Tornadoes in Texas

Because we always have. And they are the cheapest, most builder friendly materials readily available.

Lumber is a renewable resource that is grown all over the world. I routinely cut acres of saplings down, back on the farm, to keep them from encroaching into the pasture land.

It is lighter (costs less to ship) and easier to construct than either masonry or stone. Steel studs haven't seemed to catch on and extruded plastic hasn't either.

And, probably most importantly, the chances of a tornado hitting a particular building are astronomically small.

Same with sheet metal. Light and well suited to the task.

Incidentally, American Airlines has grounded hundreds of passenger aircraft until they can be inspected for hail damage.

Can't argue with that!

I did, in fact, design just such a house...some builder took the idea and built a bunch of them someplace...It was a poured concrete dome in 2 pieces....It was many years ago...Don't know if they are still being built or what ever became of the project....The design was not to survive storms, but for cheapest way to build a low maintenance house..

Did a search but don't know if any of these is related...

This looks sorta like it, but nothing stuck out...

This looks like a second gen design....notice the hurricane, tornado, earthquake guarantee....

They look pretty stylish SolarEagle! I'm going to have a look at your links now!

This Looks so plain from the outside, I guess they haven't come up with a paint scheme yet....Part of the appeal of low maintenance is the elimination of exterior repainting every so often... The ability to stain and coat with epoxy and etch any design you can imagine, was what I thought would be a big selling point....The interior is nice though...Needs a skylight at the top and some windows..imo(and a more stylish door)

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/the-strube-dome-provides-shelter-before-completion

Monolithic domes, is this a wave of the future?

"They meet or exceed FEMA's standards for providing near-absolute protection."

Dome church....

http://www.monolithic.com/topics/benefits

http://www.monolithic.com/topics/sports

Wow these things are all over the place, I had no idea there was so many...

There seem to be thousands...

http://www.monolithic.com/topics/featured

This has a bit more traditional look....seems quite popular too...

Wow that's a big house, nearly 5000 sq ft with 6 bdrms and 4.5 baths 4 car garage...

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/feature-home-mudd-kansas/photos#7

More traditional look?????????

Maybe, if you're a mole.

I'm more a fan of earth sheltered than dome.

Well I uh,,,,,,nevermind.....

Dome video...

Seen here is the "Orion" a possible prototype for the first subdivision of dome homes...

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/feature-home-orion-clark

This could possibly qualify as a dream home, nestled in the middle of 5 acres of oak trees this 5/8ths dome is 50' in dia and 29' high, as small as it looks it provides 3500 sqft of living space, plenty of luxury amenities and electrical costs well within budget at $80-100 a mo....camo paint and this thing would be nearly invisible....

Are those the ones formed over a air supported form, or the ones made with shot crete onto a mould of sand?

The first one, there's a video post 25 that shows the process...The membrane is inflated and sprayed first with foam then covered with rebar framework then lightweight concrete....The membrane remains in place....

Fantastic.

Concrete. Amazing stuff that! Have you used concrete cloth?

I don't see why not. I won't sign off on anything which can fall on somebody without controlling ALL of the variables. Professionals can usually be counted upon to not deviate from established engineering practices. DIY, well, it can be problematic. There have been hundreds, nay even thousands of these thin shell domes built over the years. Solar Eagle seems to be VERY familiar with the concept. There are several approaches to the problem, and several solutions. Some seem to be better than others.

I dunno Solar, is this your company? Lots of cool domes in that link. I wonder if Trinidad, Texas ever got hit with a tornado, and if it did, did the dome stand up? I always thought the problem with tornados was the sudden lack of pressure over head, causing the roof to lift off.

Around here, we are required to work with hurricane clips to keep the roofs on. Is there any evidence to suggest that a hurricane clip would be useful in a tornado, or would something better be required. Would a concrete dome stand up to a tornado, is there any examples of domes that survived when other dwellings around it failed?

