Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Amazing product... Makes you want to find a use for it. Would also be interested in the cost.

Neat site TCL. Very attractive too. Liked the compost cover as well.

That is something we could use were I work, I sent a e-mail about us sales, wonder if they will reply?

I'm getting the impression that this cool idea never really got off the ground. I have to wonder if it is due to a simple lack of answers to sales inquires or if there is a major flaw in the design they have never quite worked out.

If what you really want is a concrete shell without any insulation, and ecoshell can be built quite cheap yet it is a permanent structure and the air form is re-usable. Eco shells can be built with a minimum of special equipment. the air form and the blower are the only special equipment needed for the type of ecoshell where the concrete is applied from the outside. Materials are concrete and rebar. It can be mixed by hand and applied by hand if heavy equipment is not available. It does go much quicker if a shotcrete pump is available.

TCL, I know one of these are on your Santa's wish list!
http://www.monolithic.com/stories/a-sol ... n-illinois
From what I'm reading I think it's just taking a while for people to get used to. It seems like they don't mind them as public gathering places like churches or schools but not many have them as homes. I do not see any reasons why they are spacious, termite proof, fire proof, earthquate proof, hurricane proof, easy to insulate and heat/cool, so I think its just appeal. They aren't in the norm and it just may take some time. The more I look, the more I like them. It would be hard to get in upscale subdivisions though with out really dressing it out. It's really cool how this one withstood a California wildfire: http://www.monolithic.com/stories/vista ... l-braswell

I've been scouring over these homes all weekend on the web and youtube and it seems the Monolithic domes are inside out ecoshells. As the canvas/vinyl is not reusuable on the Monolithic domes and becomes the outermost material, then urathane foam then rebar cage and then ferrocement are installed from the inside. While the ecoshell the canvas inflatable airform is on the inside and rebar is built outside and ferrocement is sprayed over it and the bag can be deflated and reused. While I like the greater R value of the Monolithic domes I do not care for the soft shell outer most material, vinyl film and urathane foam. I imagine that after the ecoshell airform is deflated and removed another cage material like welded wire can be attached to the inside and papercrete could be sprayed to increase the R value and still have the hard shell outer finish that gives so much more appeal as a roof that is able to withstand storm damage. I would also imagine the papercrete would have to be sprayed on in several thin layers as there would be alot of shrinkage.

A good density foam is only a foam when sprayed. Once cool its as hard as the plastic of bottle caps.

There have been many people who have wanted to improve on the insulated dome idea by trying to build an ecoshell and then insulate it. In general this has not been the best method.

One reason for having the structural concrete on the inside and the foam on the outside is thermal mass. You get many benefits from this, first your concrete will be in a far more stable environment and less cracking will happen. Second, having that much thermal mass inside the insulated envelope of the house makes for an incredibly energy efficient and stable indoor environment. Even if you have a big party and invite a bunch of guests over and start cooking a big meal, the concrete will absorb much of that heat before it starts getting uncomfortably hot inside and this will allow the HVAC system to slowly draw that extra heat back out without having to push beyond it's limits. I expect the big Insulated thinshell home to only need as much HVAC as my current little tiny starter home, actually it will probably need less but they only build them so small.

As to the airform and foam being on the outside. Perhaps it is a little more fragile than the concrete shell. There are people who put what they call chainshells on the outside overtop of the airform and foam. This is probably a very good idea in a major fire zone, what they did for the home in california that got hit by the fires. Anyway, the airform is really very much like a single ply roofing membrane like is often used in commercial buildings, they usually require coating within a few years to keep the UV rays from damaging them too much. Or as noted, there are other things they can be covered with.

The foam is not quite like the hard plastic as this foam is meant to be insulating, however some people have built insulated thinshells not using monolithic's air forms but air forms that are more like seemed plastic and meant to be removed then immediately upon removal of the air form, they spray with a polyurea material that bonds with the polyureathane foam to make a hard outter shell. Kinda like spraying you home with truck bed liner.

There are pros and cons to each method. The biggest trick with the foam and air form is to have the spraying done when the humidity is as low as it can get because there is always a danger of moisture being caught between the airform and the foam or between layers of foam and then when the sun beats down on the structure that moisture expands into water vapor can can cause bubbles or blisters separating the layers.

Now the concrete canvas structures might make for a handy rigid air form that you could then spray the foam from the interior and then put up the rebar and spray the shotcrete on the inside and perhaps the concrete canvas would be an even better perminant outer coating than the monolithic air form. But can they make the concrete canvas in fun house shapes?