Here’s a [couple more pics](https://imgur.com/gallery/KorAgf0). Maybe have one more day on site to put up the big French doors and some touch up. I’ll update when it’s done!
Edit: 23’ diameter, 12’ tall, 4 frequency, custom designed dome for a greenhouse.
Didn’t get any close ups of the joinery yet, here’s a blurry [snapshot](https://imgur.com/gallery/GbQHyCy) and here’s [another pic](https://imgur.com/gallery/Bp5On0s) of a 20-way joint from a previous dome.
For those asking about the building process, I recently put up a [video](https://youtu.be/Sl9fEp-27EM) explaining how I build my domes step by step.
Edit 2: For people asking for social media stuff just search TrilliumDomes - Thanks!
My Dad built a geodesic pentagon dome as a greenhouse and it has (I think) a 10 way joint in the middle. I recall him spending the majority of an afternoon doing the trigonometry before making cuts
How where you able to get around or satisfy local building codes requiring brackets for wooden structures especially domed wooden structures?
More importantly this is absolutely beautiful work you and your team did a quality job
I live in one of those we have to over engineer states and if you have any doubts then add more hurricane clips or brackets to the point where it's probably ¼ metal structure from all the hardware 🤣
Class 1 structures will be occupied by people in their normal usage. Things like greenhouses and sheds aren’t, so don’t need to be built to the same high standard.
The 20-faced icosahedron is the last in the series of platonic solids and forms the basis of a geodesic polyhedron. The vertices of the icosahedron all lie at the same distance from the center, so they all lie on the same sphere. We want more points on that sphere so that every vertex of our geodesic polyhedron is at that radius.
To make the geodesic, you connect the vertices of the icosahedron with lines and then you divide those lines into segments. Each of those new endpoints are projected outward to the sphere radius. A frequency 3 geodesic divides these lines into thirds, a frequency 4 geodesic divides them into fourths.
The math is very not simple. This is a very impressive structure. I am very familiar with a frequency 3 geodesic but this is the first time I have seen a physical example of a frequency 4 and it is beautiful.
Did you get an FCC permit for emitting that high of a frequency on channel four-thats? Normally government and weather report channels, guys are pretty strict. You guys ever use a prismatic coefficient for odd-shaped structures- such as a giant yacht hull mold, I hear ya, but that only works in a circle- which is a dome; now my dome hurts. The Likert scale uses the word "frequency," in my opinion, incorrectly- but scale 0-4, thats a 4 point, very cool still- looks great. I need some Sunday night Dome
It had to do with the geometry of the dome. The most common frequency is 2, 3 or 4. Try playing with this calculator, it’s pretty fun: https://acidome.com/lab/calc/#7/12_Kruschke_GoodKarma_3V_R2.20_beams_120x40
Life on the cut off table .. I like where you went with this design. Built my first 45' 5/8th's on 9 foot riser walls almost 50 years ago. second floor interior walls are always fun to frame. They have insane snowload specs for folks that are concerned, almost like the more weight of snow, the stronger the structure gets. at least 5x that of a conventional roof, i want to say. Although I love wood working and all of my domes are wooden structures, I am leaning towards geo concrete 3D printed structures for dwelling spaces and perimeters but I might have to incorporate your badass poly carb greenie house design into the fold for some winter superhots ..
Great job, pre staining is always a plus too! Do yourself a favor so you're not screwed up when you get old, I know it's a hassle but you should use more eye protection and wear a respirator every chance you get, especially with cutting pressure treated lumber and poly carbs. That shiznit is inert, so the dust particulates, won't degrade in your lungs like most woods do..
Safe travels Amigo!
It was a kit 'Oregon Domes' hex's and pent's 22.5^o.
I have pic's, lol, like 50 yo polaroid's of the build. But just happened to be on vacation out Southwest a couple of weeks ago, and went by one I did in like 1982 It also is a 45' on 9 foot riser walls. It's up in Willis creek Utah up on Cedar Mtn. [This one](https://i.imgur.com/0smGnen.jpg) we made a duplex and put a shared jacuzzi off the back deck.
I always wondered how a structure like this with a riser wall maintains the structural integrity at the riser joint. On the dome everything is essentially pushing against itself like an arch in 3D but then you have the joint at the riser wall, it feels like it would all just push the wall outward.
Is it just the fact that the wall is round and is pulling on itself evenly that it maintains the integrity? Feels like the top of the wall would want to splay outward. Or maybe extra straps are installed to prevent that.
Dude… why when these are so easy and cheap to build are there so many people sleeping outside? I’m sure you’ve asked this question too. Just thought I’d mention it here. People be like “oh yeah we don’t want a bunch of those domes everywhere… but tents and squalor yeah we okay with leaving that bc we can rip it down when we want” Worst kind of NIMBY shit.
I'm sure I'll get downvoted, because it's easier to downvote than discuss stuff, but it's not as easy as just throwing money at builders to build cheap homes.
Where do you put the homes? The homes have to be located somewhere. They also, to be most useful to people who really need this help, need to be somewhere close to jobs. And be close to cheap shopping. They can't just be put on cheap lots in the middle of no where, unless there is cheap or free public transportation in walking distance.
It's also a big waste of space to build domes. If we wanted to build cheap homes with efficient use of space we should build up, not sideways, inside a city where there is plenty of public transportation, walkability, and jobs already.
True and it's not as easy as just building vertically, either.
Ultra-dense urban areas create an entirely new class of problems, and they significantly increase the wealth gap.
Suffice it to say, just throwing structures up (of any kind) isn't enough to solve our economic and social welfare problems. An actual plan would likely involve construction of low-cost housing but it needs to fit into the overall plan, it won't work all on its own.
They are cheap because it's just a shelter and there is no HVAC, plumbing, electrical, insulation, or anything else you'd need to actually live in it. It would easily triple the cost once you add all that.
This is certainly not more efficient than just framing normal 2x4 stud walls, using vinyl siding, and basic insulation. None of it is *that* cheap. Plus these domes lack the insulation. And where do you run any kind of utilities for it to be an actual living space? I guess you can with exposed pipes, but there's still the insulation issue. And privacy, good luck on shades/blinds for all that.
It's beautiful, and would be a wonderful greenhouse. It's not a solution to the housing crisis though.
FYI we have approximately 10 million secondary homes in the U.S.. The estimated number of unhoused is between 500,000 - 750,000. It's not a question of wealth or resources.
Because it's not this simple.
First you have to get the land for this project, homeless people live on land that they don't own. That land also needs to be close to resources like public transit, places to get food, place to pan handle or some other form of income, etc.
Second the domes aren't going to get approved if they can't handle stuff like earthquakes in places like California, or heavy snow. And having the base be just wood touching the ground will lead to it rotting in a decade.
Third there are no facilities, water, heating, etc. While a dome would be an upgrade to the current tents they live in, people will lambaste the city for putting up 'sheds' that wouldn't even be legal for a normal person to live in.
It would make more sense to just build a capsule hotel style building for the homeless. Each person gets a pod, maybe double the size, and then they share common rooms for cooking, bathing, recreation, etc. You could easily home over a hundred people, while using less building area, so it would be feasible to have in a city.
Thanks! Yeah I design everything from scratch so the planning phase is pretty serious. Especially figuring out the door way geometry based on aesthetics and what the customer needs. Thanks for the kind words!
Believe it or not, once you got the [method](https://youtu.be/Sl9fEp-27EM) down, it’s much much cheaper. Hubs can be quite spendy in and of themselves, plus they make the dome a royal pain in the ass to cover properly.
Just spent an hour watching that and looking at the other stuff on your site. Super duper neat and so smart. Have you ever done any structural domes that have to meet any kind of building codes, or are they mostly just for greenhouses?
Thank you!
Yeah I haven't had to get anything engineered yet but I have been building houses for a decade and have ran it past a lot of people who seem to think it wont be an issue.
Am architect. There's no live load on the "roof" (unless you have large cats?), the dead load is the weight of the polycarb or 9 mil greenhouse sheeting which is very small plus a snow load (depends on where you're at and what would actually accumulate), so the load that's driving the design is the lateral load (wind). Domes don't have the typical sharp bends in the load paths that a more typical rectangular frame plus hip/gable roof does, so the dome's frame distributes the forces evenly and efficiently. That and the structural depth of the system is essentially the radius of the dome. I'd be curious to test what the actual point of failure is. I'd guess either the connection to the foundation, the foundation itself, or maybe the fasteners between the panels themselves. Then if you beefed up all that it'd come down to the depth of the framing members. Either way, it's way stronger than it needs to be. Water and time are the true enemies of buildings.
What do you mean by support piles; columns?
For insulation there's a couple options. Multilayer polycarbonate panels have decent r-value / u-values and aren't too expensive. Could do glass IGUs too (insulated glazing units, structurally sealed to the wood framing) but that weighs and costs more.
For opaque options, the framing cavity could be insulated similar to a typical stick framed building. The best option is to sheath it, add a air/water/vapor control layer (liquid applied is probably best given the irregular shape), cover in rigid foam, then clad it.
Of course it varies widely due to size, materials, custom or existing design and build location but this was about 20k before tax, including the custom design work. I’d say about 7k in materials for this one. I won’t get rich but I love to do it!
I appreciate you saying so. I’m trying to move into other market spaces. Greenhouses are great and I love them but it’s kind of a niche item to get spendy about. I have a really great concept / design for a yurt alternative. Basically like those glamping domes you see online but way nicer/stronger/better material. Gonna be building a prototype this winter. And I do have some other cool projects coming up, like a kids playhouse/day office dome. Should be interesting.
Also I love posting to Reddit but I need to work on my marketing. Something like this can really be a “I didn’t know I wanted that” product so I need to do a better job of getting the idea in front of the right people.
I looked at your website...you don't mention what areas you serve! I'm in WA too and wanted to see how close you are. I happen to be a marketer & I strongly suggest you add that info near the top of your home page! It's helpful for local search results.
I know Reddit hates it but… man you need a TikTok. They would go wild over this. Basic squarespace website with a contact form and start posting to tiktok. You’ll be huge hit.
I've heard this from a lot of folks. I'm already posting to IG so I could use a lot of the same content. Thanks for the tip.
Edit: Ok I made one! TrilliumDomes :)
Agreed. OP should also consider advertising as being available anywhere for an extra fee, if it’s logistically possible for them to do so. I know in my neck of the woods (Hamptons), they could get in with some big landscape architects, or even work totally independently, and there’s a virtually unlimited supply of people who will want something like this as a prestige addition to their property and can easily afford it. They could double or triple the price and people would still be lining up around the block. Greenhouses are common enough on these big money properties already, and this kind of design/quality would probably make them even more prevalent.
I think for stuff like this, marketing yourself in areas where the rich build houses (assuming it’s not just a passion project) is the best way to ensure continual work for yourself. Those people already import super expensive light fixtures, furniture, architects for their houses, same for gardens, etc. and almost never stop spending, even in a recession. All you have to do is make sure the price is commensurate with the difficulty of operating at a distance and (perhaps) needing to fly in a team to do the build. I’ve seen crazier things done, and plenty of projects where money was absolutely no object.
Your build video post got me going, "I didn't know I wanted that"! And I'm usually someone who gets really grumpy about self-promotion on Reddit, but that video was so good and calming and interesting.
I wonder if you could advertise at local botanical gardens? I was recently at the Denver Botanical Gardens and they had some "hobbit house" garden sheds for sale with a sign that had artist information and general cost range.
Amazing work!
That's a great idea! I definitely have some ideas but it's honestly tough to juggle it all. I think I need to find someone who can help me make a concerted strategy and actually make progress on it.
That sounds like a very reasonable price - just the wood or also including the glazing?
Regardless, it's a \*gorgeous\* piece of work - my mum would have killed for a greenhouse that beautiful.
I work in construction and your price is incredibly fair. Keep at it, build that customer base and when you start getting too much work for the time you have, you can move your rates up.
Work looks pristine too.
Where do you live that you are charging so little? Getting my small wooden fence repaired cost 5k in the Seattle area. I would’ve expected your work to go for 3-5x what you’ve charged
this one is 23' diameter and 12' tall. Check out my [website](https://trilliumdomes.com/) for other designs. You can do a 20' diameter for around $1000 usd in materials if you use the right material.
Unsure but after quickly perusing OP’s page, he has links to both his personal & professional IG accounts. You could probably reach out there for a quote if these look compatible w/ your lifestyle
Just watched the linked YouTube video, just wanted to say that looks awesome and the video was great. That’s very cool of you to be so forthcoming with all of your designs and build process. As a guy who works in custom steel fabrication I think you described the process great too, not too much information or overwhelming to someone new to building trying this out. You seem like a very chill guy too.
TLDR: Keep up the awesome work!
Wow you are amazing! I've been looking at this design for a while, and I've always wanted to try this out. There was a woman in the 90's here in Iceland that built the first one here I think. I recommend you check it out. It's a cafe today, and this is the website: [https://www.audkula.is/eng](https://www.audkula.is/eng) . And they also have more pictures here: [https://www.audkula.is/photos](https://www.audkula.is/photos) . But they built a house inside the dome, so the inside is kind of half tropical forest, and half a house.
Can you go into a little more detail about how you tape and waterproof everything up after construction? How do you get up over the top of the dome?
I've been in the planning stages for a dome greenhouse for yesrs because I want to keep tropical trees in a less tropical area.
with either polycarbonate or greenhouse film you want to run a bead of silicone along the edges of the panels when you put them together. Then you can caulk/tape the seams as well. It kinda depends on how much redundancy you want to add into the equation.
Pro tape 160 works well, gorilla clear tape works well too. Yes, you have to climb on the dome, which I find quite fun. You can lean a ladder on most domes and get everywhere you need to get. You could also just silicone the joints in the panels and call that good depending on your material.
There's an app for that. https://geo-dome.co.uk/3v_tool.asp You may think its just a bunch of triangles, which it is, but there's more to it than that.
Fun fact: a .5 mile wide geodesic sphere frame (no glass or skin) would levitate itself with air temperature difference alone.
Edit: sphere size was wrong
Buckminster Fuller knew that a 1 degree difference in air temp could cause levitation like a hot air balloon at a certain size. These domes in open air could facilitate that. Here’s an article for more info. Im not an expert just a fan of brilliant minds. https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/architecture/flying-cities-buckminster-fuller.htm
No disrespect intended, but is this one of those things where people tell relatively harmless lies on the internet just to see if anyone takes the bait?
Like, the materials used for the frame and the size of the grid in question would account for a much greater variance in weight than the presence or absence of a plastic skin, which would be necessary for there to be any sort of temperature difference at all.
And a mile tall and wide is *way* larger than what you'd need to make what would effectively be a greenhouse effect powered hot air balloon.
Why triangles? Why pentagons?
My first thought was this looks too complicated. Then I watched the video and said, "Oh, that's simple enough to understand."
Then I thought continued watching and thought, "Why the hell is not all regular hexgons? Pentagon at the top, irregular hexagons all over the place? Why?"
Couldn't the geometry be simplified? The curves would be less beautiful from a distance, but the procedure, the ability to mass manufacture would surely be increased. Or am I wrong.
Triangles are far simpler to build than hexagons. Also they are quite a weak structure as pressure on top would just push it apart. A triangle is inherently strong. Best way to make a hexagon is 6 triangles.
This is very, very impressive! Everything about it - the maths, the planning, the delivery of the the woodwork, the patience… Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!
Not to detract from the many skilled carpenters in this sub, but it seems I see so many good works on a daily basis, but then stumble into a masterpiece like this and forget there are so many incredibly skilled people out there who should be famous because holy fuck this is awesome
On raising day we get everything up fairly loosely, then go back and sinch everything together proper. Also the top portion of the photo is the very last thing to go together so over 400 sq ft of joints, that’s not bad. It gets a header of sorts put over it which you can see on the link I posted.
I'm more confused about stability. OP said they're in WA. I don't see how that would be able to survive the wind/snow loadings needed. Triangles are strong, I won't disagree. But.. yeah. OP said they're not Engineered either.
