Terra-Dome Earth Shelter Build

[SamWalton]

Thinking ahead has become a rare activity but you may see an excellent return on your investment.

Just curious, what Shawnee outfit are you getting your stuff from? I get to Shawnee an average of at least once a week and frequently more often and it is only about 30 miles for me. If something comes up such that "eyes on site" would save you your long trip, I could check something out for you.

PM me for info if interested.

Pat

Pat

General Plastics shipped the corrected custom parts at their expense today but thanks for your offer.

Sam

 

[SamWalton]

After receiving the shipment from General Plastics we found the Plenum was cracked in two places by the Old Dominion Freight Line. We got the driver to note the damage. We are still waiting on a new unit to be shipped. We finished up on the remainding french drains in the bedroom and kitchen. We completed the 4" hydranic wood stove conduit and rural water conduit into the untility room. We also got good head way on our remainding 150 of septic trench.

 

[SamWalton]

Today we finished the 270 foot septic drain field. Way to much rock!

 

[dave1949]

Congratulations Sam. I bet it feels really good to cross that off the list.
Dave.

 

[SamWalton]

It sure does! We still need to dig a hole for the septic tank and I hope we can give the jack hammer a long break.

 

[sajurcaju]

Steve, your leak problem is something I am dealing with as well and the waterproofing company has been little help. I am looking for solutions and will let you know what I find.

Hi Sam,
Looks like you are making good progress. We've just recently gotten back on track; I'm now the general contractor and we had to document where the project was, which cost us about a month.

What kind of tubing did you use for your roof tubes? Ours are corrugated black plastic culvert (polyethylene I think) with a smooth inside liner. I will probably dig one up this weekend. Do yours leak? Is your roof buried yet?

I think I mentioned before that the insulation on our roof is causing water drainage issues. Water falls on top, naturally, but the drain pipes are underneath. Water can't flow through the insulation, so it stays on top of it, flowing to the edges of the roof and seeps through the cracks (in the insulation). During the winter we had frozen ponds around the edges, you can now see the water line (this is also the line below which stucco and waterproofing are flaking off). We are going to put in a perimeter drain *above* the insulation, just below the surface.

We have to go back and apply hydraulic cement to the form ties and a long cold pour in the parapet walls to stop them leaking. Sure would have been easier before the roof dirt was in place, but we thought the waterproofing would cover it.

Do you have a source for caps (in some cases vents) for the roof tubes? I'm still looking for something.

Steve
Maine

 

[SamWalton]

Hi Sam,
Looks like you are making good progress. We've just recently gotten back on track; I'm now the general contractor and we had to document where the project was, which cost us about a month.

What kind of tubing did you use for your roof tubes? Ours are corrugated black plastic culvert (polyethylene I think) with a smooth inside liner. I will probably dig one up this weekend. Do yours leak? Is your roof buried yet?

I think I mentioned before that the insulation on our roof is causing water drainage issues. Water falls on top, naturally, but the drain pipes are underneath. Water can't flow through the insulation, so it stays on top of it, flowing to the edges of the roof and seeps through the cracks (in the insulation). During the winter we had frozen ponds around the edges, you can now see the water line (this is also the line below which stucco and waterproofing are flaking off). We are going to put in a perimeter drain *above* the insulation, just below the surface.

We have to go back and apply hydraulic cement to the form ties and a long cold pour in the parapet walls to stop them leaking. Sure would have been easier before the roof dirt was in place, but we thought the waterproofing would cover it.

Do you have a source for caps (in some cases vents) for the roof tubes? I'm still looking for something.

Steve
Maine

How come you became the general contractor? We purchased what looks to be the same as what you are describing. We had a few small leaks before we applied the Ecoline T but we do have the Berylex additive which has always prevented all but the cold joints and a few penetrations from leaking. We haven't covered our roof with soil yet. We have had problems with the Ecoline product on our cold joints and have gotten on support from the manufacture. The insulation can't cove the drainage system. I wouldn't rely on the hydraulic cement. The Ecoline T in the crack and multiple coats of the Ecoline R along with a protective insulation board should seal the walls. "Caps" as in the cover for the sky tubes and linked at the Terra Dome web site, but if you mean a cover to seal an unused corrugated pipe I don't know. We have our sealed with plastic until we install the kits. I have a question for you; do you have multiple circuit breaker panels to minimize the conduit runs and bends?

