Basement,Three Bedroom Three Bath Dome Home

Basement
American Ingenuity can design custom or modified basement plans for a
reasonable fee. The Ai prefabricated panelized home kit can be built
on a basement.
34' dome on full basement utilizing 34' Zeta 21 plan.
(Click dots to change picture or use left and right arrows in
picture)
To view floor plans by dome size, some of which have a
basement designed, click on Stock Plans. If you do not see a
stock plan to fit your lifestyle, Ai can modify or customize a
plan based on your notes or sketches.
Please email your
sketch or notes by clicking on Contact Us. The Plans
Coordinator will review your sketches and contact you to
clarify your needs and email a Plans Quote.
During the
basement plans design, Ai will email a basement
questionnaire. When you want Ai to start the design of your
plans, pay in full for your plans and agree to the Plans
Quote.
Your building department will have recommendations whether
your property should have a soil report completed or not. If
the soil contents or load bearing pressure is debatable, hire
a Geotechnical Company to complete a soil report with
recommendations. Soil reports can cost from $300 up.
To complete the basement designs, American Ingenuity hires a
local engineer.
If your soil is clay he requires a soil
report and the soils engineer’s recommendations. The engineer
calculates the load of the dome and its interior floors to
determine joist size and spacing and wall design. Ai then
incorporates his designs into your building plans.
Please
call our office at 321-639-8777 for engineer pricing.
Ai can provide plans for most types of basement wall systems
from poured on site concrete walls or concrete block walls or
insulated concrete forms (ICF) or precast basement wall
panels.
Soil, soil, soil.
The dome’s standard footing size is 20″
tall by 16″ wide with slab 4″. Foundation should be built on
undisturbed native soil or fill – with soil compacted to 98%
density for a minimum of 2,000 psf of bearing pressure. If
your bearing capacity is less, then the engineer can increase
your footer size and slab thickness. For example the soil for
a dome being built in California was 1,500 psf. Its footer was
increased to 20″x20″ and slab was increased to 6″. In some
instances the footer may need to be an augured footing three
feet down to hit cap rock. In other instances your footings
may need to rest on wood pilings driven 40’ into the ground in
order to get to solid soil. Ai does not determine the type
foundation you need for your dome.
You tell us what type
footing and basement you desire based on your soil report.
Generally a foundation cannot be built on clay and basement
walls cannot be back filled with clay.
Since we are a manufacturer of dome housing kits, we do not
manufacture or build basement walls, please contact your local
basement subcontractors for basement construction costs. .
Full basements are the same size and shape as the dome first
floor. The multiple sided foundation for the Ai dome can cost
15% to 25% more than a rectangle basement. If you mark the
corners of the foundation itself this removes the
responsibility from the contractor.
The below ground basement can have the slab poured first with
the exterior basement walls built on top of the slab or the
footings can be poured separate with the exterior basement
wall built on top of the footings and then the slab poured
inside the basement wall. Basement walls are usually 8″ thick
when made of poured concrete but will likely increase
depending on the height of the basement wall and the height of
the back fill.
The plans show
rebars coming out of the basement walls to
connect into the seams between the dome prefab riser panels
and into the front and back of each entryway base panel and
each first floor door dormer base panel, etc. Vertical rebars
come out of the footings thru the buttress walls into the dome
panels. Buttress walls support the entryway and first floor
door dormer panels. The horizontal rebars in the buttress
walls connect the buttress wall to the basement walls.
After
the basement is poured while the concrete is still malleable,
insert in the top of the basement walls per the foundation
plan the tie down hook rebars that go into the horizontal
riser seams.
When the dome is built on a basement, the first floor framing
of the dome is typically built with wood 2×10’s which are hung
on the inside of the concrete basement walls.
Should I build a second dome for a garage or build a basement
under the dome to use for my garage? The main determining
factor on which kind of garage is built is whether your land
is flat or sloped and your budget.
If your land is flat, we recommend a dome garage or
conventional garage because building a dome on an above ground
basement causes the access of the dome via basement stairs or
exterior stairs. Ai can design a lift if sufficient room in
the basement or a rail chair on the stairs to access the dome
from the basement.
If your land is sloped and the dome is built on a basement,
parts of the first floor of the dome can be accessed at ground
level or a few steps from ground level. Then building your
dome on a basement is the better choice. When this is done,
some parts of the basement will be open so cars can be driven
into the basement. Other parts will be back filled with dirt
so you can walk out the first floor of the dome to access your
land.
