Aidomes.com - Domes from American Ingenuity, Inc.

The American Ingenuity Dome Building Kit consists of all the triangular and riser component panels for the dome shell and panels for one entryway.  On the exterior of each 22' - 48' triangle & riser panel is 3/4" steel reinforced concrete, interior has 7" - R28 Expanded Polystyrene Insulation with 1/2" Georgia Pacific DensArmor Plus gypsum wallboard adhered to the insulation with wallboard adhesive. On site the seam areas between the panels are filled with concrete resulting in the seam concrete being about 3" deep by 5" wide.  Engineers tell us the seam areas act like steel beams.

Your floor plan selection determines how many additional entryways, door dormers, window dormers that will be shipped with your Kit.

To keep building kit pricing low, it is American Ingenuity's philosophy that each customer pay for only what they need. Ai does not burden the price of the building kit with plan's pricing, engineer seal cost or energy report cost. Building plans are purchased 3 months to 1 1/2 years prior to kit shipment.  About 50% of the building departments require engineer sealed plans and an energy report to issue a permit. And some even request engineer sealed load calculations.  As a result each customer pays for their plans separately from the building kit and pays for a seal and energy report only if their building department requires them. This can be confusing, so please call our office at 321-639-8777 Monday thru Friday eastern time and we can clarify.  

To learn about American Ingenuity's new 22' Eco Cottage one bedroom/one bath stock plans and special package pricing, please click on Eco Cottage for 3 1/2 EPS kit with 4' riser.  Click on Eco Custom Cottage for 7" EPS kit with 5' riser.   *Excludes Eco Cottage Kits.

To learn about Ai's Residential Dome Building Plans Sale, click on  Plans Discount.

An entryway is a structural item (an awning/eyebrow) that extends out from the dome.  Under this entryway your locally purchased doors and windows are installed.  Each of Ai's stock floor plans vary in the number and location of entryways and dormers (places for single windows or single doors to be installed).   Building Options is the general term that we apply to entryways, dormers,  cupola and link.  Building Options can add $2,000 to $4,000 on to the price of the basic building kit.  Once your plans are finished, Ai can complete an Order Form/Parts List that lists the items that come with the kit at no additional cost and lists additional items that can be purchased from Ai. For example each customer can purchase from Ai: suspension rods/top plate/bottom plate, additional cans of expanding foam, metal foam dispensing gun, cans of cleaner, bonding agent, fibers, admixtures, Simpson hangers, 1" EPS to insulate framed walls, 1/2" galvanized steel mesh for exterior framed walls, 2x4's cut/drilled/painted for your temporary wooden rib system,etc.

Please scroll down this page to see the pricing of the individual Building Options. 

Ai's stock plans show the location of the entryways, dormers, etc.  If a stock plan does not fit your lifestyle, Ai can modify a stock plan or design a custom plan from your sketches.  Some of the stock floor plans can be viewed and printed out by going to this link Stock Floor Plans.  Call our office at 321-639-8777 to receive other stock plans via email at no cost. If you want the stock plans mailed, call for printing and mailing costs.  Or you can purchase a Planning Kit which includes a 60 page Stock Floor Plan Booklet and a DVD by calling us at 321-639-8777 Mon - Fri  10-4 Eastern time.  To view description of Planning Kit and the DVD, click on Description.

To view the file that lists the Stock Plans pricing and the appropriate Building Kit with Building Options pricing for each stock plan, click on Stock Plan and Stock Kit Prices. Please be aware the pricing does not include any current discounts.  To view the Kit Discount, click on Kit Sale. To view the Plan's Discount, click on Plan's Sale and scroll down the page to find the sale prices.

To view a file that covers the square footage by floor in each size dome, please click on Specifications.

Entryways are available as standard, high profile and garage.  The 30 thru 48' dome standard & high profile entryways consist of 3 1/2" E.P.S. with steel mesh attached & concrete on the underside.  22' & 27' Garage entryways are 3 1//2" EPS with no steel mesh. Concrete is applied on site. Second floor window dormers are not available in 22' and 30' domes.  Second floor door dormers are not available in the 22', 27', 30', or 34'.

