‘Dome homes’ began life as balloons

Press, 15 October 1982, Page 23

‘Dome homes’ began life as balloons

The ‘'dome homes” pictured, which were opened for public inspection yesterday by the Mayor of Christchurch. Sir Hamish Hay, began life as balloons. Situated at 5 Mays Road, Papanui. the three-unit complex was built by Dome Construction, Ltd, a subsidiary of Reese Bros. The company's construction manager. Mr Don McLean, was previously based at Hokitika on the West Coast where he developed the igloo-style dwellings and sold several. This will be his first attempt to market the model in Christchurch. He hopes to work on a national basis

using mass-production techniques. The homes cost 540 a square foot to build — "about 11 per cent cheaper than conventional construction methods," Mr McLean said. The president of the Canterbury Master Builders' Association. Mr B. J. Phillips, agreed with the estimate. It would be possible to build a traditional house for $45 a square foot but only just, he said. "It would be a very basic type of accommodation. You could go as high as $BO a square foot quite easily.”

From scratch, the "dome

homes" take 10 days to build, and can be occupied in less than six weeks. Without including the section price, the two-bedroomed units pictured would cost about $33,000. To make: Sink circular foundations. Lay the rubber balloon on top and inflate. Enter the balloon through an air lock and manoeuvre the windows into position. Spray 50 millimetres of high density polyurethene foam on the inside, securing the windows. Coat with a layer of glass fibre reinforced concrete, and peel the rubber from the shell. Apply the same glass fibre

reinforced concrete on the outside, finish the windows with aluminium framing, and paint the external wall with acrylic paint. Coat the interior with fireretardant gypsum mix, and paint to decorate. With concrete spouting at ground level and concrete walls. Mr McLean said that maintenance costs were low. The houses were "totally insulated" and could be heated in the winter for only $2 a week, he said. The design has been approved by the Building Research Association of New Zealand.