That’s what I’m saying - put the tubing in the floors and then you have it if you want to hook it up later.
I’ve used it on a couple restaurants and a multi-purpose space. Really turned out nicely!
Building a new house and shop (2 Viewers)
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That’s what I’m saying - put the tubing in the floors and then you have it if you want to hook it up later.
I’ve used it on a couple restaurants and a multi-purpose space. Really turned out nicely!
I’ll add that the ReFLEXions is nice for a durable floor system that looks good too. They have a bunch of systems - everything from ESD (electrostatic discharge) to industrial applications to whatever. There are also decorative quartz options. Best is to find the local rep and talk to him/her about your needs.
Good luck tomorrow! After the last module is poured, what other structural components are needed (minus floor slabs)? Any more retention walls or the like?
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #225
Thanks! Pump truck is here now and setting up.
This pour will be the last of any structural components. A retaining wall on each end is integral to the module on that end, so the one on the south side was poured with module #3, and the retaining wall on the north end will be poured today with the last module. I will post some photos of the whole thing (if I can - it's big enough, and there are enough trees around that it's hard to get far enough away to fit the whole house in a single photo) after the forms are down later this week.
It's possible I may want to extend the retaining wall on the south end, I'll wait until we have most of the back fill done to decide. If so, I may able to do it with stacked stone from the hill excavation, instead of more concrete.
The floor slabs will float on top of the footers; no structural connection to the footers or walls.
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #226
Last of the seven dome modules poured today, along with the retaining wall on the north end.
A few photos:
Pouring the 15'-high retaining wall. The guys walk along the top of the forms, which are 10" apart.
Pouring and troweling the actual dome. No vent stacks or anything on this one, it's only a garage.
We also poured six 12" columns on two previous dome modules, on rebar set for this purpose. These columns will stick up through the soil cover, and will be used to mount racks of solar cells, satellite dishes, and a cell phone booster antenna. The forms for them are the yellow cardboard tubes with writing on them.
A few photos:
Pouring the 15'-high retaining wall. The guys walk along the top of the forms, which are 10" apart.
Pouring and troweling the actual dome. No vent stacks or anything on this one, it's only a garage.
We also poured six 12" columns on two previous dome modules, on rebar set for this purpose. These columns will stick up through the soil cover, and will be used to mount racks of solar cells, satellite dishes, and a cell phone booster antenna. The forms for them are the yellow cardboard tubes with writing on them.
Man this is a cool build.
I envisioned you'd be under 10+ feet of backfill. Those columns loook short. Are they planning to extend those taller as the backfill progresses, or was my depth assumption off?
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #232
In general, the backfill will taper from the top of the hill to the parapet wall at the front (and sides) of the house, though the builder says I would be better off to have a valley or trough behind the domes, to channel water runoff to the sides and away from the domes. I originally envisioned the natural slope of the hill coming right down to the front of the house, but the way the house is laid out with respect to the rectangular punch-out rooms in the rear and the space needed behind those to work on the forms, waterproofing, and backfilling, the house is more forward (away) from the hill than I thought it would be, if that makes sense.
The parapet wall at the front is 4' high, and you're only supposed to fill it at that point to 3' of fill, but the parapet wall is at the end of a 4' overhang beyond the edge of the rooms and windows, so the minimum fill over the top of the house (near the front) will be at least 3', maybe a little more. What we'll do first is backfill the space between the house, rear retaining walls, and the hill, until it is is level with the top of the house. Then, we'll start filling over the house by filling the spaces between the domes, until there is about 1' of fill over the apex of all the domes, and it looks level from north-to-south (along the length of the house). So from a front view, it will look even across the domes. Then we will put down an "umbrella" of expanded polystyrene foam sheets and another layer of poly sheeting (the first layer goes directly over all the concrete after waterproofing), as another defense against water intrusion. Then the backfilling will be continued, including having a slight valley towards the back of the house if desired, and contouring the rest up into the existing hill.
The concrete columns are about 7.5' high at the back edge of the house, and the ones on the domes are about 5.5' tall, so if we fill to the top of those, we will still have maybe 4-4.5' of fill over the apexes of the domes, and up to 4' more than that everywhere else (except the very front edge as noted before). To get as close as possible to achieving equilibrium with the soil temperature, the engineer says you want 4.5-5.5' of soil fill, so we hope to be close to that. Another option to get more fill on top would be to make a dry stone retaining wall at the front edge of the domes (right over the load-bearing front walls), 4' behind the parapet wall, and then fill up to the top of that. I guess we'll see when we get there, and make a final decision then.
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How will all this dirt be moved out onto the house? Long-arm trackhoe? Crane with a clamshell bucket? I can't imagine the house is strong enough to hold up a skidsteer, even if it stayed over the walls between the domes.