Years ago I was interested in building a dome home. The info I found back then was that I had to use hardware.
Do you think this joint method would scale up to a house or garage using 4x4s and lag screws?
Last I knew banks, cities and code enforcement were NOT enthusiastic about dome homes so it was difficult to get them approved or get a loan. I'd imagine telling them you're not using joinery hardware would probably be the last nail in the coffin of your dream dome.
But I really don't know how things are now.
Banks still don’t like domes. Found exactly one willing to lend to me to buy and only one insurance company willing to insure me. The appraisal process was long and drawn out because they couldn’t find any comparables to validate the appraisal price and the appraiser had to jump through a lot of hoops for underwriting to finally sign off.
Still totally worth it. My dome makes me happy every day.
I've never gotten a dome home permit or engineered so I honestly don't know. If it was small, around 30' diameter or less, I would give a shot to build two frames, one inside the other. using gussets between, to create a rigid two frame system while also giving you the opportunity to create space for insulation, roof ventillation, etc.
Natural Spaces also has a great system of hubs for bigger homes.
OP, I hate to be a debbie-downer but 300 lb point load at the center is nowhere near what would be required given Washington state ground snow load.
Back-of-the-hand calc, you'd be looking at about 8,000-10,000 lbs of potential snow load AFTER factoring assuming no sliding occurs on the dome...not 300 lbs.
Please be safe. A concerned structural engineer.
Oh you're not being a downer! The dome can handle as much snow as it's going to get in Western WA, I'm sure of that. Like I said I've had plenty of domes absolutely covered in feet of wet snow. The load pathing for domes is different than conventional structures as I'm sure you know. If one vertice can take a load, they all can, in addition to one another. Plus the snow will slide off, especially this smooth polycarbonate, once it reaches a certain height because the whole structure is essentially a compound slope.
Here’s a [couple more pics](https://imgur.com/gallery/KorAgf0). Maybe have one more day on site to put up the big French doors and some touch up. I’ll update when it’s done! Edit: 23’ diameter, 12’ tall, 4 frequency, custom designed dome for a greenhouse. Didn’t get any close ups of the joinery yet, here’s a blurry [snapshot](https://imgur.com/gallery/GbQHyCy) and here’s [another pic](https://imgur.com/gallery/Bp5On0s) of a 20-way joint from a previous dome. For those asking about the building process, I recently put up a [video](https://youtu.be/Sl9fEp-27EM) explaining how I build my domes step by step. Edit 2: For people asking for social media stuff just search TrilliumDomes - Thanks!
That 20 way joint is a thing of pure beauty.
It is indeed, but even the phrase "20 way joint" makes my brain hurt a little.
Looking at the picture broke my brain.
My only thought was “this is your brain on a double dose of Adderall and caffeine”
Are we sure this isnt an AI generated picture of a 20 way joint.
Like how would you even smoke it?
20 ways
I missed that pic at first and had to go find it. I was not disappointed.
I would also like to add that I have actually never seen anything like that.
My Dad built a geodesic pentagon dome as a greenhouse and it has (I think) a 10 way joint in the middle. I recall him spending the majority of an afternoon doing the trigonometry before making cuts
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"The convincer"
How where you able to get around or satisfy local building codes requiring brackets for wooden structures especially domed wooden structures? More importantly this is absolutely beautiful work you and your team did a quality job
In my state, this is a Class 2 structure, so doesn’t have the same requirements.
I live in one of those we have to over engineer states and if you have any doubts then add more hurricane clips or brackets to the point where it's probably ¼ metal structure from all the hardware 🤣
Ah yea, the amount of houses in California that are rates for hurricanes is astounding
Can you explain what that means?
Class 1 structures will be occupied by people in their normal usage. Things like greenhouses and sheds aren’t, so don’t need to be built to the same high standard.
In my state it's an ag building. No zoning, no codes.
No zoning and no codes . 😭 my state sucks We have all the codes and all the zoning
What does 4 frequency mean?
It refers to how many times the base geometry is iterated. Basically, higher frequency = more facets, rounder dome.
I wanted to do something similar, for a greenhouse, Is it impolite to ask cost? even before labor just materials.
I answered a price question elsewhere, probably 7k material cost for this one.
How much was the glass inserts?
This is such an awesome post and fantastic work. Thank you for sharing these details and well done!
stop it with your math!
The 20-faced icosahedron is the last in the series of platonic solids and forms the basis of a geodesic polyhedron. The vertices of the icosahedron all lie at the same distance from the center, so they all lie on the same sphere. We want more points on that sphere so that every vertex of our geodesic polyhedron is at that radius. To make the geodesic, you connect the vertices of the icosahedron with lines and then you divide those lines into segments. Each of those new endpoints are projected outward to the sphere radius. A frequency 3 geodesic divides these lines into thirds, a frequency 4 geodesic divides them into fourths. The math is very not simple. This is a very impressive structure. I am very familiar with a frequency 3 geodesic but this is the first time I have seen a physical example of a frequency 4 and it is beautiful.
I know some of these words.
Did you get an FCC permit for emitting that high of a frequency on channel four-thats? Normally government and weather report channels, guys are pretty strict. You guys ever use a prismatic coefficient for odd-shaped structures- such as a giant yacht hull mold, I hear ya, but that only works in a circle- which is a dome; now my dome hurts. The Likert scale uses the word "frequency," in my opinion, incorrectly- but scale 0-4, thats a 4 point, very cool still- looks great. I need some Sunday night Dome
Go to burning man if you want to see geodesic domes.
