Finding Reliable Contractors or Subcontractors
One of the advantages of the American Ingenuity dome building kit is that it can be owner-built. In fact about 40% of Ai's domes are owner-built, many of whom have had little or no construction experience.
For those who prefer to stick with what they do best and leave the building to others, we have help. Some previous dome owners and dome builders have expressed an interest in assisting others and have authorized us to give out their names. All of these builders have succeeded in the construction of their dome home and/or have worked to build a dome for someone else.
Although we would not pass on a builder who we know to be a problem, this list does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. These individuals are not American Ingenuity employees and therefore we can not guarantee their performance. As with any builder, acquire references and recommendations from recent customers. Before selecting a contractor read our information sheet on Choosing a Contractor and before committing to a builder, call us for our latest review/input.
If you do not have the time or do not want to assemble the dome shell kit, we know of a working consultant that will supervise your or your contractor’s laborers and assemble the shell. The Kit Assembly Consultant works directly for you as an independent subcontractor and can provide you with references for previous A.I. domes built. Using this consultant will assure that your building kit is assembled correctly and in a timely fashion.
The working consultant cost is $265 a day with any work over eight hours in a day at $26.50 an hour and travel expenses. Using three to four good laborers and depending upon the size dome and type of hoisting mechanism you use, shell assembly with two entryways and four dormers can take from 10 to 20 days. Click on Kit Assembly Consultant to learn more.
Once you decide on your floor plan, we can estimate the number of days needed to assemble the shell (entryways and dormers take longer to install than triangles).
You or your contractor will hire conventional subcontractors to do the normal jobs like forming and pouring the slab, plumbing, electrical, framing, etc. We figure you should not pay some one to come in from out of state to do work that your local subs can perform. The subs follow the Dome Building Plans, Assembly Manual and call us when they have questions.
The Kit Assembly Consultant travels all around the USA and the world supervising the assembly of the dome shell kits. Because the Consultant is on a job site, he cannot be disturbed. If you would like to utilize the consultant, call American Ingenuity at 321-639-8777 Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 eastern time and ask for Glenda.
A few years ago prior to the working consultants that would supervise the shell assembly, some of our dome owners had to hire contractors or individuals that had never assembled an Ai dome shell kits. As a result the contractor had to overcharge the dome owner because they did not know what problems they would run in to. Many times the contractor would charge as much as the cost of the building kit for the labor cost to assemble the kit.
A helpful book that gives you overall insight in building your own home is called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Building Your Own Home by Dan Ramsey. A helpful web site is EZ Home Build. It has construction manuals, construction estimating CD's, etc. Another helpful web site to assist in your cost estimating is rsmeans.comezhomebuild.com
**Be Prepared to send a copy of your building plans to your prospective builder. He won’t be able to discuss working with you with out them.**
Finding a Reliable Contractor or Subcontractor:
Locating a contractor in your area with the requirements you need can be time consuming and frustrating and if you are not very careful you may regret your choice and end up with someone that is not compatible with you.
Servicemagic.com maintains a list of Reliable Contractors and Sub contractors and Engineers.
Others have used Servicemagic and found them to be very helpbful. It is assuring that they follow up on each referral to assure that professional quality service was provided.
There web site is www.servicemagic.com If you have difficulty in using their site, you can contact them directly at 877-800-3177. Once you are on their web site, do the following:
- click on "Start Request"
- Then "Find Contractors:
- Follow the prompts
- You'll be asked for your specific requirements: Framing, electrical, plumbing, etc. And your specific location and zip code is requested.
Possible Builders and SubConstractors
Although we would not pass on a builder who we know to be a problem, this list does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. These individuals are not American Ingenuity employees and therefore we can not guarantee their performance. As with any builder, acquire references and recommendations from recent customers. Before selecting a contractor read our information sheet on Choosing a Contractor and before committing to a builder, call us for our latest review/input.
