Ways to Build Your Own Storm Shelter

Since the birth of Domeshells back in 2000, one of the motivating factors in pursuing the development of dome-building systems was the potential for a simple way to build structures that would be effective storm shelters. Over the years, we have developed several ways, including several unique combinations of materials, to build dome-shaped structures.

Dome-shaped structures are such simple-looking shapes compared to conventional structures, and often people mistakenly believe that, because of this, it is cheaper to build a dome building than a rectangular building. Thing is, to make a dome shape using any kind of material requires something to create the shape. For most modern dome building systems, this includes a mould of some kind.

Building a Dome Shelter Using an Air-Form

One of the systems we have developed uses an air-form to create the shape. An air-form is like a balloon fabricated in the shape of the finished product. The dome-shaped balloon is fixed around the floor platform and inflated. Then, various composite materials can be sprayed either over the air-form from outside or from inside. The materials used for this are usually some form of cement-based material, renders and/or concrete. Our particular system involves accessing the inside of the air-form and spraying a glass fibre-reinforced concrete (GRC) layer against the air-form, followed by a core of spray polyurethane foam, and then another layer of GRC. This system produces a lightweight sandwich shell structure. An advantage of the GRC/polyurethane foam sandwich panel system is the excellent thermal insulation provided by the polyurethane foam.

How to Build a Storm Shelter Using Bamboo

One of our more recent developments, with architect Wolfgang Widmoser, is our guide to building a bamboo dome. This system was immediately appealing because it enables anyone, anywhere in the world, to build a thin-shelled dome, a storm shelter, or, if you want to take it to the extreme, an underground survival bunker. This dome building system is the simplest and most accessible way to construct a strong structure, not just a shelter but a home.

Our first building guide on this subject primarily focuses on the use of bamboo; however, we are now looking at, and will be designing and testing, various hybrid solutions along the same lines. Through 2015, we will pursue a system that meets the Australian Building Code.

Find out more about the DIY bamboo dome building system

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