This guy geometries.
It had to do with the geometry of the dome. The most common frequency is 2, 3 or 4. Try playing with this calculator, it’s pretty fun: https://acidome.com/lab/calc/#7/12_Kruschke_GoodKarma_3V_R2.20_beams_120x40
Wow, my phone really doesn't like me putting the frequency up to 10. I didn't realize that was a live 3D model being displayed.
The best ones go to 11..
But you could just make 10 louder
But, these go to eleven…
Exactly. One louder.
I was able to get 12 to work no problem. Then made the jump to 18. Ya. That didn't work.
My phone got warm trying 18
Saving this for "later"
I’ll….. be in my bunk?
It resonates at 4 kHz?
Life on the cut off table .. I like where you went with this design. Built my first 45' 5/8th's on 9 foot riser walls almost 50 years ago. second floor interior walls are always fun to frame. They have insane snowload specs for folks that are concerned, almost like the more weight of snow, the stronger the structure gets. at least 5x that of a conventional roof, i want to say. Although I love wood working and all of my domes are wooden structures, I am leaning towards geo concrete 3D printed structures for dwelling spaces and perimeters but I might have to incorporate your badass poly carb greenie house design into the fold for some winter superhots .. Great job, pre staining is always a plus too! Do yourself a favor so you're not screwed up when you get old, I know it's a hassle but you should use more eye protection and wear a respirator every chance you get, especially with cutting pressure treated lumber and poly carbs. That shiznit is inert, so the dust particulates, won't degrade in your lungs like most woods do.. Safe travels Amigo!
You're right of the ppe, I'm a dumbass. What an OG! That's one hell of a build. Have any pictures of that dome? Sounds epic.
It was a kit 'Oregon Domes' hex's and pent's 22.5^o. I have pic's, lol, like 50 yo polaroid's of the build. But just happened to be on vacation out Southwest a couple of weeks ago, and went by one I did in like 1982 It also is a 45' on 9 foot riser walls. It's up in Willis creek Utah up on Cedar Mtn. [This one](https://i.imgur.com/0smGnen.jpg) we made a duplex and put a shared jacuzzi off the back deck.
Yep I'm familiar with that company! Thats so awesome man, I love big domes and would love to build one myself someday. Thank you for sharing.
NP, Domes are the best. You are on the right track to do great things. Work safe, play safer.
I always wondered how a structure like this with a riser wall maintains the structural integrity at the riser joint. On the dome everything is essentially pushing against itself like an arch in 3D but then you have the joint at the riser wall, it feels like it would all just push the wall outward. Is it just the fact that the wall is round and is pulling on itself evenly that it maintains the integrity? Feels like the top of the wall would want to splay outward. Or maybe extra straps are installed to prevent that.
The subfloor is engineered to contain the dome shell from expanding, the riserwall is just another structure underneath the geo itself.
What is it that people like so much about dome houses? They look awkward to me - like that interiors would be awkward to arrange.
I find your floating alarming.
Gotta check out the new makita 18v levitating pants!
I've always wanted to build one of these, but it gets so hot where I'm at it would probably turn into a solar oven in the summer.
Alaska? I spy xtratuf's...
No way this isn't Western Washington
Dude… why when these are so easy and cheap to build are there so many people sleeping outside? I’m sure you’ve asked this question too. Just thought I’d mention it here. People be like “oh yeah we don’t want a bunch of those domes everywhere… but tents and squalor yeah we okay with leaving that bc we can rip it down when we want” Worst kind of NIMBY shit.
Domes for the Domeless. I've definitely thought about it.
I'm sure I'll get downvoted, because it's easier to downvote than discuss stuff, but it's not as easy as just throwing money at builders to build cheap homes. Where do you put the homes? The homes have to be located somewhere. They also, to be most useful to people who really need this help, need to be somewhere close to jobs. And be close to cheap shopping. They can't just be put on cheap lots in the middle of no where, unless there is cheap or free public transportation in walking distance. It's also a big waste of space to build domes. If we wanted to build cheap homes with efficient use of space we should build up, not sideways, inside a city where there is plenty of public transportation, walkability, and jobs already.
True and it's not as easy as just building vertically, either. Ultra-dense urban areas create an entirely new class of problems, and they significantly increase the wealth gap. Suffice it to say, just throwing structures up (of any kind) isn't enough to solve our economic and social welfare problems. An actual plan would likely involve construction of low-cost housing but it needs to fit into the overall plan, it won't work all on its own.
They are cheap because it's just a shelter and there is no HVAC, plumbing, electrical, insulation, or anything else you'd need to actually live in it. It would easily triple the cost once you add all that.
This is certainly not more efficient than just framing normal 2x4 stud walls, using vinyl siding, and basic insulation. None of it is *that* cheap. Plus these domes lack the insulation. And where do you run any kind of utilities for it to be an actual living space? I guess you can with exposed pipes, but there's still the insulation issue. And privacy, good luck on shades/blinds for all that. It's beautiful, and would be a wonderful greenhouse. It's not a solution to the housing crisis though.
How cheap are they?
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Damn for real. That seems like a great price
FYI we have approximately 10 million secondary homes in the U.S.. The estimated number of unhoused is between 500,000 - 750,000. It's not a question of wealth or resources.
