Anyone own one? thoughts on survivability as a bug in location?  Seems to stand up to mother nature extremely well from the web sites.

they do stand up to weather very well. very stong. they are not bulletproof. they are made of wood. i was going to buy one in the early nineties, until i found out from my lender that i was going to need a 25% down payment due to the fact that they are non typical construction and that they are hard to sell... due to the non typical construction and so on.  this may have changed since then.



anyway, i didnt buy it and life goes on.



good luck if you go down that path, they are really cool structures.

these are monolithic not geodesic , aero frame, steel rebar welded then foan insulation sprayed onto then shotcrete over that.

Feral thanks that is precisely like the dome that I want. Going to edit my title to see if I can get his attention.

Hey Feral, still thinking about a dome restaurant? I didn't forget you and the wife.


So what is the project that you are thinking about doing snakeshooter1? If I can answer your questions, I will.

They hold up very well to storms and 5000 pound bombs. Read the forth paragraph down. See the G.I. standing in the lower right hand corner?
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/iraq-mosque

Oh and I heard they do stop bullets to.
http://static.monolithic.com/thedome/bullet_test/index.html

I really enjoy your posts 1_Big_Bunker.  
Glad to see you back!

There is a big concrete one down here on the beach.  It weathered a Cat III hurricane with nary a scratch.

Thanks bh66. I didn't know I was even missed.

I will be around for a while and then I start my next project that I have been working my butt off trying to get off the ground. I am building a Monolithic dome dorm complex for MYSELF. I am tired of running all over building for other people. I have decided to build once and get paid for it forever.

very cool for certain, but what is the usual price on one of these?

link to article about home that survived hurricane being sold.  the article contains links to more info regarding the home weathering the storm.


link to article regarding cost of dome.  it essentially states that construction costs are the same as a custom stick built home.  five or six years ago, when i researched monolithic domes, they were advertised as roughly 10%-25% more than a custom stick built.  it would make sense, that the costs are much lower now.  b/c of the higher efficiency of the dome, your long term costs will be phenomenally lower over the life of the dome.

I always hated when Monolithic says the cost to build a dome is so much higher. I will tell you why it is so much higher, because there are so few dome builders out there and even fewer who can build a nice one. Go look in your phone book under dome builders and tell me how many you see. Now look at how man builders there are for conventional construction. Dome builders know they have the market cornered and they really take advantage of people because of it. Heck, when I was down at Monolithic's school, they tell you to charge a lot more because of this. It isn't because of materials, it is greed and huge profits.

I had a two families come to me with bids from other dome builders. They actually showed me the bids they received. They asked me if I could do better than that. Then they said maybe we shouldn't have showed you the bids. I laugh and said it doesn't matter, I charge what I charge. After I figured it out, I thought I must have screwed up some where because my bid was almost $50,000 less than the other two. I figured it three more times, and I was right. They were making the same profit I was PLUS another $50,000 on top of that. I got both jobs, and made my profit and saved them $50K.

In all honesty, domes are not that expensive to build. The average dome home will cost about $35 per square foot including labor to build, but not profit of course. This is just MY cost. That does not include $5000 gold hardware in the tub, but it does include R-10 triple pane windows, and R-60 foam filled door. The best you can get. Windows run about $35 per square foot. A 3'x5' window installed will cost about $525 or so. That may sound like a lot for a window, but why put bias ply tires on a Ferrari? The average front door costs about $1500, but they are the best doors you can get. The highest price door we ever put in was over $15K.

The cost to operate a dome home is very very small. Everyone I have built, the owners have said that they are averaging 60% - 90% savings in heating and cooling. One man from Minnesota has a 2500sf dome and for THREE winters, yes 3 winters his total cost to heat his home was inder $450 for ALL three winters combined. He wrote up a referral and recommendation for me. He said he has all the heating and cooling bills to prove it. He says he heats with a candle and cools with an icecube.

I copied this below from an article on Monolithic's web site. This church is in Alaska.

Full article. Go down to OTHER REASONS FOR BUILDING MONOLITHIC IN ALASKA.
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/war-bonnet-construction-alaska

"Ansel lists the energy-efficiency of Monolithic Domes as the third advantage. He cites Trinity Christian Center as an example: “Trinity has 8000 square feet. Our natural gas heating averages $72 per month. That’s all. Heating a traditional building of similar size would cost $1000 or more per month. We’re paying less than one-tenth of that!”

i've wanted one ever i first read about them in the american survival guide back in the early 90's...

i'll probably never have the money to buy one though...

still, very very cool...

