Stock, Modified, Custom Plans

This web site page contains info on American Ingenuity’s Stock, Modified, Custom Plans

utilized to build an Energy Efficient, Super-Strong concrete dome home.

If your family does not find a stock floor plan to fit your lifestyle,

the American Ingenuity Design Team can design a custom plan

based on your sketches and notes. 

Above is a kitchen that was custom designed in a 45′ dome.

Besides manufacturing geodesic dome building kits, American Ingenuity (Ai) designs residential or commercial building plans that are used to obtain a building permit.  To view stock floor plan layouts for ten different size domes from one bedroom/one bath to four bedroom/three bath home, please click on Tiny Homes and  Larger Dome Stock Plans. Once you are on the page, scroll down to find the plan’s hyperlinks to click on. If you do not see a stock plan that fits your needs, Ai has flexible plans which can be modified or customized to fit your life style.

Currently all stock, modified and custom building plans are discounted. To view plan’s pricing, click on Plans Discount and scroll down the page to view the Plan’s Regular and Sale Pricing.

This file contains several pages of information, so please scroll down this page to view the info.

 AMERICAN INGENUITY’S PHILOSOPHY:

One of the reasons American Ingenuity has been in business since 1976 and is very reputable, is that we try hard to treat all our customers the same and produce a quality dome home kit. Our business philosophy and product is unique to the housing industry. Ai believes that each person should pay for only what they need. As a result, Ai’s dome kit’s pricing is usually one third to one-half less than other housing kits. Click on Tiny Home Kit Prices and Larger Dome Kit Sale Pricing to learn more.

 What causes American Ingenuity’s dome building kit to be so reasonable in price?

• Each client pays for their Building Plans, engineer seal, structural calculations, energy report instead of Ai burdening the price of these increasing the price of the Building Kit.
• None of Ai’s staff is on commission.
• Unique panel contents allows for reduced manufacturing waste.
• About 50% of Ai’s clients do not need engineer sealed building plans or structural calculations or an Energy Report in order to obtain a building permit. As a result these items are purchased separately from Ai.
• Each person who wants to research American Ingenuity’s building kit further can do so by purchasing the Planning Kit which includes DVD.  If Ai gave out a Planning Kit and DVD to 100 - 200 people a month, that cost would be paid by the Building Kit buyer.  If you want samples of stock plans, mailed to you call Ai at 321-639-8777 for printing costs and mailing costs.
• To view the DVD for free click on DVD.  To view free info, click on Free Info. To view photo gallery showing dome kit assembly, please click on Kit Assembly.
  

Why do I need entryways and dormers to install windows and doors? At specific locations around the perimeter of the dome, triangles and riser panels can be left out to provide openings where you or your framer installs your locally purchased doors and windows. To compensate for the triangle and riser panels being left out, these “structural awnings” – entryways, dormers, cupola and link  have to be installed.  The following diagram identifies possible locations of entryways and dormers.

American Ingenuity Domes designed with flexibility, allows you to create your own personal home. Standard size doors & windows are purchased locally and installed onsite within the entryways and dormers using locally purchased materials. * For additional light, max out the second floor window dormers & door dormers. Install a tall window instead of a door within a door dormer. Or a solar tube can be installed onsite within a panel. (Do not cut within 8” of a seam).

At no cost to you and with no obligation to us, Ai can call your building department:  show them our web site, discuss the Ai panel design and inquire what is required to issue a building permit. For us to do this, please give us your property address or property tax ID number, building department name and phone number.

Q: Does American Ingenuity have an engineering statement about your prefabricated dome panels that can be submitted to my building department?

A:  Yes, to view the statement click on Engineering.

What is included in American Ingenuity’s Residential Dome Building Plans? American Ingenuity’s Building Plans are new and improved. The building plans consist of two sets of blueprints that include the basic drawings for the dome that are needed when acquiring a building permit with dome built on concrete slab. Or Ai will design custom foundations; i.e. basement, columns with concrete platform, pilings, stem wall, etc.

Plus Ai emails your building plans pdfs to you so that you can have additional sets plotted locally. The plans are composed using the AUTOCAD program on our computer aided drafting system as stock plans, or Ai can modify a stock plan or design a custom plan from your sketches for a reasonable fee.

Our Building Plans contain all of the typical drawings and details. Which blueprints are included in your plans is based on the type of entryways, dormers and foundation that are designed in your plans. Some of the Blueprint names are:

• Cover Sheet
  • Legend Sheet
  • First Floor Plan
  • Second Floor Plan
  • Dome Panel Nomenclature
  • Exterior Elevations
  • 1st Floor Electrical Plan (shows location of electrical outlets, lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, smoke detectors)
  • 2nd Floor Electrical Plan  (shows location of electrical outlets, lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, smoke detectors)
  • Foundation Plan
  • Foundation Details
  • 2nd Floor Framing Plan
  • Typical Dome Section
  • Standard Entryway Details
  • High Profile Entryway Details
  • 1st Floor Window Dormer & Door Dormer Details
  • 2nd Floor Dormer Details
  • Stair Details

Q: What is the standard foundation included with the stock plans?

A: Concrete slab. For Ai to design a basement or concrete columns or stem wall or pilings, etc. an engineer fee is added to the Plans Quote to cover the cost for a structural engineer to calculate the load of the dome and the load of the two floors within the dome and give joist/edge beam size/spacing and foundation design to our CAD department to incorporate within the plans. Please call for engineer pricing.

Some of the pages in the Building Plans are a 3-D elevation and a 3-D perspective view. The floor plan sheets have interior walls dimensioned.  The concrete slab foundation plan has dimensions and angles.  The wood joist/edge beams are dimensioned. These plans include all the structural drawings, show the placement of the electrical outlets, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures; however, they do not have the electrical, plumbing, HVAC layouts. We have found if the layouts are included, then the inspectors require the subcontractors to follow the diagrams when usually the subs like to design their own layouts.

 How do I view American Ingenuity’s Residential stock floor plans? There are three ways:

• Or click on PDF and view and print out Ai’s Stock Floor Plans for each size dome at no cost.
  • If you want the stock plans mailed, call Ai (321-639-8777) for printing costs and mailing costs.
    
  • Or purchase the stock plan layout for some of the plans in DXF format if you would like to manipulate and edit the stock plans to fit your desires.
    

What diameter domes do you have stock plans for: 15′, 18′ 22′, 27’, 30’, 34′, 36′, 40’, 45’ and 48’ domes. After the listing of 48′ dome plans is a listing of the garage dome plans for the 22’, 27,’ 30’, and 34’. The 60′ dome plans are all custom designed.

What do Ai’s Building Plans cost? To view Plans Pricing, click on Discount & then scroll down the page to see the chart for regular and sale pricing on plans. Just to clarify, because 50% of our clients building departments do not require an engineer seal or Energy Report to obtain a building permit, Ai;s Plans pricing does not include the cost for an engineer seal or the cost for Energy Report. Click on Plans FAQ to learn more. Please call our office at 321-639-8777 for current engineer seal and Energy Report pricing.

Prior to purchasing Building Plans, please assure you have answers to the following questions:

• Does your land’s deed have any restrictions for alternative housing or domes?
• Inquire whether there is a Home Owners’ Association governing your land, if there is check with them and make sure a dome can be built.
• You can ask your building department, “What are the requirements for a residential building permit? Are there any additional requirements to build a geodesic dome? Is an Architect’s or Engineer’s seal required on the plans?”
• Is your financing secured?

To learn more click on Planning Process.

Can Ai modify any of the stock plans?  To view info to assist in custom plan design, click on these four links: Getting Started, Floor Planner Guidelines, Revising Stock Plans and Things to Consider.  

Yes. Modifying a stock plan that is close to your dream dome allows you to adapt one of our stock plans to meet your needs. While it does incur a charge, it is much less than the expenditure of custom design work. Any of the Stock Plans may be modified to provide for such structural changes as:

• Building a Mirror image.
• Rearranging rooms, moving walls, or adding closets.
• If the stair location is the same on both floors - combining the first floor from one plan with the second floor of another.
• Adding or subtracting entryways, door and window dormers, or balconies.
• Adding bathrooms.
• Fortifying a floor structure to accommodate special furnishings such as a waterbed, hot tub, or weight room.

What is the easiest way to determine room dimensions based on square footage?

Once you narrow down your floor plan selection to one or two plans, the CAD department will review the layout and add a to-scale ruler and to-scale furniture around the perimeter.  This way when the plan is printed out the ruler, furniture and plan are the same scale. Cut out the ruler and measure length and width of rooms to see if the room sizes fit your needs.  If not make a list of changes or mark of the plan to show desired changes and email the list and changes to Contact Us. Please include your phone number.  Due to spam filters Ai may not receive your email, if you email and do not receive a reply in one to two days, please call us at 321-639-8777.

On each stock plan, Ai designs a to scale ruler.  Cut this ruler out and use it to measure the length and width of the rooms. Compare the dome room sizes to the room sizes in your current home. You know whether you want the rooms larger or smaller than the current home you are in now. The room sizes will determine what size dome will fit your needs. The scale is 1/10″ equals one foot. To learn more click on Square Footages. 

Can American Ingenuity provide custom design building plans based on my sketches? 

Yes. What Ai has found works best is for you to sketch out your ideas on a stock plan or on the floor planner pages located after the stock plans in each dome diameter grouping in our web site file, Geodesic Dome Home Plans. Email the sketch and your notes by clicking on Contact Us  or fax them to us at 321-639-8778.  After your email or fax, please call our office at 321-639-8777 to assure that Ai received your email or fax and that all your pages were legible.  Please include your name, address, telephone number and best time(s) to contact you. 

One of our CAD staff will:  

• review your sketch
• possibly call you with questions
• email your plan’s price quote to you

Once we receive payment in full for the Building Plans, engineer seal, energy report, etc and receive acceptance of the Plans Quote, Ai schedules your plans for production. 

How long does it take to receive the stock plans?

It can take about two to four weeks depending on the time of the year. Ai does not keep the stock plans printed out for a couple of reasons:  

1. Ai is constantly making improvements to the building plans. So before we print out a stock plan, we review the plan and make all the improvements.
2. Blueprints change color over time…Ai wants your prints to be fresh and bright.

How long does it take to receive modified or custom designed plans?

Stock plans are delivered in 2 to 4 weeks.  Allow at least 5 weeks for modified plans and 10 weeks for custom plans.  Once we start the design of your plans, Ai will fax or email you three to five rough drafts that you review and make changes on and fax or email them back to us. After you approve the final draft, Ai designs your structural blue prints and completes your building plans.  

How do I send my drawings or sketches to American Ingenuity?

You can fax (321-639-8778) the drawings to us or you can email them if they are in the following format: 

• pdf
• or if you are using AutoCAD we can accept the documents in dxf format or dwg format. Please save the file in CAD 2013 or older version.