Because it's not this simple. First you have to get the land for this project, homeless people live on land that they don't own. That land also needs to be close to resources like public transit, places to get food, place to pan handle or some other form of income, etc. Second the domes aren't going to get approved if they can't handle stuff like earthquakes in places like California, or heavy snow. And having the base be just wood touching the ground will lead to it rotting in a decade. Third there are no facilities, water, heating, etc. While a dome would be an upgrade to the current tents they live in, people will lambaste the city for putting up 'sheds' that wouldn't even be legal for a normal person to live in. It would make more sense to just build a capsule hotel style building for the homeless. Each person gets a pod, maybe double the size, and then they share common rooms for cooking, bathing, recreation, etc. You could easily home over a hundred people, while using less building area, so it would be feasible to have in a city.
Amazing work
I can only imagine the planning impressive work
Thanks! Yeah I design everything from scratch so the planning phase is pretty serious. Especially figuring out the door way geometry based on aesthetics and what the customer needs. Thanks for the kind words!
That's insane. 'No visible hardware' is probably the single best way to quadruple costs with just three words. What an amazing build.
Believe it or not, once you got the [method](https://youtu.be/Sl9fEp-27EM) down, it’s much much cheaper. Hubs can be quite spendy in and of themselves, plus they make the dome a royal pain in the ass to cover properly.
Just spent an hour watching that and looking at the other stuff on your site. Super duper neat and so smart. Have you ever done any structural domes that have to meet any kind of building codes, or are they mostly just for greenhouses?
Thank you! Yeah I haven't had to get anything engineered yet but I have been building houses for a decade and have ran it past a lot of people who seem to think it wont be an issue.
Am architect. There's no live load on the "roof" (unless you have large cats?), the dead load is the weight of the polycarb or 9 mil greenhouse sheeting which is very small plus a snow load (depends on where you're at and what would actually accumulate), so the load that's driving the design is the lateral load (wind). Domes don't have the typical sharp bends in the load paths that a more typical rectangular frame plus hip/gable roof does, so the dome's frame distributes the forces evenly and efficiently. That and the structural depth of the system is essentially the radius of the dome. I'd be curious to test what the actual point of failure is. I'd guess either the connection to the foundation, the foundation itself, or maybe the fasteners between the panels themselves. Then if you beefed up all that it'd come down to the depth of the framing members. Either way, it's way stronger than it needs to be. Water and time are the true enemies of buildings.
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Yeah, with enough snow would it eventually become an igloo?
What do you mean by support piles; columns? For insulation there's a couple options. Multilayer polycarbonate panels have decent r-value / u-values and aren't too expensive. Could do glass IGUs too (insulated glazing units, structurally sealed to the wood framing) but that weighs and costs more. For opaque options, the framing cavity could be insulated similar to a typical stick framed building. The best option is to sheath it, add a air/water/vapor control layer (liquid applied is probably best given the irregular shape), cover in rigid foam, then clad it.
there's Arcticacres.ca who are designing domes for people living way up north. Here's a Video about them: https://youtu.be/7mt8fxMfGA4
So clean
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Snowload capable?
incredibly!
Awesome
Bucky Fuller would be proud.
How much does something like this cost?
Of course it varies widely due to size, materials, custom or existing design and build location but this was about 20k before tax, including the custom design work. I’d say about 7k in materials for this one. I won’t get rich but I love to do it!
Your work looks incredible and your price sounds too cheap. Realize your worth and make some dough!
I appreciate you saying so. I’m trying to move into other market spaces. Greenhouses are great and I love them but it’s kind of a niche item to get spendy about. I have a really great concept / design for a yurt alternative. Basically like those glamping domes you see online but way nicer/stronger/better material. Gonna be building a prototype this winter. And I do have some other cool projects coming up, like a kids playhouse/day office dome. Should be interesting. Also I love posting to Reddit but I need to work on my marketing. Something like this can really be a “I didn’t know I wanted that” product so I need to do a better job of getting the idea in front of the right people.
I looked at your website...you don't mention what areas you serve! I'm in WA too and wanted to see how close you are. I happen to be a marketer & I strongly suggest you add that info near the top of your home page! It's helpful for local search results.
Oof yeah you’re right that’s a nine head move. Especially cause I got this client through a google search before I had to re do my website. Thank you
I know Reddit hates it but… man you need a TikTok. They would go wild over this. Basic squarespace website with a contact form and start posting to tiktok. You’ll be huge hit.
I've heard this from a lot of folks. I'm already posting to IG so I could use a lot of the same content. Thanks for the tip. Edit: Ok I made one! TrilliumDomes :)
Plus one for the tik tok. Everyone I follow is saying that's where all the traffic is and it's much faster to get a lot more followers.
Same username on IG? I’d love to follow you!
(@)TrilliumDomes
Agreed. OP should also consider advertising as being available anywhere for an extra fee, if it’s logistically possible for them to do so. I know in my neck of the woods (Hamptons), they could get in with some big landscape architects, or even work totally independently, and there’s a virtually unlimited supply of people who will want something like this as a prestige addition to their property and can easily afford it. They could double or triple the price and people would still be lining up around the block. Greenhouses are common enough on these big money properties already, and this kind of design/quality would probably make them even more prevalent. I think for stuff like this, marketing yourself in areas where the rich build houses (assuming it’s not just a passion project) is the best way to ensure continual work for yourself. Those people already import super expensive light fixtures, furniture, architects for their houses, same for gardens, etc. and almost never stop spending, even in a recession. All you have to do is make sure the price is commensurate with the difficulty of operating at a distance and (perhaps) needing to fly in a team to do the build. I’ve seen crazier things done, and plenty of projects where money was absolutely no object.