 

[sajurcaju]

How come you became the general contractor? We purchased what looks to be the same as what you are describing. We had a few small leaks before we applied the Ecoline T but we do have the Berylex additive which has always prevented all but the cold joints and a few penetrations from leaking. We haven't covered our roof with soil yet. We have had problems with the Ecoline product on our cold joints and have gotten on support from the manufacture. The insulation can't cove the drainage system. I wouldn't rely on the hydraulic cement. The Ecoline T in the crack and multiple coats of the Ecoline R along with a protective insulation board should seal the walls. "Caps" as in the cover for the sky tubes and linked at the Terra Dome web site, but if you mean a cover to seal an unused corrugated pipe I don't know. We have our sealed with plastic until we install the kits. I have a question for you; do you have multiple circuit breaker panels to minimize the conduit runs and bends?

After some further work last weekend, I'm not as convinced the leak is between the tube and the concrete. For one, they are really well wrapped in Paraseal (at least the one we dug up). I hesitate to disturb what looks like a nice seal. The tops of the tubes don't have caps yet. They're topped off with plastic and foam insulation board. I'm suspicious that we may be getting moisture down the inside of the tube. Proper caps on the tubes is a high priority at this point. We're also probably going to put in a roof perimeter drain above the insulation (supplementing the perimeter drain laid on the concrete, below the insulation).

I did an experiment today with a couple of leaking form ties along the parapet wall. I dug them up and behind the Paraseal put a couple of scoops of granulated bentonite. One had pretty much stopped when I left, the other was still dripping. I should have a better idea tomorrow when the bentonite has had a chance to soak up some water and swell. Hopefully it will be a lot different tomorrow.

We do have two circuit breaker panels for the reason you mention. Note that my shop has a lot of electrical work in it, a panel running the shop and barn makes lots of sense in our case. If you do multiple panels, just make sure they meet code (not something I know more about than reading the book).

Steve

 

[patrick_g]

Multiple breaker boxes is a terrific idea. I priced breaker boxes above 300 amp capacity and good ones were 1200-1500 $ and up while good 200 amp boxes were under $200. I put in side by side 200 amp boxes and saved plenty. Each box has its own main breaker so you can kill one main and not lose all power. As they are side by side you can jump from one box to the other for temp situations.

I have 5 sub panels: one in the basement, one upstairs, one in my metal working shop, one in a nearby barn, and one outside for a sewage lift pump and outdoor outlets that are not real close to the house.

I have separate service to my well house and hay barn a quarter mile away. The main breaker box is in the well house and it feeds a sub panel in the hay barn.

A MISTAKE TO AVOID: I tried to stay on top of everything all the different trades were doing but... I didn't notice that the electricians installed breaker boxes with two different INCOMPATIBLE styles of breakers. All boxes are good quality Cutler Hammer but NOT the same breaker style. Spares for one box are NOT good for another box. I didn't discover this for a few years. I just noticed last week while I was adding some overhead 120 and 240 volt distribution along the ceilings of my wood shop and metal shop. I was adding additional breakers to a main box and a sub when... dang! these things are not compatible!

Pat

 

[carpolisher]

Steve,

I am just getting started.. Terra Dome is supposed to show up any time to start our build in PA. For the water proofing/control... after the concrete and penetrations are sealed.. we plan to add some fill and then cover the entire roof with 6 mil poly, extending it several feet past the walls and sloped to a perimeter type drain with river rocks. The poly is cheap and easy to install. The idea is to keep the soil around the house dry. I never had much faith in the black tar stuff lasting long. Actually we will sandwich insulation board between several layers of plastic creating an insulation water shed umbrella.

Just my 2 cents.

Bob