At Home in a Dome
By Joyce Rosencrans, The Cincinnati Post A turtle carries along its shell, which is a natural domicile shaped like, well, a dome.
  This factory-made, pre-drilled panel attached to a riser-wall is one of a series that forms a geodesic dome. This housing concept was the idea of architect-environmentalist R. Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s. (Photo courtesy of Joyce Rosencrans, The Cincinnati Post.) |  Oregon Dome Inc. supplies dome kits and dozens of interior floor plans, as the one above. (Photo courtesy of The Cincinnati Post.) |
Dome homes for humans are safe shelters, too. They're well-known as ultra-strong structures able to withstand earthquakes, high winds and heavy snows. And all this for paltry energy costs and large living spaces, though domes come in all sizes. A house without corners may be a bit extreme for some tastes, but there are adventurous dome-builders among us. In fact, many domes have been built amid raucous parties and barbecues with dome-raising as theme-of-the-day. The process of putting up the basic structure of a dome can work much like an old-fashioned Amish barn-raising. A dome owner often starts with a dome kit and a concrete pad. He or she calls upon handy relatives, friends and neighbors to come help raise the walls, er, triangles already put together in curved shell-like pentagons, which are pushed up and into place by one's pals with wooden poles. A do-it-yourself party is an option after the landowner prepares a concrete pad and allows it to cure at least a couple weeks. Oregon Dome Inc. is a major supplier of dome kits, which are accompanied by both design and construction guidance. Even with the expert aid, some buyers might prefer leaving it all in the hands of a competent contractor.
 A Saturday dome-raising was held in Brookville, Ohio, north of Dayton. (Photos courtesy of Joyce Rosencrans, The Cincinnati Post.) |  Swift progress was made by a dozen workers on the first morning of a dome-raising northwest of Dayton. |
I was invited to a dome-raising by Oregon Dome Inc. one day last year. A couple in Montgomery County, Ohio, who had just passed on their previous house to a married daughter, was about to host a Saturday dome-raising. I could come to their barbecue, if I would bring along work gloves, a hat, hammer and ratchet wrench with a 3/4-inch socket. "Lunch will be provided by the owner for the volunteer crew." Though my invitation came from the Eugene, Ore., dome-home corporate headquarters, the party turned out to be in my hometown of Brookville, Ohio, in a cleared field on a country road. I arrived well before 9 a.m. on a sunny Saturday morning at the Brookville site, where soon-to-be domeowner Teresa Nelson broke through the crowd to welcome me. She had on a barbecue apron instead of a hard hat because she was busy organizing grill-cooks and setting up tables for the noon picnic. Her husband, Preston, was among the men wearing tool belts who had had a very early start that day.
 The dome home, shown six months later after the owners slowed the pace to do finishing work themselves. (Photos courtesy of Joyce Rosencrans, The Cincinnati Post.) |  Gray-stone facing and a nearby lake accent Tom Pickrell's family home in Oregonia, Ohio, in Warren County. (Photos courtesy of Terry Duennes, The Cincinnati Post.) |
Nearly 100 helper-friends had shown up, way too many to be pressed into service for dome-raising, but they certainly had a party going on. Some guests had parked their recreational vehicles in a cluster, with awnings extended, to shade the picnic tables and dozens of lawn chairs for dome-watchers. The real work of dome-raising that Saturday was done by a corps of guys who knew what they were doing, probably fewer than a dozen. The rest of us tried to stay out of the way, though Oregon Dome Inc. insists that no special skills are needed. Meanwhile, little kids and dogs ran around the edges of the building site, and a grand time was had by all. Mrs. Nelson said, "I knew about domes for years. ... We'd just sold our house, so we went online and looked (www.domes.com ). You can call with questions, too. They're real helpful." She was referring to the company, Oregon Dome Inc., from which the Prestons had purchased their building materials. These consist of the major dome panel kit of panelized components, including exterior and riser walls, plus accessories like skylights, skylight flashing, exterior insulation and a cupola kit.
 The four-bedroom, wood-clad, cedar-stained dome home of Paul and Sandi Pomeroy in Red Lion, Ohio, in Warren County has a lower-level and third-floor loft. (Photo courtesy of Terry Duennes, The Cincinnati Post.) |
Optional extensions on a dome home help obscure the spherical character of the basic structure by lending more angles, even corners. Judy Box of Box Builders, Marysville, Ohio, was intently watching the dome-raising because she specializes in constructing single-family homes. She said, "We want to become a dome crew; we'll go anywhere in Ohio. A lot of dome-kit buyers might not want to trust their friends. "Oregon says you can raise a dome in a day with six inexperienced volunteers. There are 15 working now," said Ms. Box. "The others should get out of the way." She further disapproved of the concrete pad. "This is green concrete, poured yesterday. A support beam has already gouged out a chunk from the surface." Meanwhile, the Nelsons have been taking their time in doing the inside finishing work, such as adding drywall. An RV parked alongside means there's a resting place nearby to make work sessions more comfortable. A return visit to the Brookville site a few months later revealed a fully enclosed dome with a cupola on top and all medium-gray roofing materials in place. Part of the pale-gray siding was yet to be installed, but the front entrance had been fitted with double doors. It's nearly home sweet dome. (Joyce Rosencrans is food editor at The Cincinnati Post.) Further information and resources on Doming .
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