Terra-Dome Earth Shelter Build

[mjncad]

That is correct, no building permit required. We do need a DEQ perk test for our septic system.
Our connection to the grid provides the first $4300 of installation cost, but they require two out of three. Meaning the footings or well or water connection or the septic must be complete/ they have lost on installs that were never completed.

Amazing, here in Colorado, especially near the metro Denver area you need a permit for just about everything. Building a shed etc over 120 sq/ft...permit. Water heater...permit. Install AC...permit. Concrete flatwork...no permit. That's just a sample. If you live in the City & County of Denver, they modify the building codes to entrap contractors and homeowners into making mistakes to get more revenue via re-inspection fees. It's no wonder a lot of people fly under the radar to avoid the bureaucrats meddling.

 

[sajurcaju]

Amazing, here in Colorado, especially near the metro Denver area you need a permit for just about everything. Building a shed etc over 120 sq/ft...permit. Water heater...permit. Install AC...permit. Concrete flatwork...no permit. That's just a sample. If you live in the City & County of Denver, they modify the building codes to entrap contractors and homeowners into making mistakes to get more revenue via re-inspection fees. It's no wonder a lot of people fly under the radar to avoid the bureaucrats meddling.

We moved from the Loveland, CO area to Maine in 2003, so I'm familiar with what you're describing. Where we're building in Center Lovell, the code enforcement officer comes in for two hours on Wednesday. That's all. He's pretty reasonable.

I posted a set of pics of our progress earlier; I didn't realize there was a more up to date set of pics. Here it is:
new house

 

[SamWalton]

We are pressure washing the walls and footings and applying Quikwall surface bonding cement to the outside of footing only. This fiber reinforced product will cover the large gaps in our dry pours providing strength and the first line of water proofing. We will apply a secondary water proofing material Econline-R and Econline-T and bentonite rolls to the cold joints between the footing and poured walls. We will install a laser leveled Schedule 40 PVC drain system with drilled holes on the upper sides and top of the pipe with a sock installed. This drain system will move all water to a single drain point and will have a few traps to dip under the other pipes in it way and stop unwanted visitors. The footings and walls will be covered with 2 inches of insulation and river rock and this rock will be protected with a cloth to prevent the dirt from clogging the flow of unwanted water.
I removed the Schedule 40 pipe and it pushes out easy because I covered it with grease and flashing. This was a nice way to get a gang box for power to our wall vent motor.

 

[MNBobcat]

Hi Sam,

Really cool project. Thanks so much for sharing the photos and your build. I'm anxious to follow your progress and looking forward to your updates. Well done!

 

[mjncad]

We moved from the Loveland, CO area to Maine in 2003, so I'm familiar with what you're describing. Where we're building in Center Lovell, the code enforcement officer comes in for two hours on Wednesday. That's all. He's pretty reasonable.

I posted a set of pics of our progress earlier; I didn't realize there was a more up to date set of pics. Here it is:
new house

Wow! Both you and Sam have quite the projects going on. Thanks for posting your slideshow.

Loveland keeps growing and merging with Ft. Collins. Somehow I suspect you don't miss it.

 

[sajurcaju]

We are pressure washing the walls and footings and applying Quikwall surface bonding cement to the outside of footing only. This fiber reinforced product will cover the large gaps in our dry pours providing strength and the first line of water proofing. We will apply a secondary water proofing material Econline-R and Econline-T and bentonite rolls to the cold joints between the footing and poured walls. We will install a laser leveled Schedule 40 PVC drain system with drilled holes on the upper sides and top of the pipe with a sock installed. This drain system will move all water to a single drain point and will have a few traps to dip under the other pipes in it way and stop unwanted visitors. The footings and walls will be covered with 2 inches of insulation and river rock and this rock will be protected with a cloth to prevent the dirt from clogging the flow of unwanted water.
I removed the Schedule 40 pipe and it pushes out easy because I covered it with grease and flashing. This was a nice way to get a gang box for power to our wall vent motor.

Looks like good progress Sam. We also put in perimeter drains and insulation as you describe.