K.

how long from start to finish does it take to build a monlithic home

1_big_bunker, your post above pretty much confirms my thoughts.  i assumed b/c there were few builders and the fact they had to travel w/ their crews farther, that it'd cost more versus the actual cost being more.  thanks for the info.  

my wife and i first looked into monolithics years ago and both want to go this direction.  in five years or so, we plan to look for 160 acres, or more, and find a floor plan and start building.

Start to finish really depends on the size of the dome. Let's use a 3000 sf home as a standard size.

That is a dome that is 50' across and 24' tall. You have about 2000sf on the first floor, and a 50' balcony that is VERY cool looking and over looking your living room and kitchen area, and it is about 1000sf.

The dome will COST about:        

Airform ====$12,000 including BP
Foam ===== $5600
Rebar =====$5300
Concrete====$5500
Floor ======$4600
Misc======$12,000

Total cost for shell ==== $45,000

Add in another $75,000 and you can have the interior done and done NICE with a 50' balcony that's about 10' high over looking everything. So for about $120K, and three months MAX, you can build yourself a 3000 square foot bunker that looks like a dome home. You can get away with less money to finish off the inside, but that's up to you.

This home will cost you about a dollar a day to heat in the northern states. At least every one I have built has cost that much and most have no AC in the summer time or just a window AC to keep the inside around 72-75 all the time.

Really, they are NOT that hard to build. It all comes down to attention to detail. Concrete will not wait for you to fix it in the morning. I know people are saying that you need special equipment and what not, and you do to some degree, but it can be rented.

I know an older couple who were in their late 60's who built a 1200sf dome home about ten years ago. They put ALL the concrete on the dome by hand and never used a shotcrete pump. Now that is hard as reinforced woodpecker lips. They basically mixed and applied by hand about 60 yards for the whole dome. Then again, they are an older couple who have a work ethic, and are not afraid of it. Read into that whatever you want.

Also, a couple years back, I offered to help ANYONE build their own home for FREE and use my equipment. No one took me up on it.  

Thanks 1BB How hard is it to get loans for them compared to more traditional homes? What kind of mantaince is required? length of time from start to finish of builds(avg)  can you have a basement under one?  I really have alot of questions!  btw AMAZING work on the design and finish of the stained concrete floor in the pics from Feral's post.  We are actually looking at about 2000  SF. and actually nothing really much higher than builders grade on fixtures and stuff.

This is GREAT information for us interested in a Safe AND Energy Efficient Home.

What part of the USA do you build in Big Bunker?

Also what about comfort and heat issues for those of us who live in the "Hotter Than Hell" section of the USA? (TEXAS  

BIGGER_HAMMER

Getting loans should actually be much easier now because of some crap the president signed into law about green homes. I am not really sure what it is all about, but the problem is the banks don't want to give you YOUR money back let alone loaning you any. I can say that the days of easy money and 100% financing are long gone. You will need to have a down payment and a big one, plus outstanding credit. A friend of mine in Texas is a judge, and she has great credit, and a great job with a damn good income and she was turned down for a loan until she came up with about 25% to put down.

Maintance is really nothing more than keeping the doors and windows caulk up good. There is no shingles or siding. In about 25 years or so, I would coat the outside with a polyurea. That is the samething as the bedliner crap they spray in trucks. That stuff is VERY cheap to put on. It will cost you about the same as putting on a new roof on a conventional home, but that polyurea will last about 150 years. It is also your roof, AND your siding all in one.

How long it will last depends on how thick you spray it on. Any polyurthane products will degrade when exposed to the sun. Foam, will break down at a rate of 1/16'' per year, and polyureas or the bed liner crap will break down at about .001'' per year. So if you spray it on an 1/8'' thick it will last about 125 years or so. I know they make good money spray trucks. In real money, a standard truck bed only costs about $30-$40 or so to do.

I said before it takes about three months to build one, unless you have to watch must see TV and that idol show. Then maybe two or three years.

