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Basement Size and Securing the Weak Points

The engineering on the dome is progressing. This week my homework was to decide what company we are going to use for our security shutters that will cover all the windows and decide how big we want the garage/basement to be under the dome.

We looked into having the basement be the entire footprint of the house. It was too costly and way more square footage than we need. A 2700 sqft basement would just encourage us to store even more boxes we packed up 4 moves ago!


I think everyone has these boxes. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones you pack with stuff you just CAN'T throw out but have no use for either. We have boxes we inherited that were packed from when my Mom sold her house in the late 1990's. Extra storage space is an enabler to the pack rat in all of us. We made our basement size decision based on one very important feature. A recycling chute! We want a kitchen island recycling chute straight into a bin in the basement. I think this is genius! I can't wait to open a little trap door for recycling. The added bonus is my kids won't see when I chuck all the "art work" they create. Don't get me wrong I do keep some. They end up in one of those basement boxes. Much to their displeasure I do not keep every tiny thing they scribble. Soon I will be able to get rid of the evidence!


So clearly the basement has to extend from the garage door to under the kitchen island! Recycling has so many steps before it gets to the bin. It goes from counter to kitchen bin to outside can. I hate the 3 step process of clutter. I hate it enough to actually decide basement size based on it.

My other homework was the security shutters. I lost the battle with Mr. Dometastic over skylights but I did get to have five 4' round windows and one 18' x 8' panoramic door system. The compromise in all this glass is to install motorized roll down metal shutters.


I needed to find a company that makes ones for very large openings and doesn't require a certified installer. Most of the companies are in hurricane prone areas because that is the bulk of the business. Since we don't want to fly an installer from Florida we need a company that allows self install. Most people use them as hurricane storm protection. But if you have been following all my posts or if you know Mr. Dometastic you already know we fall outside the definition of "most people". We will be using them for both storm protection and security. If you haven't read my post about Mr. Dometastic's thoughts on all windows read THIS post. The engineer needs to know the company to design the window overhangs. There is a fairly large box they roll up into when not in use. We need exact dimensions and the power requirements. The windows have cement overhangs that are part of the dome exterior. These arched overhangs need to be large enough to allow the box across the top but still conceal it from view. Because they are part of the exterior of the dome their size and shape also effect the foundation design. Even though we may not be adding the shutters right away the details need to be decided in the planning stage.

With home work complete we go back to waiting for spring.


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