Terra-Dome Earth Shelter Build

[Tower]

I've been reading this post over the last two days. Great work!!! As someone that has been in the contruction business early in my college years, I can say that it's hard work to get this done and frustrating at times, but you make it seem easy. Thanks for the details and frequent updates, it's given me ideas of what I wold like to build in the coming years on some land I'm clearing off this winter....granted I need to get the tractor in good running order first...priorities... Best of luck on the house and I'm looking forward to more post!!!

 

[SamWalton]

Here are some pics of our build.

I have been looking for some wire inexpensive wire mesh to secure the PEX to above the insulation. What are you using in this photo and how much was the cost if you don't mind me asking.

 

[tommu56]

I have been looking for some wire inexpensive wire mesh to secure the PEX to above the insulation. What are you using in this photo and how much was the cost if you don't mind me asking.

That looks looks 6x6 reinforcing wire mesh andy masonry supply would have it HD by us stocks in 4 or 5 x 8' sheets bit it comes in rolls 4 or 5 x 100 and 200 ft at the masonry suppliers

to anchor the foam have you seen these foam staples

http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/501/rht-
foam-stapler-and-staples

Pex Tools

bottom of the page

link to another forum about staples
Attaching pex to 2" foam - The Garage Journal Board

tom

 

[SamWalton]

That looks looks 6x6 reinforcing wire mesh andy masonry supply would have it HD by us stocks in 4 or 5 x 8' sheets bit it comes in rolls 4 or 5 x 100 and 200 ft at the masonry suppliers

to anchor the foam have you seen these foam staples

http://www.blueridgecompany.com/radiant/hydronic/501/rht-
foam-stapler-and-staples

Pex Tools

bottom of the page

link to another forum about staples
Attaching pex to 2" foam - The Garage Journal Board

tom

I like and have checked out the staples but my concern is that they could puncture the vapor barrier. I have over $1300 in just the barrier. This is why I am thinking about tie wrapping the PEX to the metal grid.

 

[SamWalton]

I've been reading this post over the last two days. Great work!!! As someone that has been in the contruction business early in my college years, I can say that it's hard work to get this done and frustrating at times, but you make it seem easy. Thanks for the details and frequent updates, it's given me ideas of what I wold like to build in the coming years on some land I'm clearing off this winter....granted I need to get the tractor in good running order first...priorities... Best of luck on the house and I'm looking forward to more post!!!

First I would like to welcome you to TBN and thank you for your insight and kind words. For us the most difficult things are to make a choice on how to proceed when we get stalled and secondly to put the time in to get it done with our limited personal time. I believe we make it look easy because it is in one sense. This is accomplished by understanding a schedule doesn't get the job done and the pressures of schedules usually result in cutting corners and little time for value added moments or actions. We think in simple steps and stay focused on the methods and techniques to accomplish them. This doesn't mean it will take forever but we simply focus on the now or present. We still feel the pressure of wanting to get moved in but we see our great progress in a relative short time and are grateful. Beyond getting help from the wealth of knowledge at TBN my hope in sharing our experience is to inspire the importance of self reliant living. We believe that healthy food, clean water and off the grid shelter are the key to life as things continue to erode. I wish you success in your endeavors and don't be afraid to lean on us TBNers for help. Collectively together we have unlimited capabilities.

 

[tommu56]

Sam I can see your point about not braking the vapor barrier I hadn't thought of that

tom

 

[SamWalton]

Sam I can see your point about not braking the vapor barrier I hadn't thought of that

tom

Common sense is great most of the time but sometimes my imagination gets it wrong. Like this last problem, whether or not to use the PEX stapler. I was worried about going through the vapor barrier. It was a serious concern and the website I was looking at making the purchase of all PEX related items didn't provide enough info to ensure this would not happen. I looked at the RTHNOW.com site and the attached data sheet clearly shows how the staple doesn't go completely through the insulation board.

 

[carpolisher]

I have been looking for some wire inexpensive wire mesh to secure the PEX to above the insulation. What are you using in this photo and how much was the cost if you don't mind me asking.

Its 6 x 6 re-mesh in 15' x 150' rolls from Lowes. The cost was around $100.
We used zip ties to secure the tubing. Also we used a newer tubing called PE-RT. It meets or exceeds PEX specs at a lower cost. It is also more flexible
which made it easy to install. Available from keithspecialty.com

 

[SamWalton]

We picked up the remaining 72 sheets of insulation from Home Depot. I called ahead so it would be ready. This saved a bunch of time. We used plywood on the top to prevent damage. We couldn't resist Ed Walkers for lunch again. The material in the water proofing seems to be the answer to prevent cracking. We had good success with this mesh material on the cold joints on the roof. We need to order a bunch more of the ECOLINE-R to stop all remaining minor roof leaks and begin waterproofing the berm walls. We got some work accomplished on Sunday. With the recent rain we had to vacuum the standing water and wipe down to dry before taping. We installed a few more sheets of insulation. I power washed a bunch of the metal straps on the outside walls to ensure good adhesion when applying the waterproofing in the few days. We found a few critters, maybe not so nice. We decided to use the PEX foam staples over the wire fence material. It is much less in cost. I did have a problem with finding a PEX manifold which has 3/4" outputs. I wanted to use 3/4" PEX to an area and then break out to multiple feeds.

 

[carpolisher]

We picked up the remaining 72 sheets of insulation from Home Depot. I called ahead so it would be ready. This saved a bunch of time. We used plywood on the top to prevent damage. We couldn't resist Ed Walkers for lunch again. The material in the water proofing seems to be the answer to prevent cracking. We had good success with this mesh material on the cold joints on the roof. We need to order a bunch more of the ECOLINE-R to stop all remaining minor roof leaks and begin waterproofing the berm walls. We got some work accomplished on Sunday. With the recent rain we had to vacuum the standing water and wipe down to dry before taping. We installed a few more sheets of insulation. I power washed a bunch of the metal straps on the outside walls to ensure good adhesion when applying the waterproofing in the few days. We found a few critters, maybe not so nice. We decided to use the PEX foam staples over the wire fence material. It is much less in cost. I did have a problem with finding a PEX manifold which has 3/4" outputs. I wanted to use 3/4" PEX to an area and then break out to multiple feeds.

Nice work on your floor prep! I have 8 unopened 5 gallon buckets of Ecoline R
and 1 of the T I need to move out. You can have for shipping cost. Let me know. I agree the mesh helps a lot. I vacuumed the valleys several times... standing water seems to dissolve the stuff if applied too thick.

Bob