Building a Cheap Geodesic Dome for under $50

[mafjr16]

Brilliant. You showed us the formula. I dont think ppl get it though. Hahaha nice job. I will "incorporate" this on a "larger scale"......

[benskin79]

You guys were nowhere near a desert- shenanigans!

[MrAkostadinov]

How did you protect the joints so kids are not hurt? I think to build one of these.

[phrankus2009]

Oh ... ooops ... guess I missed the first ten seconds !!! ... sorry 'bout that.

[phrankus2009]

Inspiring, at best ... self-agrandizing, at worst.

Glad this project worked out to your own gratification but, this vid does nothing to inform us of how to exploit or execute this particular design.

... In short, for me, this is little more than a tease. ... Low-tech, low-cost methods of doing domes and instructions, specifications, parts-lists ... tips ... tricks ... yeah ... "all that" would be a bit more helpful and useful ... I'm just sayin' ... Cudos ... Glad it woked out (for YOU).

[sustainable2012]

chicken tractor.... or setting up an aquaponics system inside using an underground pond with an ebb and flow table to grow veggies and fish... all under a 50 dollar geodesic dome... that would be sick

[touber2011]

Where's the door?!

[ThinkPureTruth]

Spiderman loves these Domes! He was on top in case you missed him.

[MillerSteinbrenner77]

What is the length of each individual peice of electrical conduit?

[washington1]

Hello I really wanted to do this and this is done under $50???

How did you do this? Can you share your knowledge about the materials?

Where did you get materials?

Thank you

[NearestDelia]

i lived in one..it's pretty cool

[Rhinoch8]

Uhm, would'nt it be simpler to cut some poles in the nearby forest and make a wigwam out of it using a tarp? It'd take like 30min and would be winterproof with a stove running.

[therotaryrocket]

@Rhinoch8 do that, make a video, and get back to us! naw, good idea but sometimes easier said than done.

[Rhinoch8]

@therotaryrocket I actually built a frame, could throw a tarp on it but i'm planning to insulate it with 50 cm thcik of leaves to make a permanent shelter using natural supplies. I will add on a shingled roof. Anyway, you could throw a tepee up with a 3 poles bases tripod, adding 7 poles or so, a few tarps and string, and that's it really. Nothing special compared to the humongus amount of work for a little insulated shelter.

[therotaryrocket]

@Rhinoch8 that's cool. True there are many ways to go. I'd like to play around with more natural building materials anyways, good ideas. You ever seen the superadobe building? Basically take dirt or sand or rocks and fill up old rice bags or sand bags, and stack them up into a structure. I like the tepee idea, when I was younger we played around with bamboo poles, i need to get back into that, maybe try out a tepee.

[Rhinoch8]

@therotaryrocket Yes i know the cal-earth project! It's a great idea, although finding barb wire may be difficult. However, i wouldn't advise living long term in a tepee. It would be too hard to heat up without the stove running all day. 

[rinkukokiriOFhyrule]

@Rhinoch8 teepee, + 'the stove' ???

[Rhinoch8]

@rinkukokiriOFhyrule Once the stove is out of wood, you'd freeze your butt off in winter. A stove eats truckloads of seasoned firewood to run all day...

[rinkukokiriOFhyrule]

@Rhinoch8 Why use a stove ??? why not use a regular firepit like the natives do?

[Rhinoch8]

@rinkukokiriOFhyrule Several reasons : - having smoke in the eyes really sucks. - it kills your social life : the strong and tedious smoke smell, added to days without shower, acts as a serious social repellant (according you have a normal life besides being some kinda hermit). - doesn't heat very well your shelter (worse than a stove - the stove at least releases heat for 1-3 hours)

But you can also have a Rocket Mass Heater, which can be done with simple scraps, and is way better than both.

[lambofgod661]

@Rhinoch8 loser

[SinnNorth]

The track alone motivates me!

[kpwells]

are all the pieces of conduit the same length?

[sandieguitoadult]

After Google's celebration to Buckyball's, I arrived here. Looks great!

