Would You Buy a Dome Home?

That’s the question posed by Brad Moon, better known as Geek Dad. In a recent post for a Wired Magazine blog, Moon muses about the advantages of living in a storm-resistant home given that he resides in an area of Canada that is often hit by tornadoes and other extreme weather. It’s no wonder his interest was piqued when he read about advantages of Monolithic Dome homes.

“While I was skimming the papers — and still in my pensive weather mood — I came across this story in the Toronto Star about companies that sell dome homes including Great Lakes Dome Co. and Monolithic.," Moon writes. “They’re purported to be pretty much tornado-, hurricane- and earthquake-proof and Google seems to agree that the dome form factor has proven able to withstand direct hits by some very gnarly weather — although Stormtroopers may be problematic.”

“You can bury them in a hillside and live hobbit-style, or go with the basic exposed concrete dome look. They seem to be pretty energy efficient too. After spending upwards of $15k over the past few years to get our house Energuide Rating up to 76 (which seems to be pretty much the most we can hope for with a 40-year-old home), the idea of a building that scores an 88 is appealing.”

For Moon, those advantages are enough to convince him that his next home just might be round. “I’m starting to think that if I were ever in the position to build a house, the dome form factor will be pretty high on my list.”