Description: We help our clients to build comprehensively designed (fun to live in, attractive inside and outside, suitable, economical, energy efficient, and storm tolerant) ten-sided homes.
Based in the USA we offer frame kits of our invention but also complete construction plan sets which might be a more practical solution for European clients.
We have been in business drawing plans and making EconOdome building kits since 1984. Until seven years ago we were based in California. We now live in a 48 foot diameter dome home in Sullivan, Illinois that we built while running our business, Faze Change Produx. Prior to 1984, Wil drew custom home plans and did construction work for about 20 years. Wil is now 60 years old and still intent on making every building better than the one before. Wil has designed the EconOdome building system to solve problems that have traditionally been associated with both dome home and conventional home building. That is why the foundation has ten equal sides enabling precision layout and leveling from a single center point. And, that is why the EconOdome frame kit includes framed openings for conventional doors, windows, and skylights. And, that is also why we recommend the use of Hardipanel cement composite panels on the exterior. This durable exterior weatherproof shield can be installed and sealed in a safe manner that keeps building materials dry, from top to bottom, while standing on the sturdy EconOdome frame. A home built with an EconOdome kit can be assembled to allow for complete building shell ventilation while at the same time being very energy efficient. In short, many proven "good ideas" have been incorporated into the EconOdome kit and recommended building process.
Our round homes feature durable stucco-textured composite cement siding that is also used as roofing material. We feel this type of roofing material is better for you and the environment because you can see and easily repair a leak, and the roofing material will never be sent to a landfill as shingles are.
The precision-cut wall and roof frame kits are triangulated within the cavity space to increase structural stability and eliminate temporary bracing by the builder. Our roof and wall frame kits help to create an attractive and durable home that also reduces job-site labor.
You can complete and weatherproof the inside and outside of the exterior dome shell as you climb down the outside of the dome framework. Basically, after the dome frame is assembled, you are making an umbrella that get larger until the umbrella extends to the ground. This protects and keeps the building materials dry if you need to stop building when it rains.
Dome homes built with EconOdome kits have been featured on television and in newspapers and magazines. Our company has participated in 27 exposition events.
As our dome homes have ten large vertical sides at the lower perimeter, they could also be considered as ten-sided or round homes with an integrated dome roof. The dome roof allows for more living space within the home while also making a more durable and storm safer home.
We manufacture six optimal (mimimal waste) sizes and two types of our EconOdome frame kit. Our one size DecaHome roof frame kit may be used to make a ten-sided round home that is 38.5 or 45 feet in diameter. The EconOdome kit is a dome shaped roof and wall frame.
The DecaHome kit is a pyramid shaped roof frame. The EconOdome is most often built as a two-story home within the 3D space defined by a short, ten-sided perimeter riser wall and the EconOdome frame kit. The DecaHome may be built as a single or multi-story home with ten perimeter walls supporting the DecaHome roof frame kit. See www.decahome.com for more info on our ten-sided pyramid roof frame kit.
All our ten-sided building frame kits feature precision compound end cuts, and, come with "square drive" non-splitting 3" long screws and stainless steel metal straps to make secure connections.
Homes built with EconOdome kits are ideal for creating an earth sheltered home. Our homes are also ideal for installing a vertical shaft wind turbine at the top of the dome roof. The wind speed is greater at the top of the dome, so then, the wind power turbine can create much more power. As wind speed is proportional to the cube of the wind speed, a small increase in the wind speed due to the "roof effect" translates in to a great increase in the power created by a spinning wind power turbine mounted close to the top of a dome roof. The dome roof acts like an airplane wing when the wind comes from any direction.
What is an EconOdome frame kit? No matter what, a functional building must have a roof. The EconOdome building frame kit is a roof, plus, exterior walls that include all door, window, and skylight openings. The upper part of the EconOdome building frame is made of triangles. The lower part of an EconOdome frame kit includes large pre-framed vertical surfaces (trapezoids) that allow for easy installation of conventional door and window openings. The base of the EconOdome has ten equal sides so that the foundation and floor are easy to build. Riser wall frame kits (optional) may be used to lift the dome and create more interior volume.
Pre-framed lower walls (vertical trapezoids) and individually marked pre-cut boards (struts) are easily assembled using a diagram to form walls, roof, and all door and window openings. The pre-cut double compound mitered strut ends are simply screwed together with special non-splitting 3 inch long screws (supplied with all frame kits) using a rechargeable drill. Thirty screws stitch each 6-way node connection securely together. The board (strut) ends are pre-drilled so that the screws are positioned properly. Criss-crossed metal straps (supplied with all frame kits), and, nailed-on exterior panels also add to the strength of the EconOdome building kit. These three tensional forces add together to create a very strong structure that can withstand high winds, deep snows, & earthquakes. We call our connection system the "Synergetic Hub".
We offer two types of EconOdome frame kits as well as the DecaHome roof frame kit, and, custom round home building frame kits. Our "Basic" 2x6 frame kit has "16 inch on center" blocking within the triangles and is sheetrocked completely on the interior after the exterior is sealed. Choose this type of kit if you like the "smooth sculped look" on your dome ceiling. The Basic frame kit has blocking within the triangles for extra support for the sheetrock and the exterior triangular panels. On the exterior, the Basic frame kit may be finished the same as our "T-Beam" frame kit. We offer two types of kits because some people like the "clean & sculpted" look of finished sheetrock and others like the "custom crafted woodsy" look of our T-Beam frame kit. Choose the type of kit that you want based on "the look" that you want on the domed ceiling of your new ten sided home.
