Basic question here. How feasible is it to build a dome underground? The idea would be for an off-grid, prepper, survivalist-type project. I’m not wanting to argue the desire for such a place but am sincerely curious if it is possible to have a structure completely underground. This is of course with the exceptions of power, ventilation, water, and other systems that would have an above ground presence. I have followed Monolithic Domes for years and have had my imagination captured by this construction concept.
Completely feasible to bury a Monolithic Dome underground. It’s been dome more than a few times. The dome can take the weight. We have a picture of an early home with a D9 Cat parked on top.
There are design caveats. For example, bedrooms must have two independent exits. Normally, above ground, the window is the second exit. Below ground, you should have two doors each leading to independent exits.
This is a good article about the process:
https://monolithicdome.com/below-grade-understanding-ups-and-downs-of-building-underground
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Thank you for the insight and the link. I hadn’t considered the 2nd exit issue - good to know! I am reading that article now. Thanks again!
Kind of a dumb question I feel, but is it possible to use a dome for a garage? I assume it’s just a diameter issue. It’s just odd to think of parking a rectangular vehicle in a round room.
Yes. Lots of people use domes for garages. It’s high-end. Insulated. Nice.
While thinking of ways to survive / evade hurricanes, I always think of the dome first, and then I think of the water table anywhere near the coast of Texas.
The third thing I think about is moving away from the coast and burying the dome! Then it comes to condensation, because we’re used to that problem in our motor home.
Now, I read where David South says in reference to burying the dome,
Even the most enthusiastic proponents of underground construction say that getting financing is a problem and resale is almost impossible.
Dang it, I’m getting too old to solve all of these problems! 
On You Tube there is a video of a man who used to be a computer coder. He built a Monolithic Dome near their business at Italy, Texas. I don’t have a link, but if you search “underground home coder” it will probably come right up. Partially under a staircase and a skylight, he has a lush plant area with a fountain and small goldfish pond.
Also on the Monolithic Dome website, check out “Dome of a Home” and “Eye of the Storm” homes in beach areas.
You might also consider an earth-sheltered, rather than totally underground, dome. We are planning to build two joined earth-sheltered Partial Torus Monolithic Domes. The entire front of the two-torus house (a long run of wall) will have as many windows as the structure can handle, with a couple of doors, facing out into courtyards - a lot of area that acts like an above-ground structure with regard to air and moisture. The rooms with no windows on the underground back side of the house will be closets and bathrooms, and one long hall; they will have skylights in addition to electric lighting. So there will be reduced sound and increased insulation from the earth, I suspect without the potential problems of a totally underground structure.
From reading everything I could get my hands on, I’ve found that people have succeeded in meeting official requirements by showing the engineering plans (which show that the home will be very unlikely to receive major damage from anything - fire, hurricane, tornado, earthquake). If it sat right by a road and a car ran into it, I doubt it would be terribly damaged. A semi might be a problem! As far as resale goes, I would show the engineering plans and the monthly power bills. Also, some people have said their insurance was seriously reduced after the insurance company saw those engineering plans. Those low insurance bills would help with selling, too.
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The more I thought about it, putting dirt over or against any structure is likely to cause additional problems compared to not doing the coverup.
Now, the only example I personally have is our sewer line coming from our conventional home to the septic tank. It took 2 decades, but the heaving of the earth with time, temperature and moisture changes broke one of the 4" PVC couplings. It was buried about a foot below ground.
I can only imagine how to fix that kind of problem with a dirt covered dome home.
Could you post the pic of the dome with a D9 Cat on top. It’s much easier to demo the strength this way.
Hi
I can’t find the picture. That means it’s in long term storage somewhere. I’m sorry.
I have a recent memory of something “dome” that came in with a “Cat” on top. It couldn’t have been too long ago.
I knew I’d seen that post recently.
The story of the D9 Cat atop a dome originated from an underground Monolithic Dome home constructed in south Texas in the 1980s. I don’t have a picture of that particular dome with that heavy dozer on top. I was told it was a D9, but like fish stories, it may have grown over the years.
However, I do have a picture of a backhoe on top of a hobbit-house underground dome built in the 2004 in Tennessee. It might not be a D9, but it’s still something you can’t drive over a regular house.