The interior on ours will be plastered (just the house; not the rest of it) if we ever get enough dry weather to complete the waterproofing. TD recommended just a single coat of plaster inside, but our plasterer strongly disagrees. He wants to put down a base coat, then a finish coat. The outside will be a STO stucco product over foam. We opted for pretty thick foam--4" on exposed outside walls. You've got less to worry about in that department, I think. The exterior is scheduled for the first week of September.

Lots of electrical conduit and floor insulation are in, once they get the in-floor heat on top they can pour the house concrete.

Steve

Steve

 

[sajurcaju]

Discussion will be appreciated...

The contractors are plugging away at our house. Next week (I think) the floors for the house will be poured and the stucco guy will do the outside insulation and stucco. Another item on his list is putting some kind of finish on all the tubes sticking up through the roof.

The tubes are some kind of common construction tube, heavy black plastic corrugated like a bellows. They are a little flexible, especially the small (8") ones. We're worried about bumping into them and causing damage to the finish. I'd appreciate hearing ideas about how to finish them.

One idea (from TerraDome) is to wrap the outside in mesh, then apply stucco. Putting on a skin like this will make the tube much stiffer, but the gaps between ribs on the black tube mean there are places where the stucco doesn't have any support. Our stucco guy is concerned about breaking the stucco if we bump into it (in the places with air behind the mesh).

To get away from the air gaps, our stucco guy was thinking of filling/covering the outside of the black tube with foam, then wrapping with mesh and stuccoing. This may be our best option so far (we're going to try it on a scrap first!).

Another idea is to pour concrete down a piece of sonotube surrounding the black plastic. Great idea, but costly.

A third idea is to leave the tube inside the sonotube and wrap the sonotube in mesh and stucco.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mjncad]

Discussion will be appreciated...

Another idea is to pour concrete down a piece of sonotube surrounding the black plastic. Great idea, but costly.

A third idea is to leave the tube inside the sonotube and wrap the sonotube in mesh and stucco.

Thanks,
Steve

How about using foam instead of concrete between the black corrugated pipe and the sonotube? The foam should give your tubes rigidity without the cost of more concrete. I'm guessing the concrete delivery and pouring would be the high dollar part compared to the material itself. Then cover the sonotube in mesh and stucco for the finished appearance.

 

[patrick_g]

Just curious as to why a single point of failure for the drain system. Maybe I went overboard (as I sometimes do when I don't know how much of something is enough I tend to over do it) but I ran a perforated drain all around the outside of the foundation (at excavated grade level, 2 ft below slab floor) and another on the inside of the foundation at the same level. This left me with 4 separate ends which I ran separately down slope till they drained to daylight (into a pond where highest water level is about 5 ft below excavated grade.)

If anything should ever plug an end of one of the drains then the water in that drain will get a little deeper (inch or so maybe) and it will drain out the other end.

All of these drains have been running a continuous stream of clear water since shortly after the trenches were backfilled, even during a record drought. We had a 6 inch hole drilled in the middle of the floor location prior to excavating for the foundation to get samples every 6 inches in depth down to solid rock to be able to design a foundation from knowledge instead of the good ole boy method. This bore hole filled with water overnight to within a few feet of the surface. This put the level of the ground water at the building site about 5 ft or so above the slab floor.

Tests made by taping pieces of impermeable membrane to various areas of the slab floor and the walls showed no moisture ingress at all. After days of coverage the covered concrete did not show the slightest discoloration much less visible condensation on the plastic sheeting.

The walls were covered on the outside with Insuldrain, a foam plastic insulation with grooves on the side toward the dirt and covered with tyvec filter cloth to avoid plugging the grooves over time.

During the wettest season on record we experienced no moisture on the repeated wall and slab moisture tests which confirms our surmise that no sump or pumps would be required.

As evidence of ground water, the patio slab has an opening in it for a "
flower bed" where volunteer horse tail ferns and cat tails are growing and thrived during the record drought.

Pat

 

[sajurcaju]

How about using foam instead of concrete between the black corrugated pipe and the sonotube? The foam should give your tubes rigidity without the cost of more concrete. I'm guessing the concrete delivery and pouring would be the high dollar part compared to the material itself. Then cover the sonotube in mesh and stucco for the finished appearance.

That sounds like a pretty tough combination. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve