@Zander Now that is a clever way to make and store ice. The persians truly were inovative. I wonder if one could scale this down to sutable size?

Perhaps it is time for us to find a structural engineer to help pave the way going forward? Ultimately the truth lies somewhere between the engineer and greed. As it is now the timber industry stands to loose and has lobbied to make laws that keep them in a position to thrive. This along with the steel industry and several other monopolies. These are the bigger part of the impasse when it comes to building with Aircrete. We people now must decide; Humanity vs Extinction. Our politicians have enslaved many both wittingly and unwittingly and by fear of law reversed the will of almost every man and woman on the planet. I cannot readily solve this difficulty nor can I fix California. Here where I am however I am free to build. Thus build I shall. If they attempt to block the way I would still build. whatever it takes. I would like to close this by illuminating something I have learned well. i started out as a wrangler. A big part of my duty was to get up early saddle up and go retrieve a large remuda of horses (Alone) I would move those horses down a mountain and into a small coral where they would be made ready for work. I learned quick that if the remuda did not want to go into that coral it was a great trick to get them in. We as people have allowed a select few politicians and lawmakers to force us into such a coral and the gate is all but shut. Perhaps we might learn from those horses and buck. Should we ever in mass do so the coral gate will fall and no politician will ever stop us again. We could all become the change that many seek. Imagine what can be then seek it out 🙂 Cheers Steve and be encouraged not discouraged.

Hi Jenny,
You have a great idea, and I think dome houses in Sedona are a perfect idea. For desert living, you will need very thick walls to get an “R” value high enough for the hot weather. You could also look into adding two inches of “closed cell spray foam insulation “ to the outside which will give the required moisture barrier as well as the needed insulation. Lastly, and this is the real problem....is most cities are not accepting Aircrete as a material worthy for construction even though it is used throughout the world with no problems. You would have to get a structural engineer to sign off on your plans when submitting them, and then you might have a chance. I’m going to try this in California, as soon as I can find a structural engineer that will do this. Anybody reading this post....do you know of one?

@timothyjdube Sounds like you may have something in common with this post:
http://forum.domegaia.com/topic/21/help-with-building-a-temple-to-explore-sound

@Talyn71 Did those plans get approved?

Well, I love my land, I can afford some red tape if need be, but I would like to have my electricity from the pole and not by generator. That requires approval from society. I obtained the copy of the plans for Steve's Dome from domegia, and the needed details are just not there. It looks like I will pretty much have to have the entire dwelling drawn up and engineered and you are probably right, throwing the cost right out of the ballpark. I would love to build this myself but I am getting old and if it takes 10 years I'll be lucky to lift an aircrete block by then. Thanks for the reply, and I agree with the theory.

Some of the domes will be all aircrete. Others will be a mix of cement and aircrete.

@ignachos Totally agree with you. I loved the idea too. Then I did it a few times.. Great job for indoors with hired help LOL

Try it! Make something. I'm not trying to discourage.

@ignachos I helped build a radiant floor using pure earthen plaster. It's fabulous. If I were to attempt it now I think I would use a base layer of aircrete like @wrenchmonkey is talking about. I imagine cutting grooves into the aircrete and laying the tubes in the grooves.

@CaiRocke

We are currently building a dome in St.. Petersburg. If you wish to check it out give me a call, 727-599-6926, Jeremiah

@glenna What is "ank"?

@HandyDan I like the Fairy Tale of R value. That is, it is entertaining to read about. I agree with the point the article is making.

HandyDan, what size was your test block?

The compressive strength of an 2 foot by 3.5 inch section is stronger than 2x4 framing. My last test showed a strength exceeding 19,500 pounds for such a cross section. This of course doesn't take into account the tensile stresses, the fabrics stretch strength, or uneven loading of the wall.

We are building a done with a second floor. However the floor will be supported on the walls. I aircrete can support the weight. It's the thermal expansion and contractions that could break up the dome. The floor would move at different rates. Perhaps expansion joints could be designed in, but why not skip that problem all together?

You can find me at TinyGiantLife.biz

My experience is that it looses some volume if pumped very high at all.

It should be possible with a compressive structure designed for the weight. However... I don't believe this is the best material for putting underground.

I believe it would be fine once cured and if well framed. Weight is not the issue at all.

Some people carve out the wall and place inside wall then they fill in the gap wit aircrete or aircrete mortar.

I personally place all the plugs in the floor. I stub pipe to run wires into cabinets and walls. I run the electric up to the lights via interior walls and use the snap on electric wire rails. Bathroom and living rooms get a motion switch mounted on the lights. I don't like to weaken the structure.