Two domes can be connected by a link. Link panels consist of 7" or 3 1/2" thick E.P.S. Steel mesh can be purchased from Ai.  On site, links are custom cut & fitted to the assembled dome kits. On site you or your builder attaches the steel mesh and applies the concrete. Wallboard can be adhered to the link EPS panels at Ai's plant.  Call for Link pricing. To learn more click on:

• Building Options
  
• Panel Composition
• Kit Contents
• Items not included in the Kit

American Ingenuity kits are not stocked and are manufactured on a custom order basis and are considered a Specialized Order, made exclusively for the customer requesting it.  These Specialized Orders require a 30% or 40% deposit (depends on dome size), signed Order Form, Conditions of Sale and Specialized Material Agreement. Once Ai receives these items, materials will be purchased and manufacturing started to meet your shipment date. If you cancel your order after signing the Specialized Agreement the 30% or 40% deposit is nonrefundable and your rights to the kit(s) are forfeited.  The balance, in the form of a cashier's check is due 14 days prior to shipment. Florida residents, add sales tax plus your counties' surtax.  No Credit Card Charges. If the building kit is shipped out of Florida, no Florida sales tax or surtax is charged.

The Building Kit Order Form will list the following:

• Building Kit pricing
• Building Kit Option pricing (entryways, window dormers, door dormers, and cupola, etc.)  To learn more click on Building Options.
• Misc Parts that can be purchased from Ai. (items not commonly found at hardware stores).  For example each customer can purchase: suspension rods/top plate/bottom plate, additional cans of expanding foam, metal foam dispensing gun, cans of cleaner, bonding agent, fibers, admixtures, Simpson hangers, 1" EPS to insulate framed walls, 1/2" galvanized steel mesh for exterior framed walls, 2x4's cut/drilled/painted for your temporary wooden rib system,etc.
• To learn more click on Items not included in the Kit.
• Deposit on Steel Hubs of $850 for five months rental with a rent of $20 a month thereafter.  Once hubs are mailed back, Ai refunds your deposit less any rental costs or costs for missing hubs.  To assemble the kits use a temporary wooden rib system to support the panels during assembly. Hubs/bolts/nuts/washers are assembled to your wooden ribs into a geodesic skeleton.  To learn more click on Rib. Once all the seams between the panels are concreted, the entryways and dormers are concreted, etc. the rib system comes down. There is no wood in or on the shell to rot or for termites to eat or to burn. 
  
• To make assembly of the temporary wooden rib system easier, purchase the 2x4 ribs precut, holes drilled and ends painted from Ai.  Due to the fluctuation on 2x4 wood pricing, call us at 321-639-8777 for current pricing.
• Purchase bolts, nuts/washers from Ai.
  
• Purchase of Panel Lifting Spikes $100.  To learn more click on FAQ Assembly.
• If the Building Kit will be built in Florida, a Florida sales tax and that particular counties surtax will be listed.
• Deposit amounts placed and deposit amounts due. 
• Discounts you will receive.
• Expiration dates on discounts and pricing.
• Shipping cost.

All payments are to be made in USdollars.

Delivery and Availability:

Once Ai receives your 30% deposit based on your Building Kit with options pricing and signed Building Kit Order Form, Conditions of Sale and Specialized Material Agreement, American Ingenuity schedules your kit for manufacturing.  Manufacturing time varies depending on the time of the year.  Can be four weeks to eight weeks or eight to sixteen weeks for manufacturing time. Please call our office at 321-639-8777 for current manufacturing lead time.

Shipping:

Shipping is scheduled after Ai receives the final payment. One step deck semi-truck can carry one 30', one 36', one 40', one 45', one 48' kit (with 7" EPS), possibly two 27' kits, or two 22' kits. A 60' kit requires two semi-trucks. Thicker 9" insulation will cause the a 45' and a 48' kit to require two trucks for delivery.   American Ingenuity can coordinate the USA shipping.  International clients coordinate their own shipping using a freight forwarder. To learn about importing American Ingenuity's dome kit, please click on Importing.

