June 29, 2005



"Illustrated Dome Building" provides advice to anyone attempting to self-build or renovate a home. The most common problems encountered during the construction of self-build houses are discussed in detail. If you want to make your vision of a dream house a reality, the self-build process can be exciting, challenging, and rewarding.

Hexadome structures are world famous. Inventor of the hexadome, Gene Hopster simplifies the "geodesic" concept in order to produce inexpensive, easy-to-make housing in form of a hexadome. These structures offer maximum strength and space at the lowest cost. They are also energy efficient constructions. A hexadome has only 24 triangles and 3 trapezoids, all assembled by their "skins" before the dome is erected. What's more, this modular construction book allows you to build your home all by yourself without professional help.

A wide range of topics are covered, starting from self-build insurance coverage, negotiation with real estate agents, locating building plots, finding competitive quotes for building materials, procuring raw material, and nittygritty details while commissioning actual work. A "Word of caution" is inserted appropriately in the book with regard to local authorities regulations while building. The list of topics is thorough, and simplifies the process of house building.

Clear internal and external plan diagrams that sequence the workflow from inserting stakes to completion is provided. Hopster discusses common pitfalls to avoid while building your own home. The topics in this practical, useful book range from site factors that influence building design to environmental protection adherence.

This book provides foresight that can save lots of time and money; commonly encountered issues like flooring work, electricity instillation and wiring, plumbing, sewage system (septic tanks vs. dehydration toilet systems), floor drains, basement drains, and firestops. By providing so much useful information, Hopster's book facilitates making effective decisions with regards to house building.

A glossary of terms at the end of this book serves as ready reference. Grab your copy today and build your dream home.

Domeplans Press, $29.95, paperback, (96p) ISBN: 0-9769116-0-4

by Wil Fidroeff



Bucky might have called what I do, "comprehensive anticipatory design science". I call designing a better home, "thinking about everything when you do anything". Many problems exist with building any type of home. I am now 60 years old, with 20 years of conventional construction experience, and, 20 years of dome building experience. I have always felt that more liveable, functional, and ecomomical homes could be built using geodesic dome kits, if, the dome kits and building processes were comprehensively designed. Thinking about everything during the design and planning process does result in a home that is easy to build.

In the late 1980's, John Warren, who worked with Bucky on the development of the Fly's Eye Dome, and Bob Snyder, Bucky's son-in-law, came to my home (then in California). I was then keeper of the Fly's Eye Dome and molds. Bob Snyder asked me what I called the dome design I had been working on. I replied, "Econ-O-Dome". John Warren asked me, what geodesic geometry I was using. I replied, "The alternate four-frequency". John Warren then told me, he and Bucky had agreed the truncateable alternate four frequency seemed to have the most potential for use in building homes and commercial buildings. This inspired further investigation on my part.

To explain further: A truncateable geodesic geometry has a level line of nodes (connection points) both above and below the hemisphere. This level line of nodes above and below the hemisphere makes it easier to install a second floor inside a geodesic dome. Only an even frequency geodesic sphere can be divided into two equal hemispheres. A hemispherical dome can rest directly on a flat surface or riser wall. This helps a dome building to be more stable and easier to build.

After traveling around the country building domes for many years, I found that installing conventional doors and windows was a lot easier, if, large flat surfaces were integrated into the lower perimeter of a dome. So, I modified the four-frequency dome to have just ten equal sides and ten large vertical surfaces on the lower perimeter. This was done by removing three adjacent triangles in ten different places along the lower perimeter of a twenty-sided four frequency dome. This resulted in a ten-sided dome with ten large vertical surfaces along the lower perimeter.

They say, if you give a lazy person a hard job to do, a lazy person will find an easy way to do it. I must be a very lazy person, as I have found an easy way to build a dome home.

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