Assembly FAQ |
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Answers To Ai's Most FrequentlyAsked Assembly QuestionsAn American Ingenuity geodesic dome home kit is purchased in kit form. If you do not have the time or do not want to perform the geodesic dome construction, Ai knows of an independent Specialist that can be hired to supervise your laborers or your contractor’s laborers for the kit assembly. Click on Kit Assembly Consultant to learn more about this service. Do-it-yourselfers (DIY) can assemble their dome kit by following the Assembly Manual and Building Plans and emailing or calling our office with questions. An Expanded Assembly Manual is now available with each new dome order. However, those home owners who hire the Specialist say he saves them two to three weeks of labor costs.Ai's geodesic home kit construction process consists of:
This advanced building system makes it easier to construct an American Ingenuity dome than a conventional house or a wooden dome. No exterior walls to frame, No roof trusses to set, No sheathing, tar paper, or shingles to apply, No soffits, exterior trim, insulation or siding to install. Q: Can I assemble the Dome Kit myself? If you do not have the time or do not want to assemble the dome shell kit, American Ingenuity can refer you to a Spcialist. He will travel to your construction site and supervise the kit assembly. After the kit is assembled, complete the interior finishing or your contractor hires local conventional subs (plumbers, electricians, drywall finishers, framers, etc.) to complete the interior finishing and the installation of your locally purchased doors and windows. Prior to the availability of this Kit Assembly Specialist/Consultant to supervise the dome kit assembly, our clients had to hire a contractor who generally had never assembled a dome before. As a result the contractor would tend to over charge because he did not know how long it would take or what problems would arise. The Kit Assembly Consultant can provide you with references from previous American Ingenuity Domes he has assembled so you can determine yourself that your building kit will be assembled correctly and in a timely fashion. This Consultant would work directly for you or your general contractor as an Independent Contractor. The Consultant charges a daily rate plus travel from his home base to your job site and a return to his home base at the completion of the job. If you are interested in hiring the Kit Assembly Consultant, call our offices at 321-639-8777.Using three to four good laborers and depending upon the size dome and type of hoisting mechanism you use, shell assembly to the stage of having one layer of concrete in the seams and on the building options (kit with two entryways and four dormers) can take from 9-16 days. Once you decide on your floor plan, we can estimate the number of days needed for your shell assembly (entryways and dormers take longer to install than triangles). Click on Kit Assembly Consultant to learn more. Q: How do I select a builder for my dome? If you do not have the time or do not want to assemble the dome shell it, it is to your advantage to hire a local contractor that knows your area, have him use the Kit Assembly Consultant to supervise the dome shell kit assembly and have the local contractor hire conventional local subs to do the jobs; i.e. slab, plumbing, electrical, framing, cabinetry etc. To learn more about finishing, click on Interior Finishing. Based on our experience with building departments and slab subcontractors, no project ever starts on time. As a result at the point when you have the building permit and the slab is formed up and ready to be poured within a few weeks, we will determine which shell consultant is available. CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR OR SUB-CONTRACTORMaking a choice:
What to look for:A Contractor who: Shows an interest in doing something unique
What to look out for:
Where to look:
Q: What support is used to hold up the component panels until the dome kit is assembled? The Rib System is the preferable assembly method on all the dome sizes. The Rib System consists of using your own 2x4’s, bolts/nuts/washers purchased from Ai and steel hubs on loan from America Ingenuity to erect a free standing framework matching the geometry of the dome. Additional supports are used to support each hub. With a Rib System in place, a man lift or crane or hoisting mechanism can be used to set the panels into place. Since the Rib System reflects the dome geometry, a panel cannot be inadvertently positioned incorrectly. Once the two layers of concrete has cured in the seams, link, cupola and on the entryways and dormers & the entryways and dormers are framed in, the rib system is disassembled, the hubs are returned to American Ingenuity and the 2x4’s are recycled as interior framing. The approximate rental charge is $850 for the hubs to be kept for five months. If the hubs are returned to us intact within the five month period the complete deposit is returned. Thereafter, we subtract $20 for each additional month the hubs are kept and return the deposit difference to the client. Q: What will it cost per