We are the Berger family. Follow us as we build an aircrete dome home using the Domegaia materials and methods. Located on the small tropical island of Yap, in Micronesia.
I was going to suggest antiinflammatories such as some tree tree oil or moringa leaf oil...I recently started the orally the moringa leaf... amazingly the psoriasis that was flaring up calmed down and is disappearing....both items prob readily available to you... moringa tree is gown in most tropical areas....once you become aquainted with it you will begin to understand why it is called the miracle tree by some people
@@rocksanon689 Yes,possibly that will work for psoriasis.But the Alkali is in the extreme from the cement. It needs to be neutralized,safely.Alkali will cause burns and cement poison if not neutralized. As a cement Mason for years,this is what we use to help prevent that.Of course wear gloves at all times while working with cement.
Learned a couple things on this video: The 3” screw between the blocks as the start to lean in; the weights over the opposite side to counter act the leaning blocks; and the swinging brass for the current block in work. Thanks for sharing!
Yes do all three things to protect your hands gloves , oil, and vinegar! Not in that order ! Good work on some and nice place to live. I have worked with brick and stone tie them together with a corrugated anchor strap. Rebar and chain are also good ideas . My understanding is that you don't need it if you use the recommended fabric and plaster coating on both sides of dome as it gives structural strength. I am here in states and trying find out codes in local areas that allow this type of building. I appreciate what you have done!
Sprinkle or spray some vinegar on your hands once in a while, it neutralizes the lime in the concrete. When it is neutralized on your skin you will not even smell the vinegar. Helps to protect leather also.
Thamk you for sharing vyour experience, learning and adventure with us. You and the ladies buidling your dome, is giving us inspiration to do so ours in Australia.
wisconsin > Hello . looks good ,,your mason knows her stuff ! i like the organic texture on the inside walls . the plastic sheet making random creases in the surface . awaiting more step by step vid's .
As was previously mentioned in the comments, the joints should be staggered and "not line up" since a fault line could cause fault flaw in the structure eventually. Also mesh will increase its tensile strength, so its a good idea for use on the outside of dome, but won't have much of an affect on the inside of it. And "not" aerating the mortar and stucco mix. Will make it stronger and seal the aircrete better. Since you're in the tropics I'm sure you want to seal it. Good luck with and hope to hear what the mesh will be made of? So will look forward to next progress posting.
Someone was saying using sodium silicate (concrete sealant) could help strengthen the concrete and also provide a water barrier. Dunno if it's true for aircrete though
Great dome! Very nice entrance arch. I've seen these types of builds before, and most are using more than one support beam coming from the center. If you have 5 or 6, you probably don't need to have counter weights on the outside.
What about Mason mesh instead of counter weights? Apply the mesh to the outside as you go and screw it in directly to the outside of each block. And then the application on the outside of more aircrete will be easier.
@@jonyap08 if you get a skill saw with a mason blade you found notch one in the base course. A piece of 1/4 "off laid in the mold would do it too. Also, embedding a steel cable in age base row will stop the "outward kick" caused by compression. That will give your structure many more years if there is natural soil movement that affects the foundation.. Just some thoughts.
His wife's English is not as good and she is obviously a pro at aligning those blocks. He clearly works just as hard as she does. Stop being melodramatic.
Wear latex surgical gloves which you can buy from any pharmacy (a box of 100 small, medium, large or extra large powdered gloves is about $6 more or less depending on the country's prices) then wear the construction gloves on top of the latex gloves and nothing will seep through to your hands and cause you skin rashes anymore, you can also wear two latex gloves on top of each other before you wear the construction gloves for double protection
@@jonyap08 I like to see your using it as a freeform construction method, that should force you to adjusting and improving at each additional course of block. But pls stagger the joints and if I may suggest using hooks instead of screws to hold the tension lines in place. It would be more efficient.
Hello Jeremy! Hey...next to us in Guam. I am just trying to build a strong home that we can be safe in during typhoon...and cheap as possible. Thanks for the comment.
How would you install windows? I would imagine the weight of the blocks over time as the structure shifts and settles would invade the sills and cause cracking of not impede operation of the slides. Are you going to cut window openings into the structure or add some form of reinforcements
Hello Matt from the islands! We are going to cut window opennings. Here in the island we will just have bug screen and security wire. So no need for window slides. If a typhoon comes, we will board it up with plywood.
Hi john i have similar build going on the the Philippines. About ready to post a video as well. I chose to use rebar to give it maximum strength just in case a tremor occurrence.
