David builds underground Quonset huts so when he saw a rundown dome for sale he bought it and began to rebuild it into a custom home for himself. Built from steel-reinforced concrete with polyurethane foam insulation, the framework is disaster-proof and highly insulated (R-80).
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
Built to be entirely off-grid, with solar panels, batteries and propane washer/dryer, it is very affordable to heat during the wet and cold of the Pacific Northwest winter and stays cool even during summertime heat waves.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
While the exterior was zombie-proof, the interior was mostly a blank canvas with cement floor and a large open space. David designed a curving serpent wall to frame a round bedroom.
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Using 24-foot-long beams – the maximum length from a local mill -, he set the room’s size and the exposed-wood bedroom ceiling and the floor of the office above it.
As an experienced carpenter, David works on his home during nights and weekends so it’s a long-term build that he can tailor as he lives in it and finds new needs.