For a complete summary of all types of foundations that can be
used with the American Ingenuity Domes, click on Foundation
Summary.
Ai DOMES BUILT ON BASEMENTS
8″ thick solid
concrete basement
walls for 34′ Dome
34′ Dome Home on
poured concrete
basement walls
Back view of the
above 34′ dome;
this side of the
basement is bermed
with dirt and
French drain
installed
Front view of the
same dome with
basement entrance.
Basement under 45′
Dome House
34′ Dome Home on
basement
Photo looking down
into basement from
second floor of 45′
Dome
Q: Does American Ingenuity modify or design custom basement
plans?
A: Yes, Ai can design custom or modified basement plans for a
reasonable cost. Fax or email your sketch to us and we will
call back with questions and complete a Plans Quote with fees
for Ai to design your dome building plans and basement
building plans.
Q: Can Ai design basement plans using concrete block, poured
walls or insulated concrete forms?
A: Yes, we can provide plans for most types of basement wall
systems utilizing poured on site concrete or blocks or
insulated concrete forms or precast basement wall panels.
Q: What materials can be used to build the basement walls?
A: A company named Superior Walls supplies precast insulated
concrete wall panels. Their number is 800-452-9255 or go to
their web site www.superiorwalls.com
The following came directly from their site: The Superior
Walls system consists of wall panels built with steelreinforced concrete studs, 1″ rigid Dow® insulation, a
reinforced top and bottom bond (footer) beams, along with a
concrete facing approximately 2″ thick. The bond beams and
concrete facing are cast in one continuous pour. Studs are
connected by encapsulating vertical rebars and galvanized
hooks and pins which protrude from the top, bottom, and back
of each stud. Pressure-treated furring strips are pre-attached
to the inner face of each stud. This provides the base for the
owner/builder to finish the basement without having to add any
additional studding. Holes are cast into each stud to
accommodate wiring and small-diameter plumbing. The top bond
beam is perforated to allow for bolting of the pressuretreated sill plates.
INSTALLATION
– The SUPERIOR WALLS System:
The panels are set on
a bed of compacted stone which serves as a bearing layer as
well as a drainage control system under the foundation. Once
in place, the panels are bolted together at the top and bottom
and sealed with a gun-applied adhesive-sealant. The
owner/builder or builder then pours the floor slab inside the
wall system.
Foam Blocks filled with Concrete are referred to as ICF for
Insulated Concrete Forms. These blocks are easy to use and
provide insulation. Their high cost is offset by labor savings
in the assembly. Some of the many manufacturers are listed
below. Call and ask them for the nearest supplier to you. One
of the engineers utilized by Ai to engineer seal its building
plans, prefers ARXX ICF wall to building a basement wall with
concrete blocks. The ARXX ICF panel is 16″ by 4′ long which
makes for quicker basement wall construction.
Reward Wall System, 800-468-6344, www.rewardwalls.com
Poly Steel, Albuquerque NM, 800-977-3676, www.polysteel.com
Insul Deck, Florence KY, 800-475-6720, www.insul-deck.org
Arxx, Alexandria Bay NY, 315-482-5253, www.arxx.net
Q: How is the below ground basement built and how is the dome
attached to the basement walls?
A: The below ground basement can have the slab poured first
with the exterior basement walls built on top of the slab or
the footings can be poured separate with the exterior basement
wall built on top of the footings and then the slab poured
inside the basement wall. Basement walls are usually 8″ thick
when made of poured concrete but will likely increase
depending on the height of the basement wall and the height of
the backfill.
Ai has basement plans available that explain how the dome is
attached to the basement, etc. for example rebars need to come
out of the basement wall to connect into the seams between the
dome riser panels and into the front and back of each entryway
base panel and each first floor door dormer base panel.
Vertical rebars come out of the footings thru the buttress
walls into the dome panels. Buttress walls support the
entryway and first floor door dormers. The horizontal rebars
in the buttress walls connect the buttress wall to the
basement walls.
After the basement is poured while the
concrete is still malleable, insert in the top of the basement
walls per the foundation plan the tie down hook rebars that go
into the bottom horizontal riser seams.
When the dome is built on a basement, the first floor framing
of the dome is typically built with wood 2×10’s, hung on the
side of the basement walls and are supported by any interior
basement walls or designed posts. The riser panels rests on
the basement wall.
When the riser panels bottom seam is
concreted, the concrete continues down the side of the
basement wall six inches.
Q: How thick
A: Basement
concrete but
the basement
are the basement walls?
walls are usually 8″ thick when made of poured
will likely increase depending on the height of
wall and the height of the back fill.
