Dome Home Costs 50% Less

Dome Home Costs 50% Less FARM HOME Houses 3-4-26 A Michigan family has been beating the "energy squeeze" for the last five years by living in a plastic "dome home" that costs about half the going rate for building and heating a conventional home. Gus McKee, of Mattawan, designed and built it himself, and has plans to put it on the market. His unconventional home is a clear span dome made of polyurethane foam. He first made a plastic balloon which he inflated and then sprayed on the outside with foam. The resulting structure is one that combines insulation and support into the same material. The house has an insulation rating (R factor) of 35, which is much higher than wood or other conventional building materials. The dome is 40 ft. in dia. and 20 ft. high at the center. It's "fireproofed" on the interior. Total living area is 1,965 sq. ft., including a 700 sq. ft. loft reached by a spiral staircase. It contains a kitchen, living-dining area, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a utility room. feature. Another is low heating cost. Says McKee: "I've used 485 gals. of oil per season over the last five years. The heating. bill savings has been enough to pay taxes on the house." He adds that insulation also keeps the house cool in summer. "This plastic 'dome home' is not the kind of construction a home owner can do himself," says McKee who is planning to market a complete shell of the 40 ft. home with an unfinished interior. The complete shell will be fireproofed inside and have three sliding glass doors and three skylights. It will sell for about $18,000, says McKee. "The interior can be finished for another $12,000, to make a total package of $30,000 - about half the cost of a conventional home of comparable size." For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gus McKee, Dome Homes, Route 1, Box 108, Michigan Highway 43, Mattawan, Mich. 49071 (ph 616 668-2077).

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