Interior Finishing

To view over 1,000 pictures of an American Ingenuity Dome......

from land excavation, foundation construction, dome kit assembly to interior finishing, please click on Ai Dome Construction.

The interior framing of the dome is built much like conventional housing and can be either wood or metal. Some of the second floor will be supported by first floor load bearing walls...such as walls in a bedroom and bath. Plus some of the second floor can be hung from the dome concreted seams by suspension rods allowing for very "open" first floor plan designs. These suspension rods and plates are purchased from American Ingenuity for around $25 a set.

The A.I. Dome is capable of supporting a large amount of weight, including the 2nd floor, from the concrete dome shell. This weight is suspended by threaded steel rods which anchor into the concrete seams and extend vertically down into the dome. Over 3,000 lbs. can be supported by a 5/8" threaded rod suspended in one of the concrete seams. The location of the suspension rods is determined by your floor plan selection.

The Building Plans will show the suspension rod's positioning. When you assemble the dome shell kit you also install the suspension plates and rods into the dome shell seams. The suspension rod with nut sets on a 3"x 7" steel plate, which is embedded in the concrete seam. The seam is reinforced with #4 rebar & two layers of galvanized steel mesh. The second floor can support at least 40 pounds per square foot, the same as other houses. We can easily design for a more demanding second floor load such as for waterbeds, whirlpool tubs, spas, libraries, etc.

Almost all of the electrical and plumbing will be contained in the interior frame walls and installed in the same manner as conventional housing. To install electrical wiring in the exterior dome walls: simply cut a groove in the E.P.S insulation and wall board and insert the wire. To install electrical boxes, conduit or plumbing pipes: cut the E.P.S. insulation and wall board slightly larger than needed, insert the box or pipe and fill in the opening with spray expanding foam. The spray foam will harden in about half an hour, holding the box or pipe secure.

AC/Heating Ducts: We leave the AC ducting diagram to your subcontractor, but generally the ducts run through interior walls, in the second floor joists and or behind the second floor knee wall. The vents are either in the interior walls or in the floor of the second floor.

Shell Wall Board: A.I.'s component panel now comes with an interior wall board.  It consists of Georgia Pacific ¼” Dens-Deck Roof Board adhered to the E.P.S. with nonsolvent latex adhesive. It employs fiberglass mat facing instead of paper on both sides of the board. The core is silicon treated gypsum providing excellent moisture resistance, Fire resistance and adhesion properties. It doesn’t provide fuel for an accidental fire. It isn’t even damaged by multiple immersions in water. It won’t harbor spores that create sick homes. One square inch of this adhesive will support 10 pounds. A square foot (144 square inches) of the board weighs less than 2 pounds. In other words there is much more holding power than needed.

To learn more about the wallboard's properties click on DensDeck Roof Board.  Or go to Georgia Pacific's web site www.gp.com and click on GP products, Gypsum, DensDeck Roof Board, under Literature click on DensDeck Roof Board Product Submittal. 

The glass mats embedded into 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.

How is the Shell Wall Board Finished: Use tape and joint compound to finish the seams between the wall board. Then paint the wall board with a textured paint. Simply add sand or vermiculite to the paint which makes the paint have a texture this assists in the blending of the joint compounded seams to the rest of the wall board.

To learn about other interior finishes, visit Paint and Plasters web site.

Will l feel closed in, in the dome? No. In our dome you can install an abundant number of windows and doors. Your budget and your floor plan selection determines the number of doors or windows you will have. There can be up to five entryways on the first floor and up to five window dormers or door dormers on the second floor of our house domes.

Remember on site you construct a 2x4 wall under the entryways, dormers and cupola to install the standard doors and windows that you purchase locally. For example under a 40' entryway you could have:

• Up to three French doors
• Or a door and a picture window
• Or a large picture window
• Or 12' of sliding glass doors, etc.

In other words on the first floor of a 40' dome you could have a maximum of five entryways with each one containing 12' of French doors.

In the Planning Kit is a window and door specification sheet that lists the maximum rough opening sizes within the entryways and dormers for each size dome. Plus click on Window and Door Sizes to see what window and door sizes will fit in window dormers and door dormers.

Why do you charge for entryways and dormers as you do not have to manufacture the triangles and riser panels for that area? The manufacturing of dormers and entryways takes longer than the manufacturing of triangular and riser panels. We determine the dormer and entryway pricing by subtracting what it costs to manufacture the triangles and risers from what it costs us to manufacture the dormer or entryway panels.