Lets talk about the disaster proof aspect of a monolithic dome. Depending on your personal belief in Global Climate Change you may need to keep your tinfoil hat ready. For those of you who believe that the data means that humanity is shooting itself in the foot...you can just skip the tinfoil for today.
Clearly Mr. Dometastic and I believe that climate change is a reality. That is one of the biggest factors for building this house. I will admit that there is a part of me that feels awkward about building this house because of future "ifs". This must be how all the people who built cold war bomb shelters felt. For them it was a pointless exercise in making them feel safe. Of course, at the time, all those people didn't know that the bombs would never come. The shelters were never needed and were arguably inadequate if there was nuclear fall out. Duck and cover!
Maybe we are no different than those people but Mr. Dometastic is quite right about "Luck favors the prepared". Should climate change create stormy unpredictable weather the house alone will not solve all the problems but it at least keeps a roof over our head! If climate change never causes huge problems then we built an unusual energy efficient house. I can live with that!
Changes in climate not only make temperature changes but create bigger temperature swings (in both directions) this in turn causes a storm prone environment. This has led us to building a house that has half a chance of weathering all sorts of problems. A disaster proof house in a disaster free area is about as good as it gets! Global climate change is finally being acknowledged by all but the most stubborn of head in the sand people. We are going to build a house that has the best chance to withstand whatever comes our way.
If you haven't read my previous post about how the bank lady tries to convince me not to build a dome home because I am building in "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster" click HERE. I am sure I can look forward to many more amusing interactions with people as we get further along in our process.
There are several well known monolithic domes that have weathered natures wrath with only some exterior cosmetic damage. Here are some examples of natures big three. Fire, Tornadoes and Hurricanes. Our build site in CT is not in a flood zone. If all the glaciers melt we will at most be nearly ocean front but definitely not under water.
Wildfires:
There are several that have gone through wildfires. All had little to no damage and one crazy guy stayed in the dome during the fire.
In the last several years FEMA has been offering grant money to help build monolithic dome community centers and schools in high tornado risk areas of the US. These buildings will double as emergency shelters for first responders and for the general population.
There is a thin shell cement dome that was directly hit by a tornado in OK (not specifically a monolithic one). The windows were blown out, debris were jumbled inside and the exterior took a beating but it was the only structure still standing. It even was hit by a flying car!
Hurricanes:
One dome in Pensacola Beach, FL. that sits right on the beach has been hit by 2 hurricanes (Ivan and Dennis). It sustained exterior damage mostly to the parts that are not part of the dome structure. You can see the elaborate staircase was ripped off but the dome itself is ok.
Monolithic domes have several factors that make them nearly disaster proof. The reinforced concrete doesn't burn or rot and the curved shape is naturally strong and wind resistant. Without flat sides and a roof the high winds don't have enough surface area to press against to be a problem. It may be too weird of a house for most people but its safety combined with energy efficiency makes it a win win for us.
Clearly Mr. Dometastic and I believe that climate change is a reality. That is one of the biggest factors for building this house. I will admit that there is a part of me that feels awkward about building this house because of future "ifs". This must be how all the people who built cold war bomb shelters felt. For them it was a pointless exercise in making them feel safe. Of course, at the time, all those people didn't know that the bombs would never come. The shelters were never needed and were arguably inadequate if there was nuclear fall out. Duck and cover!
"40 Million May Die. How About You"
(That is quite the marketing tag line!)
Maybe we are no different than those people but Mr. Dometastic is quite right about "Luck favors the prepared". Should climate change create stormy unpredictable weather the house alone will not solve all the problems but it at least keeps a roof over our head! If climate change never causes huge problems then we built an unusual energy efficient house. I can live with that!
Changes in climate not only make temperature changes but create bigger temperature swings (in both directions) this in turn causes a storm prone environment. This has led us to building a house that has half a chance of weathering all sorts of problems. A disaster proof house in a disaster free area is about as good as it gets! Global climate change is finally being acknowledged by all but the most stubborn of head in the sand people. We are going to build a house that has the best chance to withstand whatever comes our way.
If you haven't read my previous post about how the bank lady tries to convince me not to build a dome home because I am building in "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster" click HERE. I am sure I can look forward to many more amusing interactions with people as we get further along in our process.
There are several well known monolithic domes that have weathered natures wrath with only some exterior cosmetic damage. Here are some examples of natures big three. Fire, Tornadoes and Hurricanes. Our build site in CT is not in a flood zone. If all the glaciers melt we will at most be nearly ocean front but definitely not under water.
Wildfires:
There are several that have gone through wildfires. All had little to no damage and one crazy guy stayed in the dome during the fire.
This dome home went through a large wildfire in the mountains of CA.
Afterwards, there was cosmetic damage but the house and contents were fine. Firefighters on the scene were told to shelter in the home if they got trapped. Fires don't burn down houses. They ignite them and then houses burn down because they are flammable. If your house is concrete it doesn't ignite. A conventional brick or cement house would have half a chance....but the roof would be its downfall.
Tornadoes:
There aren't any monolithic dome homes that have been hit by an F4 or F5 tornado yet. But there is a small monolithic dome shelter that was hit in Moore, OK. You will notice it is the only standing structure in the neighborhood.
There is a thin shell cement dome that was directly hit by a tornado in OK (not specifically a monolithic one). The windows were blown out, debris were jumbled inside and the exterior took a beating but it was the only structure still standing. It even was hit by a flying car!
Hurricanes:
One dome in Pensacola Beach, FL. that sits right on the beach has been hit by 2 hurricanes (Ivan and Dennis). It sustained exterior damage mostly to the parts that are not part of the dome structure. You can see the elaborate staircase was ripped off but the dome itself is ok.
Before Ivan
After Ivan
Some other houses on the beach didn't fair so well!
Monolithic domes have several factors that make them nearly disaster proof. The reinforced concrete doesn't burn or rot and the curved shape is naturally strong and wind resistant. Without flat sides and a roof the high winds don't have enough surface area to press against to be a problem. It may be too weird of a house for most people but its safety combined with energy efficiency makes it a win win for us.
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