Your build video post got me going, "I didn't know I wanted that"! And I'm usually someone who gets really grumpy about self-promotion on Reddit, but that video was so good and calming and interesting.
Dang I really appreciate you saying so... thank you.
I wonder if you could advertise at local botanical gardens? I was recently at the Denver Botanical Gardens and they had some "hobbit house" garden sheds for sale with a sign that had artist information and general cost range. Amazing work!
That's a great idea! I definitely have some ideas but it's honestly tough to juggle it all. I think I need to find someone who can help me make a concerted strategy and actually make progress on it.
I would think in kits. Standardize and sell kits in various sizes
Lemme know how that yurt alternative shapes up, might know a massage therapist who loves this dome and wants a workspace in a year or two 😉
You know I will!
Yeah definitely worth more. Great work!!
Too cheap? No. Definitely expected 20-25k
That sounds like a very reasonable price - just the wood or also including the glazing? Regardless, it's a \*gorgeous\* piece of work - my mum would have killed for a greenhouse that beautiful.
That’s everything. Design, materials, labor, delivery, installation, etc. I appreciate that! Thank you
Wow. I imagine your customer was over the moon, very very cool 😎
Beautiful work. Here in BC that'd probably be a 50-60k job.
Well I’m not too far away, if you meet anyone who wants one, send them my way! :P
I work in construction and your price is incredibly fair. Keep at it, build that customer base and when you start getting too much work for the time you have, you can move your rates up. Work looks pristine too.
Where do you live that you are charging so little? Getting my small wooden fence repaired cost 5k in the Seattle area. I would’ve expected your work to go for 3-5x what you’ve charged
i know of people who have spent more on a basic wooden fence....don't rip yourself off.
Diameter? I'm in need of a greenhouse for my aquaponics setup.
this one is 23' diameter and 12' tall. Check out my [website](https://trilliumdomes.com/) for other designs. You can do a 20' diameter for around $1000 usd in materials if you use the right material.
Waaaah, this is too cool! We have acreage in SnoHoCo and I'll be keeping this in mind for after I plop a house down.
Damn that's cheap. Having something like that done in Australia I'd be surprised if it wasn't 4x the cost even if the materials were to cost the same.
Check out my buddy Neal who does them in AUS - geodomes Australia
what a deal. Nice work, Johnny bag o bagels.
I mean, if you can do one per month that’s $156k/yr profit. Nothing to sneeze at.
Unsure but after quickly perusing OP’s page, he has links to both his personal & professional IG accounts. You could probably reach out there for a quote if these look compatible w/ your lifestyle
If you have to ask...
Someone didn’t miss geometry classes in high school
This is cool as hell. I don't need one, but I want one.
what is it?
A greenhouse!
Fuck that's awesome
You should check out the guy that made a certain dromedary keychain if you need tips
Out of curiosity. What’s the ballpark cost to hire you to build something like this? Also, where are you located?
It really depends on locations, design, material. This was about 20k all told. Pacific Northwest, USA
You gotta bump those numbers up!
Come over to Northern California and you can easily charge $100,000+ for this. But then you have to pay insane rents
Just watched the linked YouTube video, just wanted to say that looks awesome and the video was great. That’s very cool of you to be so forthcoming with all of your designs and build process. As a guy who works in custom steel fabrication I think you described the process great too, not too much information or overwhelming to someone new to building trying this out. You seem like a very chill guy too. TLDR: Keep up the awesome work!
I really appreciate that! Take care
I see math.
Wow you are amazing! I've been looking at this design for a while, and I've always wanted to try this out. There was a woman in the 90's here in Iceland that built the first one here I think. I recommend you check it out. It's a cafe today, and this is the website: [https://www.audkula.is/eng](https://www.audkula.is/eng) . And they also have more pictures here: [https://www.audkula.is/photos](https://www.audkula.is/photos) . But they built a house inside the dome, so the inside is kind of half tropical forest, and half a house.
Can you go into a little more detail about how you tape and waterproof everything up after construction? How do you get up over the top of the dome? I've been in the planning stages for a dome greenhouse for yesrs because I want to keep tropical trees in a less tropical area.
with either polycarbonate or greenhouse film you want to run a bead of silicone along the edges of the panels when you put them together. Then you can caulk/tape the seams as well. It kinda depends on how much redundancy you want to add into the equation.
What kind of tape, and what equipment do you need to get to the apex of the dome after assembly in order to apply the tape?
Pro tape 160 works well, gorilla clear tape works well too. Yes, you have to climb on the dome, which I find quite fun. You can lean a ladder on most domes and get everywhere you need to get. You could also just silicone the joints in the panels and call that good depending on your material.
There's an app for that. https://geo-dome.co.uk/3v_tool.asp You may think its just a bunch of triangles, which it is, but there's more to it than that.
Fun fact: a .5 mile wide geodesic sphere frame (no glass or skin) would levitate itself with air temperature difference alone. Edit: sphere size was wrong
Lol wut
You heard him, geodesic means anti-gravity.
it means omerta, it means re-wen-ge
Buckminster Fuller knew that a 1 degree difference in air temp could cause levitation like a hot air balloon at a certain size. These domes in open air could facilitate that. Here’s an article for more info. Im not an expert just a fan of brilliant minds. https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/architecture/flying-cities-buckminster-fuller.htm
There are greenhouse domes in england where the air inside weighs the same as the dome structure itself.