Basements are a question I get everytime. Let me explain why people have basements. It is because the house they are living in will not protect them if bad weather hits. They will be hurting units, type one each, scared white in color if they have no basement and live in a conventional home. That is the only reason people have basements. In a dome, you are safe no matter where you are. So why spend money to dig a hole and then build in a hole? Take the money it costs you to dig a hole and apply that to square footage of your home and build a little bigger home. Build UP not down if your land area to build on is small.

If it costs you $7500 to dig a hole and then have it back filled, and it costs you about $35 per square foot to build your home, you could take that money and instead of a hole, have an extras 215 square feet of living area. That's another bedroom or bigger family room or whatever. You get something for it instead of a hole. It doesn't cost anything to build in air.

It is also worth noting that a bank does NOT consider a basement as living area at all. They reason that you are underground and if water gets in, it is not liveable. You can have the sweetest basement around, and they don't care. Now build UP and you just doubled the value of your home. Be smart with your money.

Yes, the men are very good at what they do. I always tell them, "That's your name on that building for 100's of years, do it right or I will find someone who will". Plus they know I do not put up with laziness, or half ass work, and at the end of the day, I have worked as hard if not harder than anyone there.



Well, I am not really building for anyone anymore. I build just for myself now. I have helped out a few friends here and there and built them a home, but I am not looking to build for anyone anymore. My projects now will take up all of my time. Just to give you an idea, the project I am starting will take about 75 men and 18 months to build. Since that one is up north, I have been working on another one down south and I just about have everything completed to be able to build it. That will take about 300 men and three years to build. It is over 550 domes that are 4200sf each. It has been one LOOOOONG up hill road to get to this point, but I am getting there.

For cooling in Texas, you will need more than a window AC, but not by much. You will need about one ton of AC per 1000sf of living area. That is so long as you have good doors and windows. Remember, people up north experience the samething only it is with the colder than hell section of the country. The dome doesn't care if it is hot or cold.

My friend who I built a 3000sf dome for in Minnesota told me that his dome stays around 72. In the summer if it gets above 100 and high heat index for longer than a week, he said he has a window AC that runs about 15-30 minutes a day and keeps the temp at around 72 or 73. Remember, that dome has about 300 tons of concrete that is COMPLETELY encased in foam insulation from under the floor to the top of the dome. It takes an awful lot to change that much mass that is fully insulated. Keep in mind your average "stick" built home weighs less than 40 tons. A good rule of thumb is it takes about 24-30 hours to change the temp inside one degree. Once it is at 72, it stays there, and whatever you do, do NOT jocky that thermostat around or let anyone else do it. Set it and leave it. Turning it up REALLY high to get MORE heat does not work. This is of course all infloor heat I am talking about and not forced air.

working on the apartment complex you were talking about a few years ago?

what do you think a cost estimate would be for the 1200 sq ft homemade dome you mentioned?

I assume windows and other penetrations weaken overall survivability?

OP; I had a small Ecoshell II (concrete only, no polyurethane) built for a shed.  Happy with it so far.  Could use it for bug in.  Only problems I've had are not cleaning up the rebound (shotcrete that bounces off) well and then having a leak through it.  Went back and hammered out the rebound, and stuffed fresh concrete in the hole and it stopped the leak.

Recommend adding Silica Fume to the concrete mix.  Will need a good superplasticizer to pump it, though, as Silica Fume makes the concrete thixotropic (forms gelatin).

1BB:  I left the airform on, but it has been a few years, and I need to coat over it now.  Do you have any opinion of this product called SilShield that Monolithic sells and says they like?  (with primer of course):  http://shop.monolithic.com/products/silshield

Thanks

Thanks for the info 1BB, care to recommend a builder for south central Alabama? Its going to take us about a year before we start to build so I will do a ton of research, but you have addressed my major concerns.

Yes, and a dome dorm complex for a college. It will be 45 domes each housing 33 students. Each dome is 9000sf.


A 1200sf dome built yourself can be done for less than $50K easily. If you contract a few things like foaming, then add another $5000 to that. This would cover rental of special equipment as well.

You can have an opening up to 40% of the circumference without weakening the shell at all.

So if you had a 32' diameter dome, 32 x 3.14 = 100' x 40% = 40' hole. You do need to do a few things with rebar to make a hole this big, but it isn't a problem at all.