Q: If I build my dome on a basement, will I need to install a
French drain?
A: Yes. Included in the basement building plans will be a
French drain sheet. The steps to install the French drain are:
1.
Cover any part of the basement wall that will be in touch with soil with a
tar emulsion (designed for this purpose). This waterproof coat should extend
down to (and if possible, under) the polyethylene vapor barrier.
2.
If you wish, you may add additional waterproofing. Apply roofing felt over
the tar emulsion, overlapping the edges 6” and sealing the felt with more
tar. Place the roofing paper over the outside of the vapor barrier to shed
water. Then, give the whole wall one more coat of tar. This extra investment
will provide a superior measure of protection against moisture. Please,
don’t cut corners.
3.
Place a perforated drainpipe (at least 3” in diameter to 4” in diameter. For
long lengths), holes down, into the gravel bed. The pipe should be below the
floor level and drop 1” for every 8’ of length. This discharges water into
an area lower than the dome itself and allows quick drainage away from the
building. Lay pipe in the gravel bed and cover gravel with two layers of
roofing felt to prevent dirt from penetrating into the gravel.
4.
Backfill the entire area.
Three Bedroom Three Bath Dome
Home
The dome is surrounded by fauna and natural vegetation
of the Blue Ridge Mountains: red oak, evergreen Hemlock
& rhododendron. 42 foot second floor wrap-a-round deck
to view the beautiful countryside and northern flying
squirrel, saw-whet owl, white-tailed deer and gray fox.
View of the dome driving up the driveway. The dome is
nestled in the trees. Another one of Ai's domes had a
30" in diameter hickory tree fall on the dome during a
70 mph wind. The concrete dome had no damage.
View from the dome's second floor loft bedroom. Solid
red oak spiral stairs, skylight over dining room, wood
burning fireplace, dining room high profile entryway and
deck off the entryway.
Photo was taken when the dome was lived in. Spiral
stairs start in the basement stair well and lead up into
the dome first floor and continue up to the second
floor. Triangular skylight over sofa area. Seventeen
foot high vaulted ceiling over living room, dining room
& stairs. Loft bedroom, bath & WIC are at the top of the
stairs.
Front view of the dome.
34' dome on full basement with fireplace. Above each of
the sliding doors is fixed glass - 2' tall by 7'10"
long. The basement family room and kitchenette has ample
light from 6’ sliding glass doors and 3'10"x 3' kitchen
window. The Basement exterior walls were built from 8”
solid poured concrete with French Drain.
View of dome and 260 ft long paved driveway ten feet
wide. The driveway is directly off a paved North
Carolina state road named Highway 80 South. Dome is one
mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway and one hour from
Asheville North Carolina.
Stairs access deck off the kitchen and back of the dome.
On the right of the stairs is the basement's store room
4' wide by 3'4" window. Vent pipe above the window is
exhaust for the monitor heater.
The basement door with two panes of glass accesses the
mud room. The mud room window is 2'10"x 2'10". Flue pipe
vents the wood burning fireplace.
South view of Blue Ridge Mountains from deck off one of
the living rooms two high profile entryways. Blue Ridge
Parkway is around one mile from the dome. Flying
squirrels, owls and birds have been seen from this deck.
View from the second floor deck during the winter time.
Property is 4.2 acres. Above the paved road, the road
continues as gravel and accesses the well area and a
cleared area for a turn around or another home site.
Above this cleared area is two more acres which could be
sold for two other home sites. The top part of the
property is flat and has a full view of Mount Mitchell
Tower.
Partial view of back of the dome and side of kitchen
standard entryway. Deck on the right is off the kitchen.
Part of the back of the basement has been back filled
with french drain installed.
Back of the dome showing part of basement is back
filled. The 3'10" x 3'3" window on ground level is the
window in the basement kitchen. The window dormer above
the ground level window is for the dome's second floor
bedroom. On the left is partial view of ground level
deck off the basement living room sliding doors. This
picture was taken before the dome was pressure washed
and painted in Nov 2015.
Partial view of two High Profile Entryways with center
fireplace and exterior decks. Oak furniture and other
furniture seen are free with the dome.
Photo from the second floor looking down into the living
room and dining room. To the left is partial view of the
faux brick hearth at fireplace. Beautiful high profile
entryways allow for wondrous views of snow flakes in the
winter or spring time greenery.
