, but a lot of homes are already made of this. I am in the process of selling my home right now after i found out out that all the exterior is made of is this styrofoam and vinyl siding. All you would have to do is walk into my back yard that has a privacy fence, rip off my siding with you hands, and kick through the foam and sheet rock. Many homes are really just that easy to break into.