I had an email asking me if they could come and help me build domes. I posted this a long time ago, and he remembered and asked if the offer was still open. I said anyone who wants to learn how to build a dome, and get actual hose time learning how to spray foam and shotcrete, I am more than willing to help them out. You can stay and help as much or as little as you want. I will say that once you build a couple with us, you can build your home and make it look VERY nice and save a ton of money. Building domes is not hard, but you will learn attention to detail, that I can promise. So if you want to learn, you are more than welcome.







Do you have the airform on the inside or the outside of the dome?

I am just trying to figure out if you are trying to coat the concrete or the airform?

If it is the airform, this pretty good stuff, so far anyway. It isn't anything that is going to last long term as in years and years though.

If it is concrete you are coating, you will NEVER get the coverage of 100sf per gallon. You may get 100sf per five gallon pail. At that point I would hire someone to just spray some polyurea. The cost will be the same per square foot, but the polyurea will out last your great grand kids, and it will be water proof.

That is actually not to far away from where I am building my project. I might be able to help you out.

1BB sounds good I hope everything comes together for you. I hope I can come by and see the domes you are going to build down here too. I wouldn't be opposed to spending some time learning what I can on that project either.

1BB:
Oh, sorry, it's an Ecoshell II, so the airform is on the outside of the dome, and I'm going to leave it on and coat over it on the outside of the dome.
Thank you sir.

Here is what I am building first if you want to come and learn on. Then I will be down south in the winter working on the other project. These are 62' wide and 34' tall. The other picture is a dome my friend owns and is what the ones I will be building will look like as far as the shape is concerned. His is only 55' wide and 31' tall, so it is smaller. His is 2374 square feet per floor and it has three floors with an elevator. Mine will be 3017 sf per floor and there are three floors. The last picture is the first basic land plan. It has changed to meet the needs of what the city wanted, but is basically the same. So if you want to learn, you are more than welcome. There will be almost 4000 yards of shotcrete, and almost 400 sets of foam, and around 168 miles of rebar that needs to be hung, or sprayed just on the dome shells. Then you have the floors.

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No, my bad. It didn't ring a bell when I seen ecoshell II the first time. We don't build ecoshells, so I didn't catch that.

A few years ago a friend of mine wanted to build an ecoshell II for a bunker. He wanted to put it underground. He asked me if we could build it, and spray foam inside on the concrete, and hang more rebar and then put on another layer of concrete. I said yes, we could if you want to, but why? Put a regular monolithic dome underground and three feet of earth over that and you will have all protection you need. The jury is still out on if this happens or not.

1BB, I never forgot that generous offer and still hope to take you up on it, someday. . .but not necessarily for free. . .Alas, we cannot afford to build until retirement, which is still a few years away.  It is always a pleasure to read your informative posts.

Big Bunker, when I win the lottery I'm giving you a call.

Same here.

what about building in earthquake zones (CA)?

Here is some info about earthquakes. I know that church up in Alaska went through a good size quake. It knocked a few people to the floor and had the lights swinging back and forth pretty bad, and I guess the concrete floor cracked in one spot but didn't buckle because of all the rebar. Other than that, it was fine. They said they put a rug over the crack to hide it.

Also, domes meet and exceed every building code in the Soviet Socialist Republic of California.

http://static.monolithic.com/thedome/liquefication/index.html

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/earthquake-safety


I would be more worried about wild fires myself.

http://static.monolithic.com/gallery/homes/braswell_fire/index.html






Subconscious, don't wait for your redneck retirement to come through. We can always think of ways to make money.

Great thread!!!


To build your own, wouldnt you need a contractors licence?


I'm really interested in this.... My house is on the market right now and I should be able to walk away with close to 100k after all is said and done.

1B_B, What would it cost to have  a 1300 sq ft dome built  completely finished with standard fixtures including labor?

I plan to move to kentucky, how would I go about finding out codes for this type of build?


Do the siminars at Monolithic cover rough in??? That has to be way different than standard housing.

BTW, Im decent w/ my hands but I'm not in contruction biz.


Thanks in advance.

HS

Most states you can build your own home without having a GC licence, but if you do, just do what I do, hire a local GC and throw him a few grand. Most love to see and be apart of something new as it is just another project they add to their resume. That is what I am doing on my large projects.

I say to them, I have two questions before I hire you.
1. How many domes have you built? They always say none.
2. Who's in charge? They smile and say you are.

