A chronicle of life in the Northern Adirondack Mountains, and the build of our unique homestead. My sweetheart Deb and I are slowly self-building a dome home & homestead. This is our journey! We are working towards greater self-sufficiency & a healthier lifestyle... while living in a beautiful community. Home building, gardening, and farm critters... as well as life in the northern Adirondacks!
Looking Good! I will be building a few Natural Spaces Dome kits for clients this summer and it is always fun to see others doing it. Keep up the great work.
I am looking to get a loan really soon to start my journey in building my dream home. Factoring in everything you have done about how much did this entire project cost you? $250k?
A little more, closer to 300k... but this is a larger dome with a garage dome & two stick build extensions. We did the build over 6 years almost all ourselves... paid labor would probably double the cost.
Dave! Your channel is very helpful to me right now. My 46’ dome is being drawn at Natural Spaces. The plan is to obtain my building permits over this winter and break ground in the spring. My property is in Wayne County NY, not an unreasonable drive to ADK. I’m learning quite a bit watching you do this project over the years, some things to do, and some things not to do LOL. In this particular video, you mentioned that you and your buddy stumbled upon a much easier way to install the interior panels. But then you didn’t say what that was! I would really like to know!
Wow! Wayne Co! We used to live in Monroe Co. When you get the interior panels, you'll see they have backer boards holding the T&G together. We cut the backer board in half or thirds (just the backer) to make the panels easier to lift & fit. This was especially helpful up high on a lift. The tongue & groove, and the nailing pattern specified in the build manual, hold them up just fine. Hope this helps. Please reach out with any other questions. Good luck & have fun!!
I’ve lived in Monroe county since the late seventies. I chose Walworth in Wayne County as it falls within a 20 mile circle of my daughter’s house in Irondequoit (also, the tax rate is lower). My son lives in Schenectady. My partner, Julie, and I like to camp in the Adirondacks every year. Maybe sometime we can visit the Domestead?
We took 6 years. But that was OUR schedule. We also did not have heat until the last winter of the build, so we stopped work for several months. As amateur builders, it took us WAAAY longer than most any other would have. We also did this debt free, which added time.
My husband and I built our first dome in 1978 in California. Loved every minute of our time there. Have just moved to Kentucky to get away from the crazy politics and yes I will be building another dome. My husband has passed but my son is taking up the banner and we will each have our own dome and homestead. So efficient and strong, never had a problem with structure.
Hey, thanks for checking. We're good... just got burnt out on recording & editing. Then found it difficult to start back up again. I have video'd stuff, and we have made progress, just need to force myself to edit. Again, thanks for checking. I'll try to get some content up asap.
Did u order a dome kit? Or drew it up yourself? I’m tempted to get a 1,000 sq ft dome kit as my first home but nobody has one so I can’t ask for advice
The dome SHELL kit came from Natural Spaces Domes... who provided engineered drawings (based on my layout) to submit to the local code officer. Every wall, floor, staircase, etc was all us.
It's so useful seeing the ventilation system up close & personal like that. I had already read about it and listened to Denis and the NSD crew describe it. But what you showed was much better for me! Thanks!
If you don't mind, would you please tell me the full length of the stair case? It looks around 10 foot, right? By the way, I've really been enjoying your videos. It's great to see the old ones like this one so I can better imagine/create my own floor plans! Thanks :)
Thanks! The stairway is approximately 11' long, with about an 7-1/2- 8" rise & 10-1/2-11" run... approximately. That was quickly measured with carpet. Basically, we worked out the rise/run using the subfloor height as a reference to layout... and that was a couple of years ago! I suggest a deep dive on the Natural Spaces Domes website... they have a bunch of layouts to review.
@@AdirondackDomestead Thanks for the info, very helpful. Yes, I've digested quite a lot on their site. Actually, that's how I found your channel! It's been good to see all steps of the process with you walking around --- to give me a sense of what is and isn't possible with regards to the dome's sloping ceiling upstairs, for example. I'm in Australia and will probably just order the connector hubs and have the rest done locally. I'm still very much in the early stages though --- playing around with designs!
@Mick Holmes || Movement Man Good luck... it's just as much work planning & sourcing as it is building. We went a larger diameter with low profile to get usable headroom upstairs. Was originally planned to be about a 35' +/- diameter!
Ha! You'd think so... but the shelter he was first brought to (in Kentucky!) named him & his brother after a distillery, Woodward Reserve... Woody & Rezi. (He was transferred to a foster home in very upstate NY, where we adopted him from. :-) I sometimes call him by the formal name, Woodward. He's such a little goober... he's brought serious joy to us.
I see you have a New Sign!!! Cool!!! Add to the “List”…..rain gutters for porch overhang. Mud Season in the melting. Your driveway? Ugh…..going to take tons and tons of stone. Fresh eggs and peeps to grow into layers…..for your roadside stand. “List”…..Roadside Stand. Eggs Will help pay for all that driveway stone😀
Yeah...driveway stone & a ditch for the water to flow into. Gutters are on the project list, too. Never-ending projects!!! The more pressing need will be a garden for the seeds just started, and a new coop & run for the new chickens!
Oh, you are so right! Definitely something that needs to be addressed! And yes, mud season is up next and driveway is a huge issue but we are sure you will get it done ;-)
Interesting how the domes shed snow. And you have had a huge amount this winter. And more on the way. As temps warm up and snow melts into puddles, it will help you figure out your drainage situation…..where the low and high spots are for your grading and channeling. Everything is New to Woody 🐶…..he’s curious to explore his new world 😀
The dome shell kit came from Natural Spaces Domes... included pre-made struts & panels, skylights, insulation, shingles, hubs, hardware, etc. You can buy the strut & hub parts from them & cut your own parts.