View from second floor showing living room and living
room high profile entryway with six foot wide sliding
doors with two foot tall by 7'10" long fixed glass above
the sliding doors. On the far left partial view of the
half wall that separates the loft bedroom from the first
floor. High vaulted ceilings continue into the second
floor bedroom.
View from the kitchen showing on the left full view of
high profile entryway and on the right partial view of
the second high profile entryway in the dining room. In
the center is fireplace with glass doors and faux brick
hearth.
Spiral stairs on the dome first floor access the second
floor and the basement. A wall separates the living room
from the dome first floor bedroom, bath and closet. Part
of the wall only extends around five feet onto the
second floor resulting in an open loft bedroom with
window dormer. Visible behind the spiral stairs are two
doors. The door on the right goes to the bedroom, door
on the left opens into a bathroom. On the second floor
to the left of the stairs is a walkway to the bathroom
(shower, commode and sink) and walk in closet - on the
right is the loft bedroom.
Dining room is to the left, center spiral stairs, living
room and loft wall. Behind loft wall is second floor
bedroom with window dormer. The high vaulted ceilings
top center is around 17' tall. Wall above the sofa and
wall above the kitchen can display art.
View from the Kitchen. The Kitchen has half wall
dividing it from the spiral stair case and dining room.
Dining room High Profile Entryway. Wall above kitchen
can display art.
View from inside the kitchen looking out. Heater is
called Monitor which vents to the outside.
View from Kitchen showing oak railing around sides of
solid oak spiral staircase, fireplace, and one HP
entryway.
The Dome was built as a vacation home for the owners of
American Ingenuity. High vaulted ceilings are over the
322 sq.ft. living room/dining room, fireplace and spiral
stairs.
Dome's kitchen showing half wall that separates it from
the dining room and walk way to the bathroom and
bedroom. Kitchen window is 5' wide by 2'9" tall. Counter
tops are custom black ceramic tile. Oak cabinets.
Dome's 19' long by 11' wide first floor bedroom and
window dormer. To the right is door to the living room
and door to the walk in closet. Oak furniture is free
with the dome.
Dome first floor 57 sq.ft. bathroom with tub/shower,
commode and and sink. Oak trimmed medicine cabinet and
towel bar.
Basement mudroom. Door on the left opens to the basement
apartment. Door on the right is the exterior door. On
the right not visible is window and circuit breaker
panel and door to the store room. Oak bench in dome
bedroom can be moved to this area to sit on and remove
boots. Tiled Floor is in the mudroom, family room,
bathroom, hallway and stair well. On the left not
visible is a door to the stairwell with spiral
staircase.
Photo is inside the 100 sq.ft. mud room showing the door
and window in the mud room. In the mudroom is the
circuit breaker panel, laundry tub,connection for washer
and dryer and doors to access three areas - 1) basement
225 sq.ft. family room/kitchen, 65 sq.ft. bath room with
sink, commode, tub/shower, 146 sq.ft. bedroom. 2) 155
sq.ft. basement store room; and 3) stairwell to access
spiral stairs to the dome.
Photo of the basement family room, kitchenette and walk
way to the bathroom and bedroom. The Doorway to the left
of the refrigerator accesses the bathroom. Oak cabinets.
On right are vertical blinds on the six foot wide
sliding doors.
View from end of dining room looking into the living
room. Love seat is in front of the fireplace. Sofa on
back wall under a skylight
Partial view of 225 sq.ft. basement kitchen/family room
showing vertical blinds over the two sliding glass
doors.
Countryside view from the 12' long x 6' wide deck
outside the basement sliding doors. Above the deck is
the second floor deck.
(use arrows above on right and left side of main picture to
view other photos in the gallery)
PDF for Downloading & Printing
Dome on Basement – 1916 Sq Ft
Online Viewing – Opens in Browser
Dome on Basement – 1916 Sq Ft
Built from an American Ingenuity 34′ in diameter prefab dome building
kit.
DOME FOR SALE W’ FULL BASEMENT & 2.2 ACRES
$160,000
One Hour from Asheville North Carolina
To view an article with more info about the dome, view Dome
For Sale.
The Ai dome is ideal for a vacation home for several reasons:
• Unique design that results in a fun home to visit and
possibly rent out when not home.
• Dome can nestle into a wooded setting without concern of a
tree impact or that a forest fire will burn the concrete
exterior. See Ai’s tree impact link for info about 30” in
diameter hickory tree falling on dome with dome suffering no
damage. The concrete dome exterior is noncombustible so
exterior is fire resistant. As a matter of fact all the
materials in the dome prefab panel are noncombustible
(concrete, galvanized steel, EPS and ½” Drywall by Georgia
Pacific.