square foot for a completed dome home in my area? If you hire all the work done, the finished price per sq.ft. on the American Ingenuity dome home will be about the same price as a conventional house in your area less the shell savings. This is because all the interior items for the dome interior are standard conventional items. The dome interior items are the same as for a conventional house; framing, plumbing, electrical, doors, windows, flooring, stairs, kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures, lighting fixtures, fireplaces, elevators, etc. But you end up with so much more with an American Ingenuity dome....greater energy efficiency, greater strength, no wood in the shell for termites to eat or to burn, no shingles to replace, etc. The finished costs on the dome depends so much on where you live, what the labor costs are in your area and what price points you select for your windows, doors, cabinetry, flooring, lighting fixtures, etc. You can ask at your local hardware store or ask a local contractor what the finished price per square foot is running for a conventional house. This is basically what it will cost to finish the domes (if you do no labor yourselves), because everything in the interior is standard whether it is a conventional or dome house....plumbing, electrical, lighting fixtures, bathroom fixtures, flooring, kitchen cabinets, windows and doors, etc. is the same. Basically you end up with a super-energy efficient, super-strong home for about the same price as a conventional house less the shell savings. Click on Building to learn more. What are builders charging per square foot to finish a conventional house in your neighborhood? For example a 48' dome can have over 3,000 sq ft. The building kit with options is approx. $60,000. Here locally in central Florida a conventional house can be built for around $100 to $125 per sq.ft. So a 3,000 sq.ft home would cost about $300,000 to $375,000 to finish without the land, land development and utility hookups. Lenders typically want 25% to 35% down of the finished price of the dome. That means $75,000 to $131,000 down. Lenders will accept part of the equity you have in the land towards the down payment amount; but they usually want a large cash down payment. How does that fit in with your budget?
Q: How long will it take to completely build my dome home? Q: What basic items will I need to erect my building kit? Q: What type of hoisting mechanism or crane will I need and for how long? With a four to six person work crew (depends on dome size) and proper bracing of the panels, a 45' dome can be assembled in about 14 days. In most cases, total crane operating time can be about 7 days for a smaller dome. For larger domes it may be most cost effective to rent a hoisting mechanism for a month. Then you can use the mechanism to not only lift the panels but to lift the buckets of cement that will be used to concrete the seams between the panels and concrete the entryways and dormers. Click on the Specifications for the panel weights for each dome size. PANEL LIFTING SPIKES Four lifting spikes are purchased from American Ingenuity for $100. These are used for lifting of the triangular dome panels and the riser panels. The following information is in the Assembly Manual and includes sketches. When preparing a panel for lifting, first bend the reinforcing wire mesh up almost in a vertical position to make the insertion of the lifting spikes easier. Also having the mesh bent up will allow the panel to be placed without entanglement of the adjacent panel mesh. The lifting spikes are to be inserted at the midway locations along the panel's edges. Push or hammer them into the EPS foam just under the concrete layer. They should be parallel to the outer surface of the concrete. For safety reasons it is important that the lifting spikes are placed within 6" of the center of the panel side. The spikes should be inserted so that the attached chain links can most easily to be threaded through the reinforcing wire mesh. Enlarge the opening in the reinforcing wire mesh so that the attached chain can go toward the center of the concrete side without obstruction. Connected chains that will support 3 times the weight of the panel to the spike chain. We recommend that you use a closed loop connector that can not release if there is no tension on the chain. Connect the 3 chains together so that the convergence point will be at a distance from the panel concrete surface equal to half the distance (length) of a panel side. The chains should converge with about 90 degrees (square) between the two chains when viewed perpendicular. Adjustments to the length of the 3 chains will allow you to tilt a panel to be better aligned with the location where it will be placed. Some deviation in the spike placement and the convergence point height is allowable if you take in consideration how the forces are affected and follow all cautions listed below. If the chains converge close to the panel the chains will be pulling more against each other and less in the direction intended for lifting the panel. Reducing the convergence height to ¼ of the distance between spikes doubles the chain