Due to the number of cell phones in use, telephone companies have to change area codes quite often. We never know when an area code is changed. So if you call one of these numbers and you get a message like, "This number is no longer in service," the first thing you should do is see if the area code has been changed. If you still cannot get through, please email us by clicking on Contact Us and let us know the name of the person you can't get ahold of so we can investigate and correct the number.
ALABAMA:
- Patricia and David Ballard 334-992-2914 Ballard Construction, 25673 Alabama Hwy.10, Dixon Mills, Al 36736. They have not built any A.I. domes but they want to.
ARIZONA:
- Dan Murphy with Peaks Contracting 520-526-6598, Flagstaff AZ. He has built a 45' A.I. dome.
COLORADO:
- Barry Brouhard, lives in Platteville. 970-785-6383 cell 970-576-6220. He built his own A.I. 40' dome with attached 34' dome and he has built an A.I. 48' and another 34' AI dome. He is interested in helping other owners in building their domes in Colorado and throughout the USA.
- Eddie Monarchi, has helped built an A.I. 40’ dome, willing to build for others. 719-738-1251. 36224 County Rd 520, Walsenburg, Co 81089.
CANADA:
- Cliff Sauve built an A.I. 60' dome in the Northwest Territory of Canada. 13 Balsam St.,Ottawa Ontario, K1R 6W9.
- Gord Harris has built an A.I. Dome 519-588-5239.
Caribbean-St Kitts-Nevis:
- Dr. Mervyn Laws and Henry are American Ingenuity's Dealer Builder for St. Kittts. Dr. Laws, Henry, and Brian Henry purchased two 40' A.I. Domes. Tel: 869-465-2837, Fax 869-465-2897.
- Dr. G. Astaphan with Pirates Nest Development Co LTD, POBox 168, #1 Church St, Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies. Fax 869-466-6455, phone 869-466-6456. He has not built any of our domes, but is a developer and builder in St. Kitts-Nevis.
CONNECTICUT
- Fred Drake at Precision Contracting built an A.I. dome. He is a contractor home based in Kingston which is between Albany and NYC. He will travel the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT. 845-224-5503.
FLORIDA:
- Liz Davis Live Oak: 32060 386-658-2122, Cell 941-456-5696. She did a good job as owner builder of her own A.I. dome. She has good workers to pass on.
- Ashley & Reynolds Tanner Venus: 33960 Reynolds. Home 863-699-1447,
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He is considering building domes for others. They built an A.I. 45’ dome and 34’ screen dome.
- Jeff Hoot Bryceville: 32009 904-266-4000,
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Built his own A.I. 40’ dome. He is interested in building domes for others.
- Charles Lovelace North Ft. Meyers: 33917 N Ft Meyers Fl 33917 239-823-7044. He is a subcontractor, will coordinate all subs for the job and help get the building permit, with client being owner builder.
- David Jones Midwest Florida: 904-795-3722 Has built A.I. domes. He knows of carpenters/cabinet installation, will travel within 40 miles of Citrus County.
- Jerry Saslaw Spring Hill: 1-800-500-4544, 352-596-0602, Spring Hill Fl. He has built A.I. domes.
- Rickey Schrader New Smyrna Beach: Built a dome in New Smyrna Beach FL, 2414 Juniper Dr. Edgewater Fl 32141 Phone (904)428-5488.
GEORGIA:
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- Bill Moorehead 706-213-0455 built his own 27’ wood dome and has also built an A.I. Dome. He is interested in building domes for others. Elberton GA 30635.
- Peter Kelley W: 404-782-2524, H: 404-782-6300 fax: 1-800-332-3827, PO BOX 167 or Oasis Dr. Lake Mont, GA 30552. Has built many domes including an A.I. dome.
IDAHO:
- Ron Reese Construction. He has built an A.I. Dome in Sagle, ID 208-263-6193, 208-265-0702.
INDIANA:
- Ralph Keller 812-824-1640. He has not built a dome yet, but he did the plaster work in one of A.I.'s domes. In construction for 40 years.