• Super energy efficiency: The 7” Eps insulation is comparable
to 11” of fiberglass batting and is not interrupted by wood.
The dome walls and roof have 30% less surface area than a
conventional house; expect heating and cooling costs to be 50%
to 60% less than conventional housing. As a result during
winter time, when you are not visiting your vacation dome, the
dome requires very little heat to keep the water pipes from
freezing.
During the winter this dome is heated with a heater fueled by
kerosene. The dome is located at 3,400 feet elevation in North
Carolina. When not occupied the heater is kept at 48 degrees.
Last winter of 2014/2015 the dome was not occupied and used
100 gallons of kerosene to heat the dome…heating costs were
around $350.
When the dome is occupied in the winter, a wood burning
fireplace and the sun from the south facing entryway heat the
dome during the day. At night the heater is set at 65 degrees
and keeps the dome snug. Heating costs for dome in winter
when occupied is around $450.
To view photos of a Florida 34’ dome home and it’s electric
bills, showing where it can be cool for less than $22 a month
in the hot Florida summer months, click on 34’ dome. By the
way it is even easier to heat an Ai dome than to cool one.
• Low Exterior Maintenance: The Ai dome has less exterior
maintenance than a conventional framed house. The dome’s
exterior is a shell of continuous concrete with incredible
durability with nothing to rot, rust, warp, be eaten by
termites. The exterior concrete is primed and painted with no
shingles or separate roofing to blow off in high winds and no
shingles to burn. Normal maintenance is to pressure wash and
paint every 4-6 years. The dome’s expanded polystyrene
insulation will not shrink, deteriorate, absorb moisture or
relinquish its R-value.
To view a summary of advantages,
click on Advantages.
To view a video of the interior and exterior of the dome, click on YouTube Cabin
Interior.
To view part of the cabin exterior, click on YouTube Cabin Exterior.
Whaley Dome Pictures
This article features two photo galleries: Whaley Dome Pictures
of a 34′ dome linked to 27′ two garage dome in Florida & 34′ dome
built on full basement.
The Whaley’s concrete dome was constructed from American
Ingenuity’s prefabricated panelized home kit.
The domes were owner built. They chose to accentuate the seam
finish between the panels which involves greater finishing
costs. Best to finish the seams with a flat look or curved
look.
Quote from R. Whaley, Florida: “Once the dome is initially
heated or cooled, the temperature remains constant. Just think
of when you take your soda pop to the beach on the hottest day
of the year in an inch thick foam cooler. Once the house gets
cool or hot as desired, it retains that temperature and stays
constant.” In 2004 their dome went through two hurricanes. The
following is their comments on the storms: “We live in a 34′
dome one block from the ocean. Our domes went through
Hurricane Frances and the exit winds of Hurricane Charley.
During the hurricane we could hear things hitting the domes.
In the morning we walked around the yard and picked up
shingles and soffits from other people’s houses and washed off
our driveway. It was as if nothing had happened at all.” (34′
dome home and 27′ dome garage)
To view samples of stock plans for each of the ten sizes of
domes, Ai sells click on Dome Stock Plans.
To view photos and electric bills of another 34′ Ai dome built
from prefab panels located in Florida click on two bedroom/two
bath.
To view photos of 34′ dome built as a vacation home in North
Carolina, click on Vacation dome.
Whaley Floor Plans in PDF format. Open by clicking on the PDF
below
or download to your computer by right clicking and saving to
your computer.
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
(your browser may allow you to rotate the picture
by right clicking in the picture after it’s open and selecting
rotate)
34'dome on full basement in northern Florida. Three
bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. First floor 818 sq.ft. Second
floor 259 sq.ft. Basement 820 sq.ft. for total of 1,897.
Partial view of 320 sq.ft. living room. Living room has
two standard entryways with each containing two French
Doors.
136 sq.ft. kitchen with breakfast seating on entryway
wall.
Kitchen is behind this half wall and counter.
155 sq.ft. Dining Room with two French doors leading to
exterior deck.
164 sq.ft. bedroom on second floor. Window dormer above
headboard.
5' in diameter Spiral staircase with protection wall.
Deck off dome first floor with double french doors.
55' sq.ft. front foyer with double French doors with
window on the left. On the right is powder room with
window.
PDF for Downloading & Printing
34′ Plans 1st Floor
34′ Plans 2nd Floor
34′ Plans Basement
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34′ Plans 1st Floor
34′ Plans 2nd Floor
34′ Plans Basement