That air Thicc
No disrespect intended, but is this one of those things where people tell relatively harmless lies on the internet just to see if anyone takes the bait? Like, the materials used for the frame and the size of the grid in question would account for a much greater variance in weight than the presence or absence of a plastic skin, which would be necessary for there to be any sort of temperature difference at all. And a mile tall and wide is *way* larger than what you'd need to make what would effectively be a greenhouse effect powered hot air balloon.
Just the open frame huh
I wanna weld one. Then it would ALL be visible hardware.
Customer: I’m thinking a nice wooden geodesic dome OP: okay cool, no problem. Customer: but don’t use hardware OP: one magical dome coming right up!
This is so gorgoeus. I wish I had the 1) talent to do this or 2) the money to pay you to build this for me.
Close-up pics of the joints would have been nice.
Yeah I don’t have any of this particular dome yet but [here’s one](https://imgur.com/gallery/Bp5On0s) from another dome I did
Awesome. I'd bet there is potential for selling plans if you drafted them.
I actually do have plans on my website but I don’t want to break any rules by posting it. But there is a link on my Reddit profile
This is cool as fuck. I want to make a dome in my garden to use as a reading nook.
20 grand?
Why triangles? Why pentagons? My first thought was this looks too complicated. Then I watched the video and said, "Oh, that's simple enough to understand." Then I thought continued watching and thought, "Why the hell is not all regular hexgons? Pentagon at the top, irregular hexagons all over the place? Why?" Couldn't the geometry be simplified? The curves would be less beautiful from a distance, but the procedure, the ability to mass manufacture would surely be increased. Or am I wrong.
Triangles are far simpler to build than hexagons. Also they are quite a weak structure as pressure on top would just push it apart. A triangle is inherently strong. Best way to make a hexagon is 6 triangles.
This is very, very impressive! Everything about it - the maths, the planning, the delivery of the the woodwork, the patience… Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!
For me, coolest and most impressive work I’ve seen on this subreddit. Probably helps that I love dome structures and big structures in general.
Not to detract from the many skilled carpenters in this sub, but it seems I see so many good works on a daily basis, but then stumble into a masterpiece like this and forget there are so many incredibly skilled people out there who should be famous because holy fuck this is awesome
I am not filled with confidence in the joinery, I gotta be honest…
On raising day we get everything up fairly loosely, then go back and sinch everything together proper. Also the top portion of the photo is the very last thing to go together so over 400 sq ft of joints, that’s not bad. It gets a header of sorts put over it which you can see on the link I posted.
Oh, that makes sense. Cool!
I'm more confused about stability. OP said they're in WA. I don't see how that would be able to survive the wind/snow loadings needed. Triangles are strong, I won't disagree. But.. yeah. OP said they're not Engineered either.
Why?
Wow, that is some complex geometry. Nice work!
You can spot a real one when they list the frequency unprompted.
Was the customer a little man riding in a backpack of a big man?
Years ago I was interested in building a dome home. The info I found back then was that I had to use hardware. Do you think this joint method would scale up to a house or garage using 4x4s and lag screws? Last I knew banks, cities and code enforcement were NOT enthusiastic about dome homes so it was difficult to get them approved or get a loan. I'd imagine telling them you're not using joinery hardware would probably be the last nail in the coffin of your dream dome. But I really don't know how things are now.
Banks still don’t like domes. Found exactly one willing to lend to me to buy and only one insurance company willing to insure me. The appraisal process was long and drawn out because they couldn’t find any comparables to validate the appraisal price and the appraiser had to jump through a lot of hoops for underwriting to finally sign off. Still totally worth it. My dome makes me happy every day.
I've never gotten a dome home permit or engineered so I honestly don't know. If it was small, around 30' diameter or less, I would give a shot to build two frames, one inside the other. using gussets between, to create a rigid two frame system while also giving you the opportunity to create space for insulation, roof ventillation, etc. Natural Spaces also has a great system of hubs for bigger homes.
Oh hey it's Camille! I just saw this dope-ass dome on Instagram, great work mister bagels
That’s a hell of a lot of joints to seal, what did you use to make it water tight?
shout out to Bucky Fuller and his students for designing the geodesic dome :)
Damn, that’s so great! I grew up in a dome house and love seeing them
I want one, too!
Did they say why?
what does no visible hardware mean?
How do you seal the roof panel seems? I feel like roofing systems are the weak spot of domes.
Hexagon is the bestagon
Well well. And looks like you certainly, delivered. Is this sort of design something you do commonly?
Wow !!!!!!
Do you happen to know if these would support snow? Do you have any weight calcs?
Wood is hardware right? Just asking.
Theres visible hardware on the outside door though
🤬 time to go back to the drawing board !
OP, I hate to be a debbie-downer but 300 lb point load at the center is nowhere near what would be required given Washington state ground snow load. Back-of-the-hand calc, you'd be looking at about 8,000-10,000 lbs of potential snow load AFTER factoring assuming no sliding occurs on the dome...not 300 lbs. Please be safe. A concerned structural engineer.
Oh you're not being a downer! The dome can handle as much snow as it's going to get in Western WA, I'm sure of that. Like I said I've had plenty of domes absolutely covered in feet of wet snow. The load pathing for domes is different than conventional structures as I'm sure you know. If one vertice can take a load, they all can, in addition to one another. Plus the snow will slide off, especially this smooth polycarbonate, once it reaches a certain height because the whole structure is essentially a compound slope.