tension. Increasing the convergence height causes the panel to hang lower, reducing the height you can lift the panel. Also when any chain is near perpendicular to the panel there is a serious risk of the spike being pulled out while lifting. CAUTIONBecause there are numerous things that could allow the panel to fall while lifting. In addition to the chains and their connection, a sudden jerk from the lifting device, slack in the lifting cable and human errors and other things can cause the panel to fall. The only way to assure safety is to assume that the panel can fall at any time. Anytime a panel is lifted Never allow anyone under the panel or within range of its possible impact. Even after a panel is set in place and supported movement of other panels or supports could cause it to fall. Don't consider a panel secure until it has been C-ringed and concreted on two sides to adjacent secure panels and all of the concrete had time to adequately harden. Not being full time safety conscious could result in fatality consequences. Once a panel has been placed into its position at the dome shell, the lifting irons can be pulled out of the panel's edge with a couple of strong outward jerks to the 3-link chain tail at the end of the lifting irons. Q: What kind of vapor barrier will my dome have? Q: How will the concrete in my dome withstand the effects of freezing temperatures? So that the concrete you mix on-site has the same properties as the panel concrete, we ship those same concrete ingredients with the Building Kit....synthetic fibers, liquid admixtures and a bonding agent. The concrete recipe using Portland Cement, sand, and ingredients is in the Assembly Manual. These ingredients improve the concrete’s characteristics, create super toughness, extend durability, make concrete impervious to water, give higher tensile and compressive strength, provide elasticity for expansion, and improve freeze protection. The following is why we ship synthetic fibers with our Building Kit. Fibers in concrete work to reduce the formation of shrinkage and cracks in concrete’s plastic state while helping to improve shatter resistance and reduce water migration. The result: tougher concrete. Synthetic fibers are used in the first layer of concrete but are not needed in the second layer. The concrete in your dome out performs other exteriors because of its specially developed formula. Because of its exceptional composition, it actually gains strength over the years. The exterior concrete on the prefabricated panels adheres directly to the steel mesh and EPS without the need of a bonding agent. The concrete is in excess of 3500 psi which is stronger than it needs to be. Although on site, you apply a bonding agent between the two layers of concrete and onto each panel's flat bonding ledges and sloping bonding ledges. To apply concrete in the seams the temperature should be above freezing, preferably at least 60 degrees. Do not allow the newly mixed concrete to freeze for two to three days. If you use a concrete accelerator do not allow the concrete to freeze for 1 ½ to 2 days. The following is why we ship a Bonding Agent with our Building Kit. Concrete, or a cement mixture, will not bond to a dry absorbent surface such as dry concrete. The reason is easy to understand when you examine the curing process of cement. When new concrete is applied over old, dry concrete the moisture from the new concrete will be absorbed by the dry concrete especially at the surface where they meet. When the new concrete is robbed of its moisture at the joining surface it will not cure properly and therefore will not bond. Bonding agents are designed to improve the adhesion between layers of concrete by acting as a glue and coating and sealing the dry concrete to prevent it from robbing the moisture. To assure that the 2nd layer of concrete placed in the seams bonds will with the concrete of the panels, you should:
There are two special features designed into the panel of your kit to improve the bond and strength of your dome:
The weather and the mix of the concrete (amount of water, etc) will effect the curing time of the concrete. Usually by the time you place a complete row of panels and are ready to start the next row, the concrete has cured enough. Take a nail and if you can scratch the concrete it has not cured. Do not apply another row of panels until the concrete has cured in the prior row. Q: What type of interior finish is on the triangle and riser panels? The glass mats embedded into the core on both faces, results in dimensional stability and prevents warping. The glass mat is encapsulated with a coating which reduces skin irritation from exposed glass fibers. The moisture-resistant inorganic core has superior mold, mildew and fire resistance. The 1/2 DensArmor showed no mold or mildew growth when tested per ASTM D 3273. The wallboard finishing includes applying joint compound and tape on the seams and painting the wall board or finish the seams with a mixture of cement and perlite. The cement recipe is in the Assembly Manual. Q: How much weight will the second floor support? Q: How is the second floor attached to the dome shell? Q: Can I use steel studs and steel second floor joists in my American Ingenuity Dome? Ai does not recommend concrete second floors. Ai can design your building plans for steel framing and second floor steel joists. However we do not supply any of these items with the building kit. Go to your yellow pages under Industrial Supplies or Wall Board Suppliers and you should find businesses that sell steel framing and steel joists. Metal Framing:
Some of our dome plans are now designed to show the interior wall and floor framing utilizing steel studs and joists. There are many benefits in using steel framing over wood framing. Steel joists can span great distances; thus, larger rooms are possible because fewer supports are needed for the floor above. Durability is also a benefit. Unlike wood, steel framing will not rot, shrink, swell, split, or warp, and because of its zinc coating, it will not rust. Steel framing is impervious to termites, rodents and is non-combustible. The environment benefits as well. Much of steel framing is made from recycled steel, and what little waste is left over from construction can be recycled again. Also, steel does not require pesticides or other toxic substances used to protect wood. Steel is priced competitively with wood and is easy to install; plywood flooring and wallboard are attached with screws. Use metal framing only if the subcontractor doing your framing knows how to work with it. Metal framing is not necessarily more fire proof. In a fire the metal framing will deform quicker than wood will. Please call our office at 321-639-8777 for additional cost for metal framing design in Building Plans: Q: Can I install conventional doors and windows in the dome exterior? And where are they installed? Q: How is the exterior wall within an entryway or dormer built? Ai's past clients have told us how difficult and expensive it is to purchase steel mesh locally...small 15' roll costs $15. As a result, Ai can calculate how much 1/4" x1/4" or 1/2"x1/2" steel mesh you will need for the exterior framed wall for each entryway and dormer and add the mesh to your Parts List at a reasonable cost per sq.ft. Ai can also calculate how much 1" EPS you will need for your entryways and dormers and add 4'x8' sheets to your Parts List. Q: How are the electric and plumbing lines installed in the wall of the dome shell? Locally you can purchase small cans of spray foam that are dispensed with a plastic tube...which gets clogged, etc. Ai's clients save money by purchasing more cans of expanding foam from us.....this item can be added to your Parts List as well. Q: How are plumbing vent pipes installed in the dome shell? Q: Can the dome have a fireplace and how is a fireplace installed? Q: How are domes connected together? Q: What is the link between the domes made of, etc.? You do not use or order an entryway or dormer at the locations where a link connects to either dome. The cost of the link varies depending on its width and length. Link panels are not concreted or wrapped with steel mesh. The 7" E.P.S. Link panels are precut but they will require custom trimming and custom fitting where they connect to the domes. After the E.P.S. panels are in place they get covered with steel mesh and then concrete is applied to the specified thickness. Steel Mesh can be purchased from Ai. Also you can order the link panels with wallboard adhered. Q: Can I have balconies off the second floor? In order to walk on top of the entryway, at our factory Ai cuts a four inch deep trough in the top side of two of the entryway panels. On site during the assembly of the entryway, not only is the top of the entryway stuccoed but a rebar is laid in the trough and the trough is filled with concrete. To install the posts to hold the balcony railings, drill and install concrete anchors into the top of the entryway and install concrete screws into the side of the door dormer. The top railing is bolted to a concrete seam on each side of the door dormer. The Building Plans have details explaining this.Q: What type of paint should I use on the exterior of my dome? PAINT, GALLONS REQUIRED Based on 150 sq.ft. per gallon of coverage for each coat applied. The surface area refers to the exterior surface area.
Take the Exterior Surface Area and divide by 150 to determine an approximate number of gallons for each coat of paint for each size dome. Yes, the exterior surface is just the cement surface itself, and does not include the dormers or entryways. For each entryway add 220 sq.ft. for each window dormer add 30 sq. ft. for each door dormer add 50 sq.ft. Typically the dome is repainted every 4-5 years, it depends on your personal preference. The sides of the dome can be painted using an extension ladder and paint roller on a pole. Yes you can walk on any of the domes. If you do not have a cupola you install an eye bolt in the top of the dome to tie a rope through. To paint the top of the dome you can stand on the dome with the rope tied to you. Q: In most of the photographs the domes are painted white, how can I make the dome exterior more conventional?
Q: Would you explain briefly what is involved in the assembly of my dome kit?
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