Uh-oh, I think my next house is going to be ..

A grain silo.
Buy the land,
dig a basement
pour a foundation
and put up this shell.


Best part is, the kids think I'm nuts. I kinda like it that way.

 

It's not all that unusual, here's a several

Convert a Used Grain Bin to a New House

 

I've seen a few made from the grain bins. You can buy a used bin VERY CHEAP. In the midwest, the 18, 21, and 24' diameter bins are auctioned frequently for $200 or less. If you don't have to move it very far, they can be moved without disassembly. You can load a small 13' diameter bin on a trailer (they hardly weigh anything) by lifting the entire bin. This is accomplished by 1) placing a car tire inside the bin, lifting it up to the center hole, running a chain through it and 2) using a tractor front end loader or backhoe to lift the bin. A few years ago I moved a 21' bin 8 miles. If someone wants to try it, send me a PM.

 

There is a 24'dia with a 21' eave on pallets about 100 miles from me for 3k. Very tempting.

 

If you get a used bin, usually the bottom 6" is rusted out. No problem...put the bin where you want it, and pour concrete inside the bin.... This serves several purposes.. You don't have to anchor the bin to keep it from blowing around, and keeps water out, while the rusted part is the form for the interior floor. I would run pex in the concrete to circulate heated or cooled water, and spray foam insulate the interior. The echo inside a bin is really bad, and the sun heats the interior FAST. Get two and join them together with a hallway for additional room. I didn't like the video's suggestion of having a planter arount the exterior. Although it provides security, it hastens rust. Pour 4" of concrete on the outside, then make the planters.

 

The one I saw, they used spray foam insulation on the interior walls. This was on HGTV, back before they turned into Housesellers TV. The guy living in it had added two stories using suspended floors that were transparent which was kinda freaky. Plexiglass I'm thinking but I don't remember. Anyway, he had something like 6"-8" thick on the spray insulation, said it was nearly soundproof and very comfortable, plus it eliminated that echo you get inside silos.

 

I'm still in love with the zombie apocalypse house posted on this web site somewhere. Seriously ladies, (not to be sexist, know there's housecleaning men out there, m 99 thinks we have a magic bathroom floor and if he drops clothes on them they return clean. Has taught daughter accordingly) all concrete, move everything out and power wash a couple of times a year.....it's heaven..one day I will get one...

 

Keep the plants around it small and well watered, you will not need to worry about wildfires.

With an all metal exterior embers can land on it all day and do nothing.

 

Here in the South we call these ovens, farther north their Refrigerators!

 

I'm looking at camps Cinder block or log. Free fish and a garden in the back and side.

 

It could last a lot longer than that, if it's hardened shell were used as a form for a second layer of concrete. Concrete gets harder for 20 years, then starts to deteriorate.

 

PVC Pipe + Burlap + Gunite w Carbon Steel Fibers. Start with a concrete slab with a brick step and your door ways. Blow on the Gunite in thin layers, let cure 48 hours , blow on another etc.

Add as many layers of concrete as you like. Insulate with expanding foam.

Makes a really good remote building, always use an industrial insulated metal doors and the frames that come with them.

If you want to get heavy duty then add rebar to the exterior after two layers of gunite. Drill the slab and epoxy in the rebar, add gunite till you run out of money.

 

I want a concrete monolithic dome home.

 

Got pics? and where will you get furniture to fit the walls?

 

Inside walls or dome walls? Seems only thing that might matter is tall dressers if you wanted them against the dome walls.
Decorating in the round
The Clicks love living in their dome. The only problem they encountered, which, for the most part, they find fun and challenging, is learning to manage furniture in a round house and decorating above eight feet.
“I guess we first realized that everything ready-made is designed for traditional, square houses when it came to hanging our ceiling fans,” Click said. Because the ceiling in their dome is sixteen feet high, the Clicks had to make the pipes from which to hang the ceiling fans. Usually, ready-made hanging pipes are designed for eight-foot ceilings.
“We love our kitchen,” Click said. “It’s in the center or heart of the house. All the other areas radiate from it. But we couldn’t just go out and buy our cabinets because they’re all made for houses with corners.” Click solved the problem by designing and building the cabinets himself.
Because they wanted live plants atop the cabinets, the Clicks installed a sun pipe with a fourteen inch diameter in the ceiling. A sun pipe is similar to a skylight but uses reflected light and does not generate heat.
For all of the inside, the Clicks are using a Southwestern motif which complements their environment. Walls are an antique white and the tile floors have a sandy, marbleized look.
“We’re taking our time with the decorating,” Click said “trying things out and having fun doing it.”
Note: This article is a reprint from the Spring 1998 Roundup. Dollar amounts quoted are 1995/6 prices.

Look here. Dome Living and Monolithic Cabins | Monolithic and This Dome Just Clicks | Monolithic

 

Concrete may do better, but there are several sad looking dead ones here.