[pommyrooter]

why not bob the builder theme music woulda been just as gay hehe

[HubertHoratio]

the music goes hard

[SunlabSelections]

song name? diggin the tune :) good job

[TRUTHSHALLMAKEYOUFRE]

Please how long are the "tubes"?

thnks very much for shareing such great domme way.

[LuckyLyle58]

Just go to a school playground and measure the two lenghs yourself. Also, depending on the playground you may select a 3V over a 2V dome for your project.

[chainduck]

Where did you get conduit so cheap? I've been shopping and although, I'm building a larger dome ...25", the conduit I've found is around $4 for 10 feet of half inch. I think prices have gone up recently.

[fayandreia]

Nice =) gonna try to do one for me tank's for sharing

[silameth]

How many and what length on the conduit pieces?

[fukfear69]

i don't think that conduit has a thick enough wall to be used for a jungle gym...prehaps for very small children ..although as a frame for a greenhouse...covering it with plastic and zip ties would be simple and cheap...or cover it with chicken wire for a mobile chicken coop or protecting a small garden from birds....

[MetaView7]

that's the beauty of Geodesic structure... you can use seemingly undersized material, yet it can take very heavy loads.

[mryellow123]

@fukfear69 Strength is in the structure, whole is greater then sum of the parts.

[pupplesan]

I believe I saw felatio starting at about 2:18.

[steyaertr]

lol

[Slacktive]

Nice job! Love the panoramic shot at the end!

[s41e6]

Why are some of you commenting on this like you think it's a house or going to be a house? This is just a jungle gym for kids to climb and play on.

[RodrigoMera]

shut up, I Wanna live inside that thing!!!

[cdltpx]

It could be a start to a concrete dome if you close in the gaps with wood then cover with plastic and add chicken wire then place concrete. That structure would survive 300 mph winds if built thick enough and anchored. Ask me it's a great start to a storm shelter.

[AngjiDanTomas]

I tihnk they were just trying to show you how cheaop and easy it was.....

[songbirdshe]

Cool!! makes me happy ^_^

[mumpump]

might as well go buy a tent.

[jpplante]

I second that idea...

[Animalll2003lll]

ok! cool! but honestly what'S the deal with geodesic domes????? what's the point?????

[harbach]

Geodesic Domes are a big deal because: they have the lowest possible surface-to-volume ratio, which means that you have to insulate the least possible surface area in order to maintain the largest possible volume. These structures use minimal materials, and at the same time are stronger than almost all structures prior to geodesic domes. Basically, they are extremely energy efficient, they use minimal materials, and are cool to look at.

[dictionar1]

that things dinky! my dogs would leave home!

[nbm34]

WHTA IS THE MATERIAL USED WITH THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION??? pLEASE DO NOT SEND ME TO OTHER SITES JUST TELL ME IS IT WIRE OR WHAT??? THANK YOU

[fritsie123]

STOP SHOUTING!

As you can see in the first five seconds of the movie, the electrical conduit is held together with nuts and bolts.

[Earthling122]

lat 12 seconds are very creepy

[SpiderMan1307]

Ya know...if you put that "frame" onto a wooden or concrete slab base and seal off the edges so there is no escaping air, put a door on it and cover it in thick, transparent "greenhouse-plastic" then you have yourself a Dome greenhouse for all of your veggies and flowers. :P

[Lansky54]

Go to instructables dot com for more detailed instructions.  Search for "greenhouse"

[MysterEy1]

cool!

[HIWORLD99]

Nice - We built a 50'- 4 frequency 1/2 hemisphere dome for whitworth college, spokane, Washington (Expo '74) in 1974. Does anyone have photos?

[daemon1947]

Add chicken wire and spraycrete and you have a shed!

[filmbooks]

Great Job!

[timewankers]

Amazing! My dad is going to love this he is a big Bucky fan and will be building one of these over the weekend I am sure of it!

[fluffyspit]

Phew...Fast Workers ha ha!