Total Materials Cost:  If you select standard items to finish the interior of your dome, the materials cost for your dome might be $50 or more per square foot. So the minimum materials cost for a 40' dome of 2,000 sq.ft. could be $100,000 (this includes the kit cost of $34,000).

Finished Cost of the house:  This price is more than the materials cost because it includes the labor costs plus the materials cost. So how does dome finishing costs compare to conventional house finishing costs?  If the finished price per square foot to build a conventional house in your area is $100 per square foot and you desire a 2,000 square foot house then the finished price for the conventional house would be about $200,000, if you do no labor yourself.  The finished price of the dome would be the same about $200,000 less the savings on the dome shell materials..... But you end up with more with the American Ingenuity dome. You receive a super-insulated, hurricane, earthquake, tornado proof home. 

Your interior materials cost varies depending on your selection of locally purchased interior items such as:

• Formica counter tops versus granite
• Oak kitchen cabinets versus cherry or mahogany
• Vinyl flooring versus ceramic tile versus hard wood floors
• Ceramic tile versus marble
• Plastic shower stalls versus tiled showers
• Plastic tubs versus Jacuzzi tubs
• Vinyl clad windows versus Pella or Anderson windows
• Standard light fixtures versus speciality
• Standard kitchen appliances versus Thermador or Dacor appliances
• Standard bathroom fixtures versus Aquaware or Boffi

Estimating Costs

The following information came from the book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Building Your Own Home by Dan Ramsey.  

Can you afford to build the house you want? In Chapter 9 it states:  I'll help you get a comprehensive estimate of your construction costs. For now, though, let's make a rough estimate.  First, understand that whatever house you build will probably cost as much or more than that of your neighbors -- unless you plan to do it all yourself. Based on this fact, let's look at your neighbor's houses.

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the typical house built today is about 2,300 square feet in size, and sells for around $225,000 depending on where you live. The actual price in your area may be half of that or 10 times that amount.

So, how can you get a good rule-of-thumb for your area? Of course, you can talk with contractors who will throw out numbers like $100 or $200 per square foot. That's a wide range. What does it include? House only? House and land? Landscaping, too?

It's smarter for you to get your own local building costs. Here's how. Talk with a local real estate agent about new construction. It's best if you can compare apples to apples, so ask about new homes and lots in the area you want to build. The agent should be able to tell you the lot cost, the asking price, and the square foot size of a few comparable homes. You can figure things from there.

For example, a $250,000 new home (comparable to what you want) on a lot costing $60,000 means the house is valued at $190,000. It's a 2,200 sq.ft. home, so you calculate the value at just over $86 sq.ft. You do calculations on a few other comparable new homes and come up with a local rule of thumb of $90 sq.ft.

You now have a base from which to guesstimate the approximate cost of your new house. Then you can factor in the following:

• If you want a nicer view lot, add to the land costs.

• If you will be your own general contractor, reduce the total by 10 to 20 percent.

• If you will be a subcontractor, reduce the total by the sub's fees.

• If you want to enhance the design, tack on the additional costs or get a square-footage cost for better quality homes.

• If you will be building the house yourself, reduce the total by about half if you're not paying yourself.

• If you already own your land, factor that in to your total construction costs.