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A Frame


While I am still a fan of the monolithic dome, there are some factors which will probably prevent me from building it on my site.

  1. It takes specialized equipment and skills which are not readily available in my neck of the woods
  2. I do not have these skills and could not develop them in time
  3. The structure is of limited acceptability to others. If the world did not end, or if society somehow limped along afterwards, the dome would be not acceptable in resale except to a narrow group
  4. While its utility against wind and fire in unquestionable, its ability to handle quakes is probably limited to a max. of 8.5. When it breaks it will crumble all at once with out warning.
  5. Windows, doors and other accruements will be hard to put into it as the won't fit in the dome.

For these reasons I would tend to have an A-Frame Chalet constructed of I-beam construction. The upper structure would be light, and the lower structure integrated into a concrete foundation for weight protection in wind. The roof would be corrugated steel with 4 inches of foam insulation. With the appropriate cherry picker, it could be constructed quickly and with a minimum of fuss. You can put a shelter in your backyard if you are worried about tornadoes, but the A-frame would probably be proof against very very strong winds.

My design would put a forward I-beam from the roof top at an angle to the ground. This would give two triangular panels on both sides in the front and the back. When there is no earth shift, these would be largely lexan, but on the onset of difficult weather or not being there, they would be paneled over with protection. At no point would there be any straight vertical walls--airflow would slid up from all angles.

Offered by Eric.

The A-Frame profile is not conducive to survival in high winds, and it is likely to fail due to shear stresses because of horizontal shaking along the axis of the vertex. The large flat walls of the A-Frame are subject to enormous wind load forces no matter what the angle.

Offered by Steve

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