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Is it possible to purchase land and have constructed a geodesic dome home. Are there reliable construction companies able to help a woman alone?
There are certainly plenty of reliable construction companies here depending on the area that you are planning on building in…
It’s my understanding that the geodesic homes are incredibly safe homes and not particularly complicated to build so if you have good building manuals for them to use then you have already helped narrow the possibilities of things going wrong during construction..
As for being a woman alone. This is a “macho” place but it’s also a matriarchal society so the men are accustomed to taking orders from women!
Please let us know how you get on, we would love to have an article about this kind of home in Costa Rica.
Scott
I looked into geodesic dome homes built in the fashion of R. Buckminster Fuller back in the 1970s. In Michigan, they made a lot of sense but had some drawbacks.
For one, the carpentry has to be exactly perfect in order to cut the compound angles necessary to get the interlocking triangles to fit together. This is fairly tricky carpentry for anyone who has never done it. And you can’t be certain that you have it right until you get the last piece installed at the top.
Another problem with geodesic domes is waterproofing them. All the angles make it almost essential that you use asphalt shingles which will bend across the corners. Even then, leaks abound. It’s a serious consideration in a climate with six months of pretty heavy rain each year.
A third problem lies in finishing the interior walls. Again, it’s a matter of all those angles and getting them to come out right. Same for the exterior.
Some owners in the U.S. have erected the framing, wired, finished the interior, and then foamed the cores and the outer surface with spray-on poly. Then, a protective coating can be sprayed on over the foam. Done right, this creates a waterproof surface (except maybe at openings), it’s airtight, and it’s very strong. I wonder if anyone in Costa Rica can do this?
A final consideration would be liveability. A geodesic dome contains less volume per square foot of floor space than any other structure. So if you’re heating or air conditioning, they’re very efficient. The problem lies in arranging furniture, cabinetry, etc. Because the walls are not vertical, everything must be set out slightly and you lose floor space. If you elect to attach cabinetry to the outer walls, you have a cabinetmaker’s nightmare in store for you.
All that said, there are advantages to geodesic domes. One is that you can buy them as kits from the U.S. and import them here. Then, all you need do is build an appropriate foundation, bolt the sections together, wire and plumb, finish the interior and exterior surfaces, kick back, and relax. Erecting the framing goes quickly and is a non-skill job.
There’s a manufacturer of domes in Davidson, Michigan who builds 26- and 39-foot models. Last time I looked, the basic kits were very reasonably priced, and they’d add on interior and exterior “diamonds” to finish the surfaces, insulation, etc. I think the name of the company is Peace Domes or somesuch. For reasons that I cannot explain, 26- and 39-foot domes are limitations imposed by the geometry. Apparently, you can’t effectively build one that’s (say) 50 feet in diameter.
If this is the style that you are looking for, maybe you should look into those Ram Jack homes that we’ve read about in Costa Rica.
I can not find the website but met the guy at the recent home exposition thing in San Jose. Amazing concept where you build your home on a massive pillar that can be installed/inserted on practically an terrain.
Have you looked into those?
It’s ramshackcabins.net I researched Geo’s for a while a few year’s back and came to conclusion that modern ones still have leak issues, and other issues that outweigh energy efficiency, and they depreciate because almost no one else want’s one when it’s your turn to sell. Not a good plan if your house is your biggest investment.
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