- Don Partlow Don Partlow Construction 812-294-4016. He built his own 48' A.I. dome. Munk Rd Henryville, IN 47126.
- Jeff Angel. We do not have his number but he built an A.I. 27' dome.
KENTUCKY:
- Billy House 16 Pottery Lane Sturgis, KY 42459. He has built an A.I. dome.
LOUISIANA:
- Kevin Mitchell Lives 120 mi. east of Dallas, close to LA border. He has built an A.I. dome. 903-643-0879.
NEW JERSEY:
- Fred Drake Precision Contracting. He is a contractor home based in Kingston which is between Albany and NYC. He will travel the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT. 845-224-5503. He has built an A.I. dome.
NEW YORK:
- Jim Kehoe has built an A.I. dome in Williamson, NY. Fax 315-497-1831.
- Fred Drake Precision Contracting. He is a contractor home based in Kingston which is between Albany and NYC. He will travel the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT. 845-224-5503. He has built an A.I. dome.
NEW ZEALAND:
- Richard Brown with IAG New Zealand LTD has purchased Building Plans for a 45' A.I. Dome. As of November 2006 he is working to obtain the building permit. His phone number is 03-977-1805.
NORTH CAROLINA:
- Lonnie Crain with Crain Construction has built an A.I. dome. 1030 Old Fort Rd, Fairview NC 28730 Home 828-628-1663; cell 828-230-7240 Builder in Black Mountain area.
- Rodney Booth He has built an A.I. dome. 828-859-6569 PO Box 1338, Columbus NC 28722.
SOUTH CAROLINA:
- Larry Hawkins has assembled two dome shells and was the Contractor for Klaus Kolb’s A.I. domes. Hawkins Construction Co 430 Autumn Leaves Court, Inman SC 29349 Home: 864-473-1212 Cell 864-597-9438.
SPARTANBURG SC: Subcontractors that worked on an A.I. Dome
- AC/Heating: Peter Bartsch Heating & Air 864-579-7247, 4450 Clifton Glendale, Spartanburg Septic.
- Inside Plumbing: Huston Brothers 921 Old Canaan Rd, Spartanburg.
- Drywall: Werner Lamb Drywall 461-7918 336 Revels Rd, Chesnee SC 29323.
- Cabinets: JK Petty Cabinet Shop 864-599-0906 210 Gyles Dr, Spartanburg.
- Stucco: Kings Stucco & Plaster 999 Mt Shoals Rd, Enoree SC 29335.
TENNESSEE:
- Bill McGlamery has supervised the assembly of over 55 A.I. dome shell kits. He is a Kit Assembly Consultant that travels around the USA and the world assembling A.I.'s dome kits. He is at job sites so he cannot be disturbed. Please call American Ingenuity for info.
TEXAS:
- Bill Hedges has assisted in the assembly of A.I. dome shells. He has a Winnebago to travel and live in. He is at job sites and cannot be disturbed. Please call American Ingenuity for info.
- Kevin Mitchell lives 120 mi east of Dallas, close to LA border. He has built an A.I. dome. 903-643-0879.
- David Jaquess He is a Contractor that has built A.I. domes. 817-965-6545.
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA:
- John Crock Drywall finisher in Ft. Ashby 304-298-4872. He is interested in finishing drywall in A.I. domes.
WISCONSIN:
- Bob Marquardt Sunset Custom Homes 920-829-6350. He may be building an A.I. dome and using the shell consultant.
- Kent Maclaughlin 190 Heil St Waterloo, WI 53594. He built his own A.I. 45' custom, 9" EPS on basement 414-478-3699. Wants to assist others.
WYOMING:
- Greg Friesen Is building his own 40' A.I. dome. May help others in same area. 307-235-1742.
US VIRGIN ISLANDS:
- Mona Robles 5 Star Construction. 340-773-9447,
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wants to build A.I. domes but wants to use the shell consultant to supervise his laborers to get the dome shell assembled.
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