The number of kits one truck can carry can change if the building kit contains four or five entryways, a link and thicker insulation. For example a 48' kit with 9" EPS cannot fit on one semi-truck.  Entryways and a link take up more space than triangular and riser panels.  Once we know your floor plan selection, Ai can be specific about how many truck(s) your order will take.  Due to the large size triangles of a 48' dome, the H panels will not fit on the semi-truck.  American Ingenuity cuts the EPS/wallboard tips off the H panels so that the remaining H panel will fit on the truck.  On site during assembly, the tips are reattached with expanding foam supplied with the kit at no cost.

Each International client hires a freight forwarder to coordinate their container’s shipping and pays their shipping and custom fees directly to the freight forwarder.  American Ingenuity works with your selected freight forwarder to coordinate your shipment.

Ai’s manufacturing costs in Florida are well below the national average, which offsets any long distance shipping expenses. Ai can actually manufacture a kit here in Florida and ship it to Washington state cheaper than we could manufacture it there. Having our manufacturing plant located in Florida is advantageous for shipping since more is shipped in than out of the state, leaving many trucks headed out empty.

Ai utilizes independent trucking agencies. American Ingenuity contracts to have these trucks carry your building kit outside Florida for approximately $2.50 to $2.90 per mile per truck from Ai's plant in Rockledge, Florida. Shipping within Florida is a minimum of $800. If your Florida building site is south of our factory, the truckers charge more because they have to drive south before they can drive north to leave Florida.  These trucking costs are less than Ai could do with our own trucks because if we used our own trucks, they would have to deliver the kit and return to our factory empty.  Shipping costs are paid to American Ingenuity 14 days prior to the scheduled shipment date with a bank check.

Per mile shipping costs can vary due to fuel costs and travel distances. Click on Shipping to learn more.

American Ingenuity's Philosophy:

One of the main reasons American Ingenuity is very reputable is that we really try to treat all our customers the same. Our business philosophy and product is unique to the housing industry. Ai believes that each client should pay for only what they need.

• Each person who wants to research our building kit further can do so by purchasing the Planning Kit with DVD or purchase the DVD separatly.
• None of Ai's staff is on commission.
• About 50% of Ai's clients do not need engineer sealed building plans or an Energy Report in order to obtain a building permit. As a result the engineer seal and the energy report are separate costs.

As a result of the above philosophy, the American Ingenuity dome shell kit costs about one third to one half less than the shell materials cost for a conventional house or wooden dome or sprayed concrete dome and you receive more.....greater energy effiiciency and greater strength.

 Dome Building Kit:

Ai's Dome Kit consists of all the triangular and riser component panels for the dome shell and panels for one entryway. Each component panel has 7" thick rigid R-28 expanded bead polystyrene insulation (which is comparable to 11" of fiberglass batting); a steel reinforced concrete exterior surface and interior shell wall board. All triangular and riser panels now include Georgia Pacific 1/2" DensArmor High Performance gypsum wallboard on the interior surface of the insulation.  To learn more about what is included in the Building Kit, click on Kit Contents.

Due to the thick insulation, the American Ingenuity Dome will save you 50% to 60% on your heating and cooling expenses versus a conventional house. To learn more about the advantages of the Ai Dome view the files listed under the menu item, Advantages, located at the top of our Home Page.  These Advantages are Energy Efficiency, Strength and Low Exterior Maintenance.

American Ingenuity’s dome building kits do not include doors and windows. There is such a variety and varying price points, Ai leaves the doors and windows up to each client to purchase locally. The floor plan you select will determine how many entryways or dormers your dome home will have. Within the entryways and dormers {eye brows}, you or your framing subcontractor installs a vertical wall to frame in what ever standard doors or windows you have purchased locally. 

Ai specializes in the manufacturing of the special dome kit as a result no interior items are included in the building kit except for the interior shell wallboard that is on each component panel. Ai believes you should not pay shipping on conventional items that you can purchase locally such as: your foundation, plumbing, electrical, framing, flooring, kitchen cabinets, kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, lighting fixtures, windows, doors, etc. To learn more about what is not included in the Building Kit click on Items Not Included.