Don't get me wrong. I tell them I really need you to make sure we have no trouble with sewer and water, and anything "SPECIAL" the city or inspectors look for. Those people know who to call to get done what you need done. I know in Texas, you don't even need a building permit. I was there a couple months ago, and was surprised to hear that. Just build what you want, we don't care, is what I was told by the city. They said few places require a building permit.

I am not sure about the codes in Kentucky, but I know they have built them there. Call up the city where you are moving to and need to pull a permit from, and ask to speak to the zoning commissioner, and building inspector. They will G2 you on everything you need to know.

The cost of a dome is easier to figure out if you give a little more info. Would you want a second floor or all on one floor the 1300sf? Is the second floor a full floor or do you want a balcony over looking part of the first? How many bathrooms and bedrooms would you like to have?

Here is a floor plan I really like. Actually, this is what I am building for my mother. The only difference is on the left hand side along the wall in the living room, I am adding stairs and making a horse shoe balcony up top so it over looks the whole living room. The other thing I am doing is putting in a wall between the living room and kitchen, but make it open so it is like a counter with cabinets below. It will also support the balcony which will over hang a couple feet. The last thing I am doing is adding a small stackable washer and dryer in the closet in the master bedroom. She doesn't want to carry laundry out of the bedroom and then back in it. The hook ups will still remain in the laundry room itself.

The upstairs will have a one or two more bedrooms and another bath room. The rest will be open and another living room type setting.

The square footage for this is 1590 on the first floor and about 1200 on the second floor. I am planning on getting this up for less than $120K including a well and septic.

http://shop.monolithic.com/products/dl4501_drawings


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I hate to say it, but the classes Monolithic put on SUCK. You will learn enough to get yourself into a WHOOOOLE bunch of trouble, and I did. They have A LOT of class room time teaching you things that make you smart and able to answer questions about why and how things work, but you do not get enough time to actually learn to build one. You get 20 minutes of shotcrete time with the gun, and a few minutes spraying foam. You hang a few sticks a rebar, and that is it. You do NOTHING with putting in a floor or attaching the airform to the floor. Nothing with doing any type of building or finsihing of the interior. You are on your own when it comes to that. In all honesty, it isn't that hard to figure out if you apply common sense.

The best thing to do is to get with someone who has built a dozen or so and learn from them. Once you do that, you will be able to go out and build your own and have it look like a pro did it and save a lot of money. That's why I said if someone wants to take a week or two or whatever and come out and learn to build, I don't care.

This is funny because when I went to the Monolithic Dome Institute for their workshop, their common line was "try it our way first".  People always hit them up with big new ideas, like your example, on how to do it different/better/faster/further/harder/longer.  They've already tried about everything and have the best system going.

1BB count me in on the project you have down south. I can put in a week for sure.

I really like the smaller units. I'm sure they can be buyilt in such a way as to build a home out of 6-7 little domes.

I've always loved these domes.

I have seen some interesting plans, but I think the materials labor goes down alot per of floor space for larger domes?

oh so tagged,

This would be perfect, I was thinking dome as in no walls=wrong, This will be my future home.

What considerations would I need for a basement floor, then the rest of the house on top. I will be building up north and I want a floor underground with 2 on top, 4K sq ft maybe bigger.

damn those are nice

Small budgets are a bitch, because this would be great! I only with I had more money

But this is something to think about for the future!

Yes, you can have as many domes connected together and any size you want. You are pretty much limited to what you can dream up.

The cost to build second and third floors in a dome is not as much as building a bigger dome. You just have stairs.







I found the one I was looking for. This one has a basement. The dome has an 18 foot stem wall, and 9 feet of that is underground for a basement.

All a stem wall is, is when the airform is made, it is designed to go straight up for how ever many feet you want BEFORE any curve of the dome starts. Kind of like a silo, you can have a 20' silo or a 90' silo but at the top, you have a curved dome. In this case, this family wanted an 18' stem wall, 9 feet above ground, and 9 feet below ground. They could have had all 18 feet above or below ground, the dome does not care and NOTHING changes as far as construction goes.

The airform inflates like a condom when you blow it up. You design and control everything to include the final shape of the top of the dome. You can have it high and round, or lower profile and flatter on top. It is up to you, again, the domes does not care.