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #234
Some more photos of the completed shell. The problem is, the house is so long that (without a drone or similar) I can't get it all in a single photo - there are either trees or piles of excavated dirt from the hill in the way. Here are some bits and pieces anyway.
A straight-through shot of the inside, all the way from one half of the garage, through the whole length of the house and out the master bedroom windows on the far end. 150' +
Thew southeast corner, from the front. the windows here are (near to far) the workout room (gym), the master bath, and the master bedroom. You see the overhang and the parapet wall:
View of the southwest corner; you can see the other two master bedroom windows and the southern retaining wall for the hill:
View of the northwest corner; you can see some of the garage door openings and the northern retaining wall for the hill, and all seven domes:
Overhead view from the top of the hill; you can 4 of the 7 domes, most of the punch-out rooms, and the parapet wall all around the top:
A straight-through shot of the inside, all the way from one half of the garage, through the whole length of the house and out the master bedroom windows on the far end. 150' +
Thew southeast corner, from the front. the windows here are (near to far) the workout room (gym), the master bath, and the master bedroom. You see the overhang and the parapet wall:
View of the southwest corner; you can see the other two master bedroom windows and the southern retaining wall for the hill:
View of the northwest corner; you can see some of the garage door openings and the northern retaining wall for the hill, and all seven domes:
Overhead view from the top of the hill; you can 4 of the 7 domes, most of the punch-out rooms, and the parapet wall all around the top:
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #235
The domes are engineered to hold more than 70,000 lbs, so yeah, you can drive whatever you want/need to over the top. To protect the waterproofing, you want to always push dirt in front of you on to the concrete, but as long as you do that you can use a skid steer or anything else to move the fill around on top.
We used a big excavator and a couple of different track steers to excavate the hill; i suspect we may need the big excavator again to get some of the dirt piled up high on the top of the hill, and on a shelf that was dug out to hold the excavator. We could just push the dirt on top over the edge, but it has some decent size rocks in it that you don't want to just crash into the waterproofing and concrete underneath. I may end up putting a layer of expanded polystyrene foam boards across the top and back, just to cushion it.
Thanks for the always-detailed answers. One more for today. What are your plans for vegetating The reconstructed hillside? The blend-in model would mean replanting native, but that's not always easy. Around here, circulating topsoil with deeper layers changes the composition of the vegetation that can regrow, or at least allows weeds and non-native plants to gain stronger footholds over the native plants. Did you happen to dig out larger native bushes and plants and save them for when you're recovered? Or perhaps go collecting transplants later? Were you able to source native seed mixes or?
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #237
Good question(s). For the most part, I am going to try and go native. We tried to save trees where possible when excavating, but not to the point of transplanting any. We would however have a lot to choose from on other parts of the property. Right now my plan is to seed the top of the house and near hillside with native Buffalo and Bluestem grasses and Texas wildflower mix. They already grow in the meadows between trees all over our property, and I can buy seeds for them. Later, I may eventually plant some nice native shrubs like Texas Mountain Laurel and Mexican Plum, and then some Burr Oak trees up higher. The Red Cedars (Junipers) and Cedar Elms are already sprouting in the excavated hill, so I can expect those to come back quickly too.
I don't want anything with deep roots near the concrete of the house, and I don't want to have to mow or do much maintenance up on top. Since we will have solar panels above the domes, I also don't want anything tall enough to obstruct light from them. The Buffalo and Buestem grasses should fit the ticket on all counts.
don't want anything with deep roots near the concrete of the house, and I don't want to have to mow or do much maintenance up on top. Since we will have solar panels above the domes, I also don't want anything tall enough to obstruct light from them. The Buffalo and Buestem grasses should fit the ticket on all counts.
Me "Hey 1911, what ya doing this weekend'?
1911-" have to mow the roof"......
Yea, I think seasonal wild flowers would look cool as hell.
Stunning build man, too cool.
Me "Hey 1911, what ya doing this weekend'?
1911-" have to mow the roof"......
Yea, I think seasonal wild flowers would look cool as hell.
Stunning build man, too cool.
In high school drafting and my college architecture program I designed a few underground homes. My professors weren’t exactly impressed, but the idea has always stuck with me. It’s really great to see what you’re doing here!
1911
chupacabra
- Thread starter
- #240
The builders took a couple of weeks off after finishing the exterior shell, but have been back now for a week and are busy laying electrical conduit and wire in the floors before pouring, as well as bringing up all the plumbing, drain, and vent risers:
Floors will be poured next week.
They have also started on the exterior waterproofing, which will take 2-3 weeks.
On a different note, these photos are from a game camera elsewhere on our land:
Floors will be poured next week.
They have also started on the exterior waterproofing, which will take 2-3 weeks.
On a different note, these photos are from a game camera elsewhere on our land:
