Cold climate dome thickness
-
Could anyone tell how thick air-crete bricks should be to give good insulation
in really cold winters? -
We need more info - in Vermont I've seen winters with weeks of below zero F. In Alaska that could be mild. In Mississippi that would be unheard of.
So - Where? -
@gemniii do you have a structure of air-crete in Vermont? I'm in Missouri so we get wind, cold and wet in winter and wind, very hot and wet in summer. I did read about not putting vapor barriers on both sides. Looks like this could limit four season use. Opinion? Thank you.
-
@gemniii I'm in easternTN. Don't think it gets as cold as Vermont.
-
As far as I have read, aircrete has an insulation rating of 3.9 per inch. Is this true? Can someone confirm this please?
-
Please see What is AirCrete's R-Value? on the DomeGaia website. It's the very last question on the page.
-
@zander Hi Zander,
I wasn't able to get through the article as it seems to want to skirt the answer with there is no answer....maybe you can summarize it better? -
What I got from the article is that the concept of R-value is not actually helpful. R-value is helpful if you are comparing different types of fiberglass insulation, because that is what R-value was designed to do. I think this video does a great job of demonstrating the insulative value of aircrete.
-
@medcare651 I am in Missouri and would be interested in sharing ideas and/or looking at each others projects. I have not begun anything yet. JW
-
@JWboing - I have been doing a lot of research - I am building next year in KY Mountains. - Research your area / state for frostline for your base. I am also doing this alone. So I am looking for a easy but very well built dome. I have taken Ideas from Domegia and AIDomes.com site. Also check out Domerama.com - You can find a lot of great detail we all need to help us build and plan. I hope this helps.
I am building a 2V Geodesic Dome 22ft so I have shelter asap then building on to it from there. forms will be 4" thick however I have calculated apx. 1 1/2 -2" additional concrete added when product is finish so it will give me a comfortable 6" thickness for the cold. If you think I can give you some more ideas let me know and God Bless you. -
@Jenw I have been looking in to Frost Protected Shallow Foundation. Google that term.
They do this much further north than Missouri or Kentucky. I will let your search explain it, but very worth looking in to. Keep in touch, you are close! JW -
@Jenw hi and hopefully you are safe and warm! in your dome home.
Would you have any tips and/or suggestions to building a dome home in a colder climate? I'm in the planning stages to build a multi-dome home in Vermont and not seeing much detail on this site for helpers.
Thanks in advance!!
-
Thank you for updating us with the outcome!
-
@patti-b 6 - 10 Inches
-
@matt-prosser I like your clear simple answer to a much discussed and important question. Could you expound a bit on how you arrived at 6-10 inches? Is this based on feedback from people you know who've lived in aircrete domes in cold climates, or your own personal experience? Do you have examples or stories? Based on your experience as an international builder and designer of dome homes, I'm sure we will all benefit from your conclusion regardless of how you arrived there. But knowing how is still very relevant, at least to me.
-
Hola Todos,
My answer is based on feedback from clients & my own personal experience designing, building, observing & living in some of the domes I´ve built. I´ve built four domes, the first two I built with bricks that where 10cm (4 Inches) thick. The last two were 15cm (6 Inches) thick. I decided to move to 15cm (6 Inches) thick as it increased the insulation by 50% & I wanted to see how that would affect the performance of the building.
I heated the triple dome home I built in Turkey (which had 15cm (6 Inches) thick bricks) with a wood burning stove & lived there comfortably through a cold winter with lots of snow with my wife & two young children. But my reflections lead me to think the thickness of the walls could be increased.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so the question arises how well is the floor insulated? I used all the off cuts from the bricks to insulate the floor. On all builds I will go with a minimum of 15cm (6 Inches), but it is also important to insulate the floor properly.
For my next build here in Spain I will use 25cm thick (10 Inch) bricks. As the rules to pass code in this neck of the woods require that thickness. That thickness will make the house temperature very stable for both the heat & the cold & in turn reduce heating costs or labour over the life of the building.
So that’s why my short & sweet answer was 6 – 10 Inches.
Best wishes to one & all.
Kindly
Matthew
♾
-
Wow, that is some serious experience-based advice. Thank you so much.