No, I am not associated with Monolithic Structures, and am not a home builder...I must say I'm impressed with the dome structures, the low cost, energy efficiency, and strength of the structures....They seem to be able to withstand just about anything you could throw at them, and are designated as emergency evacuation shelters in the locations where they exist...When I designed the dome structure I mentioned earlier I was unaware of any in existence at the time...close to 40 years ago....mine were solid poured concrete, with the base being 6" straight walls 8' high and a 3" thick dome poured separately, then placed on the top with a crane...It had a 6" lip on the inside and the dome top fit flush with the exterior wall...The system they are using now seems much better....They do sell DIY kits and offer whatever assistance you need, so you can go either way I guess...All in all I think this is the answer to the OP question, a storm safe structure that is still very affordable....imo still needs aesthetic work for style, but doable....

No haven't seen the concrete cloth until now, thanks for the link...I would be more interested in creating a sculpture with this, at this point in time....couldn't get a read on the price from these links....interesting medium though...

What a great idea! I wonder if you could create a DIY version of that?

I still think a semi-trailer hurled at 60+ MPH would squash it!!!

As a side note, a thank you to all who wish us well here in TX.

I don't why homes are made of wood and frame construction, but I have designed a home that I want to build, the walls are round fome filled with concrete & rebar 6" concrete walls no load-bearing center post. no 1/2" ply-wood but 1" ply-wood in roof this type home has been tested in a hurricane in florida and all the homes around it was destroyed. This home had no damage on it. Round homes have more room, no load-bearing you can but a wall anywhere you want. this is the way homes should be built, it can be built cheeper then wood and frame if you mix your own concrete.

Semi-circular roofs like Romney hut found in airport(hangers)should be easier to construct

Why not americans build concrete structures(houses,offices etc)instead of wooden?.

Growing up in Okie-Land, ie Tornado Alley, we kept plenty of insurance on the house, and a Fraidy Hole in the back....

Living in western Oklahoma a straight wind can do a goodly bit of carnage to a impliment shed or home and the threat of a twister is always in the weather reports and basements, storm shelters and cellars are part of home construction. I have noticed in many of the 1930 and 40 older homes that have withstood the winds over time have angle bracing [lumber] toward the south and west from the foundations up and a few have lasted through the twisters of yester-years. This was to be an extra expense and dropped from new construction.

Just build it in a hole in the ground.

And do you know that there are no basements in many parts of TX due to the soil conditions and high water table (I live in TX)? If I were building a custom home on a slab, I would include as part of the poured structure a small room with concrete wall and ceilings that could serve as a large walk-in closet but also a storm shelter. The sticks and roof could blow away, but I would (hope to) be safe.

That doesn't help your neighbors much, unless you want to give them a job cleaning up the neighborhood after the storm...You know, the ones that survived...

I suppose we should be driving concrete vehicles then?

You can tie 'em down....

The emergency shelter underground could be made waterproof and 911 should visit after the storm the people if trapped.

ours was built above ground, then piled a lot of dirt on and around it to make an artificial hill.... a drainage pipe was installed before the concrete pour, lots of rebar on the sides and top to include concrete block walls with rebar and concrete poured into the blocks.... It's been there 40 years and counting....

Stupid wooden door has to be replaced every 5 years.... Gotta get me some diamond plate someday...

Need to rethink building and give it a preferred value.

Step away from too flat roofs and lightweight structures. I see each year here how they are tested during the hurricanes. It looks like a natural selection between quality and crap. If you combine ICF, concrete, rebar you can laugh at the tornadoes. We have built some rigid houses. They cost more.... but on the long run you'll make profit.

I remember coming to Florida, 25 years ago, and building a 3 story house and no contractors wanted to build blocks that high. Now it changes. You just get what you pay for.

I do not want to sound sarcastic and hope everyone is safe and sound.

I just had an idea while looking some of these photos. I've often felt that with the way the weather has been lately that it might be time to start building our homes differently. And the dome seems to be the solution to the kind of winds we keep seeing. The problem is they're a bit ugly, and not as functional. Then when looking at one of these pics with the front overhangs, I thought the wind could catch that and pull it apart. That's when it hit me that it might be an idea to build the main structure from the dome, and then add on some exterior facade that would make it look more traditional, and make it more functional at the same time. So that in a sense, the exterior portions are disposable. That way if it were to experience a disaster, the main house and it's contents would remain intact.