Look at the link below and you can really see what you would have as far as the curve inside a dome. Keep in mind that this dome is only 1017 sf on each floor, but look at the curve of the wall. Most people think the curve inside a dome is a very sharp circle, and you can not put anything against the wall like a couch, but that is not the case at all unless it is a very small dome. This dome is 36' across and 1017 sf and most homes are 50' across and 1964 sf.

The curve on the wall for larger 50' domes is so slight that unless you have a couch that seats a dozen people and 25 feet long, the couch will sit flat against the wall.

Another thing, look at the very poor shotcrete job that was done on this dome where the dome starts to curve at the top. You can clearly see the rebar lines. This is what happens when people build their own dome and have not had much experience spraying shotcrete. They are rolling the shotcrete because their angle is all wrong, and either to far away or to low of air pressure. The building is sound and no weaker than any other dome, it just does not have the clean look to it in my opinion, but what do I know, they're happy and that's all that matters.

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/feature-home-annarbor/photos


Dome shapes. Look all the way at the bottom to see the different common shapes.

http://www.monolithic.com/topics/monolithic-dome-shapes

You have to see this one. Sometimes I wonder how people dream things up, but like I said, if you can dream it up, chances are it can be built.

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/a-dome-fit-for-a-king/photos

interesting idea, but IMO, they should have run the stone parapet all the way around the roof line, versus simply a tower.  if they had done this, then it would've fit in perfectly in arfcom SF.  you could have defended your BOL from the MZB's from your rooftop and it would have looked better too, again IMO.

So how big can you go for a single dome?  Is 10K sf achievable?

Here are their canned floor plans:
http://shop.monolithic.com/pages/residential-floor-plans

They use this method for building schools, churches, sports arenas, with great success, so they can build big.  I think they call the giant  ones "Crenospheres".

I wonder if building an "arch" like the Quonset buildings is doable, but have rounded ends?


It wouldn't be a dome though.

This is EXACTLY what happens everytime I build a dome home. People say I like it BUT.....and that is where the dreaming up part comes into play, because it is so EASY to change the dome to make it fit what you want and the cost doesn't change one bit. Unless you go bigger of course.

People say "I like this, BUT can you do THIS instead?", and I almost always say yes. I can say yes because it is nothing more than a balloon that is inflated to fit what you want. If that balloon has 5000 sf feet over it and is in the shape of one dome, it will use the same amount of material as a double or triple dome that are smaller but still add up to 5000 sf over the two or three domes all connected.

Seriously, if you want 4000 sf and all in one dome, or three seperate domes connected by concrete arches, the cost doesn't change because the same amount of material is being used or close to it. All that changes is how and where that material is applied.

Some people make it sound like it is a lot more work and charge a lot more, but if they are honest about it, who ever is spraying shotcrete doesn't care if he is spraying on a single dome wall or a concrete arch. It is all the same to him.

The airform is nothing more than an inflateable concrete form to make almost any shape you want.  You, or the engineers at Monolithic I should say, will make sure what you want can be built so the rebar and concrete work together.


Here is something that SF people might be interested in. This dome has or had its own 1000 sf indoor garden with a pond and a banana tree that produced fruit in Idaho. You can have whatever you want. This was built back in the 70's.

Pictures.
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/cliffdome-then-and-now/photos

Story.
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/cliffdome-then-and-now






Well, using the thin shell construction, you can build up to 300 feet in diameter, which is 70,650 sf all on one floor, or just over 1.62 acres under roof with no supporting columns. Now if you want to spend some real money and build a crenosphere, then you can build up to 1000 foot in diameter domes. Something this big has never been built, but if it was, it would be 785,000 sf or just over 18 acres under roof with no supports.

Like this? On the left hand side, click on the links at the top and then the links at the bottom to view many many many different pictures of this one.

http://www.cuonlinenow.com/users/b_dbremner/WebPages/curlewkeepmain.html


You do not have to have this curved. It can be a long tunnel if that's what blows your hair back or a complete circle like this. This design was from a woman who had a daycare and she wanted the kids outside but much safer than just a fence protecting them. Now you HAVE to come inside the home to get to the kids because the yard is surrounded by the home. For an SF person, this would be a perfect place to have your garden or singles meet.

http://www.monolithic.com/stories/shapes-torus