Can I ask; I see that you pour the aircrete into a mould and then cut them into smaller bricks. Why do you do this ( as opposed to pouring aircrete mix into a larger, curved, form that matches the curvature of the wall at that height/level )? Is it simply that smaller blocks are easier to handle? And that too many different sized forms would be required? Thanks
I am following the DomeGaia instructions and method. Yes, we could have used the pour method down at the lowest level, but not up higher. Making bricks and placing them is the easiest way, but time consuming.
What's the building code in Micronesia...did you have an architect and engineers sign and seal? I can't seem to build one in the Philippines without going through the gamut.
No building codes at all. Government red tape is a pain. I would recommend just building out of regular cement and not aircrete. After one year, our aircrete structure has many cracks. Our next addition will be made with ferro-cement and wire mesh. Good luck in PI.
Yes it is, but a more dense aircrete...not as much foam. We then put a thin sand/cement mortar layer on top. You do not need to do this if you are going to lay tile down.
Hello Alma, Dome Gaia recommends roofing fabric. We did not have any on the island, so we used heavy duty mosquito netting. It is placed on the outside of the dome only. After one year, we have many large cracks in our dome structure. We will not build with aircrete again. Our next addition will be with Ferro-cement and wire mesh.
@@jonyap08 hey Jon, sorry to hear you had a bad experience with aircrete. I've been looking into building with it, but I'll think twice after learning about the large cracks. Did you get in touch with the Dome Gaia people at all to ask their opinion why the cracks happened?
Hey ! I was wondering if you could project the Aircrete on a structure, like with the projected concrete technic for some bubble houses. Can´t find anything online. Thanks
I don't think so. You see.....aircrete is a very fluid mixture really. But maybe you could run some tests. "Aircrete Harry" seems to be blowing his unique mixture just fine. Look up his most recent videos here on RU-vid.
Why would you want to remove the screw holding the blocks together?....seems to me that it couldn't hurt to just leave then in for more strength. I like the idea of the screws
@@jonyap08 ok just thought that i could use that to make a tornado shelter here in minnesota USA. but may have to put a few inches of straight concrete on the outer shell to withstand that here. No "easy button" i guess.
@@geneheard9776 check out this dome home that got directly hit by an EF4 tornado. It flattened regular houses nearby. www.monolithic.org/benefits/benefits-survivability/a-testament-to-the-dome-shape
Reinforcing an air Crete Dome requires a polyester fabric. Many people have used many different kinds, and among the most popular are Roofing fabric and geotextile fabric. Though I have heard stories of people using off-the-shelf clothing grade polyester fabric with good results. As to the size, there really is no limit to the size Dome one could build. There have been aircrete domes in excess of 50 feet already built. Though once you start getting up into those sizes, I would seriously seriously suggest increasing the thickness of the blocks. This video shows a Dome built with blocks that are 3.5 inch thick. For a 20-foot Dome I would say that is pretty close to the minimum thickness I would be comfortable with. If I were building it, I would be using blocks more along the lines of 5 in thick. But having said that, I am in a Northern climate where the insulating ability of the aircrete comes into play quite a bit, plus we can get heavy snow loads on top of our buildings up here. Based on your question I am going to make a presumption that you're new to the aircrete Dome building experience. Search on RU-vid for a channel called Little Giant, and a video entitled how to build your aircrete tiny house. That is a absolutely fantastic video that is loaded with good information for a newbie.
Grout burns, get some bag balm coat your hands well then put your gloves on you really need to get and keep the inside of your gloves clean, i like old fashion dish washing gloves then pull my sleeves over them
Oil your Hands... I have done Concrete Sculptures.. at first No Problem.. then as you Get Cracked Skin on your Finger tips and hands the Cement Creeps in and can Expand .. Really Hurts.. Use a Thick Shea Butter Cream and Knit Gloves.. Plastic is just too Hot...How many Sacks of Cement does it take to Make one Frame of 32 Blocks ... thanks
Try using mosquito netting. It is super strong and cheap. Should be easily available in Southeast Asia. For simple dome construction it will give enough strength and will connect and unify all the blocks together.
@@allenhyman5003 That will work just fine. Just don't put any structural weight up on top of the dome. If you use stainless or aluminum netting, that will give maximum strength. But fiberglass screen is just fine.
Hello from Yap Daniel. Any American can come to Yap...it is like a USA territory. Land is easy to get and cheap. Not quite the same process as in the USA, but you can either lease or buy. We got ours for free because I am married to a Yap island woman....and her relatives have land here. Once you have the land, there are NO taxes.
Hello Mark from the islands. Sorry, I do not know the R value. Here in the islands I am not too concerned with that. There is a lot of info here on the internet about the R value I think. I understand it is very good....because aircrete is like foam insulation.
@@jonyap08 Ahh nice, that's one piece of the puzzle I'd been unable to discern from the various dome gaia vids. Makes sense, aluminium would just introduce possible corrosion.