The EconOdome "T-Beam" frame kit has been designed so that the force of gravity helps you to enclose, insulate, and finish the interior. 120 insulated triangular panels that form the interior loft ceiling, lay neatly into triangular bays and are retained by the interior 2x4 trim. The 2x4 trim is rounded on the edges and is pre-attached lengthwise and flat to inside edge of each of the 2x6 main frame components. After the frame is erected, the building shell is easily enclosed and also finished inside, insulated, and sealed from "top to bottom" while climbing down the sturdy geodesic framework. And, with all EconOdome kit types, the lower perimeter has large flat surfaces that contain framing for conventional doors and windows. The EconOdome "T-Beam" building method eliminates a lot of difficult ladder and scaffold work. You will be creating an expanding umbrella as you get closer to the ground with each horizontal level of triangular panels. The lower part of the T-Beam frame kit will be insulated and sheetrocked from the interior as is our Basic frame kit.
We also offer riser wall frame kits to lift the dome kit and create more space inside. The top of the riser wall may also be the bottom of the windows that can surround the dome on the lower perimeter. Most people build the riser wall on their building site with lumber purchased locally, as, it is easy to do. All ten perimeter riser walls are the same height and length. We provide instructions for building riser walls in the EconOdome Planning and Building Manual.
All EconOdome kit types are designed so that a ledger may be securely installed to support the second floor at the perimeter adjacent the EconOdome kit framing. Normally standard length studs are used to frame the interior walls on the first floor. The first floor walls, beams, and perimeter ledger support the second story floor. The ledger may be cut on-site or purchased as an option.
The EconOdome building frame can be added onto in ten directions. And the method of sealing that we use assists in making leak-free joinings. We recommend the use of elastomeric sealing paint over Hardipanel stucco texture fiber cement panels. This elastomeric sealing paint is available from Faze Change Produx in twenty standard colors. A color chart is included in the EconOdome Planning & Building Manual. Complete building instructions and options pricing are also within the EconOdome Planning and Building Manual.
One reason that the dome is the most energy efficient building shape is because it has less surface area than other building shapes when compared to the large interior volume. And it is thru the exterior surface that a building loses heat in the winter or gains unwanted heat in the summer. Also, as hot air rises, the interior air within a dome can be efficiently destratified by moving air (with a low wattage fan) from the top to the bottom because the dome has a single highest point where the warmest air can be easily collected.
A home built with an EconOdome frame kit is low cost, elegant, durable, and a great space to live in. With owners doing about half the labor, most EconOdome buildings are completed for about $30 per square foot of living space.
HOW ?
It is possible to build a home for $30 per square foot. How is this done? It happens by using a straightforward building process that includes "turn-key" instructions and allows help to be hired by the hour. Basically, we're talking about using a precision-crafted modified geodesic dome building frame, "the EconOdome," that reduces the number of difficult steps in the building process and makes building a "fun" process. All Econ-O-Dome building frames are custom modified "free of extra charge" on the lower perimeter to accept conventional doors and windows where you want them to be into "vertical trapezoids" without the need for extensions, room additions, or dormers.
You will be getting two floors of living space within the Econ-O-Dome building frame. The building has ten equal-in-length sides to make building the foundation & floor an easy matter. Dimensioned drawings and precision-cut framing are also supplied by Faze Change Produx for all custom skylights "free of extra charge". This way you can order your glass before you build your dome home and save time by reducing "wait times".
We at Faze Change Produx have found that the "hard stuff" needs to be designed out or done in "our shop". So, we have "designed out" the "hard stuff" in the building process and do the "real hard stuff" (precision compound cutting) in our shop. As our main frame is precision cut, we can also cut the interior trim (to hold triangular panels). So, we have developed the EconOdome T-Beam Frame Kit. You can cut your triangular panels "on-site" with our instructions. Or, you can order triangular panel kits from Faze Change Produx to reduce construction time and on-site labor.
So, if you just want to order a modified dome frame kit and do the easier projects with our instructions, you can. Now you know why we call our modified geodesic dome frame kit the EconOdome.
What Do I do Now?
About Plans: You can build your new ten sided dome home with an EconOdome frame kit and instructions and plan set included with the EconOdome Planning and Building Manual, or, we can draw custom plans for you using your sketches and/or ideas. Our manual may be used as a reference when drawing or sketching plans. We charge one dollar per square foot for complete plan sets (not including garage and basement areas) drawn on a CAD computor program and printed on 11"x17" pages. A $900 deposit will be required to begin the plans drawing process. Please use the Plans Agreement form that is in the EconOdome Planning and Building Manual when sending in plans deposit money, or, have us send you a Plans Agreement Form. Your redrawn sketches will be returned to you for your approval and revisions prior to your plan set being completed. When your plan set has been completed, the balance will be due. If any extra pages or revisions are required by the building department, we will be responsible for making the changes or additions to your submitted plan set. You may want to consider ordering your EconOdome kit as soon as you get your permit so you can be working on the foundation and floor while the folks at Faze Change Produx are making your EconOdome frame kit. During the construction process we will be available for consultation regarding any additional construction questions via e-mail or our toll free #, 1-888-DOME-LUV. If you are considering having custom plans drawn, we suggest that you order our manual, so we can use the materials as a reference during discussions.
Our 200+ page EconOdome Planning and Building Manual now includes a complete plan set with a matching 50 page illustrated construction guide and has many floorplans, helpful hints, and design ideas.
If you haven't already, we encourage you to order the
EconOdome Planning and Building Manual + Plan Set
If you are ordering from outside the US send $65 US total.
Email us for more details.
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