Residential Dome Plans

are 50% off the pricing listed below,

If ordered by April 27, 2015

To view Plan's Sale Pricing, click on Plans Discount

RESIDENTIAL DOME BUILDING PLAN SETS contain all blueprints typically provided with any type of housing and include floor plans, exterior elevations, dome shell section view, top view showing panel placement, floor joist framing plans, structural details, and locations of plumbing and electrical fixtures. The Plans do not include the plumbing, electrical or HVAC diagrams because Ai has found that the subs like to draw their own diagrams. 

Stock, Modified or Custom Plans & Delivery Time: Some of  Ai's stock plans are on this web site. To receive others via email at no cost, call us at 321-639-8777. If you want the stock plans mailed, call for printing and mailing costs.  In the Planning Kit is a 60 page Stock Floor Plan Booklet that contains some of the stock plans printed out for the 22' thru 48' domes. Ai does not keep stock plans printed out. So from the point Ai receives your Building Plan order to the point we mail your stock building plans (with concrete foundation) can be two to four weeks.  Allow at least five weeks for modified plans and ten - twelve weeks for custom plans. If you do not see a plan that fits your lifestyle we can modify our stock plans or Ai can design custom plans for a reasonable fee. To learn more about this service, click on Stock, Modified, Custom.

How the plan design process works:

If you do not see a stock plan that fits your needs, what Ai has found works best is for you to sketch out your ideas on a stock plan, on blank floor planners that can be emailed to you or on the blue floor planner pages located in the back of the stock floor plan booklet.  Then email the sketches to us or fax them to us at 321-639-8778. After you fax, please call our office at 321-639-8777 and confirm Ai received your fax....correct number of pages, pages legible, etc. Ai does not make in-office appointments to discuss floor plans. Please include your name, address, telephone number and best time(s) to contact you. The plans supervisor will review your sketch, call you with questions and email you a price quote. Once Ai receives a signed Plans Quote and payment in full for the Building Plans, Engineer Seal/Energy Report  if required by your building department, Ai schedules your building plans for production.

Ai will fax or email you three rough drafts that you review and make changes on and email or fax back to us. After you approve the final draft, CAD designs your structural blue prints and completes your plans.

Engineer seal:

About half the states in America and all new construction in Florida and California require engineer sealed building plans and an Energy Report to obtain a building permit. The seal and the energy report can be purchased through American Ingenuity. In Florida a 36' or smaller dome seal is $400; 40', 45, and 48' seal is $500. The Florida Energy Report for one dome is $190. 

If your building department requires an engineer seal and you want to build on a basement then this means your basement plans will need to be engineer sealed as well as your dome plans.  Please call us for plans and seal pricing. Ai utilizes an engineer who has seals for 47 states. His fee to seal one dome on a concrete slab is $600; two domes is $900.  If you build the dome on a basement, his fee to seal the basement plans is $200.

American Ingenuity’s dome exceeds any state's building codes. But the building departments do not know this so they require a licensed engineer certified for your state to review our Building Plans and affix his seal and signature to the structural sheets. His seal and signature means that Ai’s Building Plans comply with your state's building codes. To learn more click on Engineer Seal.

Dome Building Plans Payment:

Building plans may be purchased with Master Card, Visa, Discover, Check, or Money Order.   Plans pricing does not include shipping cost.   All payments are to be made in USdollars. Ai does not accept American Express cards. 

Commerical Building Plans: American Ingenuity does not have stock commercial plans.  Plans pricing quoted above and elsewhere on American Ingenuity's web site are for residential homes.  Domes can be utilized for commercial purposes; however the plans are much more complicated to design due to commercial code. Commercial plans will cost two to three times the price of residential dome plans. Once Ai sees your floor plan layout, calls your building department to find out what design criteria they require and calls the engineer that will seal your building plans, Ai can complete a Plans Quote.

Commercial Dome Buildings: Ai's dome building kits are ideal for a church. However obtaining a building permit on a commercial structure, especially a church where people gather is not easy. The building departments tend to be more stringent on commercial buildings. For example, they will require you to hire a licensed builder and licensed subcontractors to finish a commercial structure.  The building department will require an interior sprinkler system.  Typically commercial structures cost double the price per square foot to build than a home.