I'm Back

Back at the site. This year I was greeted by Grandma's lilacs in full bloom.

Lilacs west of where original house stood

South edge of the yard, notice the white flowers                

The white flowers and lilacs

Asparagus surrounded by weeds

The flowers from her garden survived, both those relocated and those left behind. No flowers yet, but the plants are looking healthy.

All is not well

We arrived ready to start assembling the domes.  We had been tipped of that the concrete had not been placed in the walls and foundation, yet, but that shouldn't take long.

When we arrived on site, all the walls and foundation were standing tall, waiting for concrete.

But then, upon a closer look and discussion...the sun set that day with the construction site looking like this:

We disassembled the garage the first day, then rebuilt it and began work repairing the link and finally the house. We poured the concrete in time for me to leave in mid August.

I just received a couple more pictures of the form work in progress.  This is the house taken from where the garage will be.

As I look at the preparation from this angle, I envision what is to come:

My new dome home!

Basement Walls

The forms for the basement walls arrived this week.  We are using Logix ICF (insulated concrete forms).  There are a number of companies making ICF, but none of them have an easy system for non-regular corners.  They all seem to be set up for 90 or 45 degree corners, but nothing to handle any other angle.  Another company, ARXX showed me a system, but when it came to the final planning stage, I was told that they no longer make that block.  So, we will stay with Logix.

They look like man-sized (grunt-grunt) Legos and I still have another week of teaching before I can go.  They will be all done before I get to the sandbox job site...*sigh*

Pictures coming when I get them.

At long last, the building has started.  

Well, at least there is a hole in the ground...

and some 2X4s in the hole...

and monster machines dumping...

mud between the 2X4s...

The footings are a bit slow at getting finished.  We have a lot of experience in construction.  However, this is the first geodesic dome any of us have worked on...what did our geometry teacher say about angles x and y being congruent adjacent hypnosis if the square is made of steel...?  There are no square corners!

Speaking of experience, (around 100 years worth, one of us with many years working with concrete, the rest general construction) we have seen what the cold winters will do to houses built on the recommended footings sizes up in the soils and climates of northern Minnesota.  So, we decided to beef up the footings by about two inches in each dimension.  We have a healthy respect for Mother Nature and we know that no man-made object can defeat her, but we hope to at least show that we can put a good fight.

The Dome Begins

The well is dug, the plans are finished, the site is prepared, and the top soil has been carefully removed and set aside for reuse.  The house and garage are being staked out as I type.

It didn't fit!.  Well, not exactly as I had hoped.  I had wanted my bedroom window to catch the morning sunrise and the dining/living room windows to catch the evening sunset.  That was a big task because of where I wanted the domes positioned on the side of the hill.   Planning such things when one lives a thousand miles away can be a challenge.  Thanks to Google Earth, I have a pretty good, though not real-time view of the site.

My brothers are laying it out as close to my wishes as possible.  A few modifications had to be made--move everything a bit to the east, rotate the house/garage unit counterclockwise a bit, re-design the driveway, etc.  In the end, it will be exactly as I want it to be.

Septic system is in the planning stages with permits applied for; electrician has pointed out his route to and into the house; well driller, who is also the in-floor heating installer, has identified the location for the water entry into the basement; and all of the concrete contractors said that they do not want to tackle this job.

I want to use ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms), a relatively new system for placing concrete walls.  We have a few people who use them, but none local that are comfortable working with so many corners, none of them 90 or 45 degrees.  ARXX had a system that I thought would work, but they no longer make them.

We will do it ourselves.  Actually, my brothers will.  We are all  builders, and since one brother specialized in concrete work have the skills to do this.  It's just that we are not so young anymore, so we are looking for some young-uns to do the manual labor.

And I am here and they are there having all the fun *sigh*.

I still need to talk with the heating folks to make arrangements for getting geothermal into the house.

 More later.

Plans are ready.

So...We heard from AI Domes yesterday that our finalized plans will be mailed today and should arrive Monday or Tuesday.  We couldn't find a good place for a dumb waiter or a potential future elevator.  I will study the plans once I get them and maybe as we build.  Once the walls and floors are in place, something might come to mind that we can then work with the CAD folks to modify the plans.

I hope to visit shortly so I can meet with concrete company and show them where it will be, so the basement can be done before the house arrives.  It is starting to look like we will have the shell done and sealed before the fall.

Now, we have water, the shell of the house, but what about heating and cooling, and windows, doors, and floors...

Classwork to do (both as a teacher and as a students).