Dome in a Home
The Telegraph/MARGIE M. BARNES	National tour offers glimpse of future housing By MAGGIE BORMAN The Telegraph
Top, one of the first monolithic dome homes in the area, located at 648  First St. in Shipman, will be open for viewing Saturday, Oct. 24, during the National Dome Tour. The home was built by JD’s Domes LLC of Moro. Joe Downer, owner of JD’s Domes LLC of Moro, puts in a door handle on the master bathroom door at the 40-foot-diameter, 1,256-square-foot, single-family dome home in Shipman. Above, Josh Schobernd, with JD’s Domes LLC, puts the finishing touches on the kitchen lighting at the new dome built in Shipman	SHIPMAN — A dome home, an example of what might be the wave of the future for affordable, energy-efficient homes, will available for viewing during the National Dome Tour on Oct. 24. “I first became interested in monolithic dome structures in the mid-1990s and began researching them, and knew I wanted to build a dome home,” said Joe Downer, of JD’s Domes LLC of Moro. The monolithic domes are constructed following a method that requires a tough, inflatable air form, steel-reinforced concrete and polyurethane foam insulation. Each of these materials is used in a technologically specific way. The domes can be designed to fit any architectural structural need, such as homes, cabins, churches, schools, gymnasiums, arenas and stadiums, and bulk storage units. Dome structures are cost efficient, Earth-friendly, extremely durable and easily maintained. Most importantly, a monolithic dome uses about 50 percent less energy for heating and cooling than a same size, conventionally constructed building, and the domes are not restricted by climate or location. They can be con structed in the mountains, on beaches — even underground

Interior walls can be finished in the same manner any conventional home would be, and extiors can utilize stucco, shake shingles or simply be painted. Thanks to the shape of a dome structure, there are no shinges or guttering.     Begining in 1970, monolithic domes have been built in almost every U.S. state and Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia and Austalia.     Downer's dome is located at 648 First St. in Shipman. The single story home is 40 feet in diameter and encompasses 1,256 square feet. The home consists of two bedrooms (the master bath has double bowls) and a large living/dining area open to the kitchen. The home features laminate flooring throughout, cherry wood kitchen cabinets, a 3-foot-by-5-foot kitchen island, black stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, including a double receptacle for trash bin and recycling bin, Whirlpool washer and dryer. Exterior work included landscalping, a rock garden, and rock wall.     "The entire home has been tested for energy effciency and will get an Energy Star rating and be an Energy Stare home," Downer said.     Downer, 32 said he would not have been able to move forward with his dream of starting construction on dome structures if it had not been for his grandmother and later grandfather, Eileen and Shorty Hargrave of Moro, who helped finance his JD's Domes LLC. After the dome home in Shipman sells, he said his next project would be to construct a double-dome single-family home with a garage.     In August, Downer still was busy on interior work of the dome home he will have for sale in Shipman. He recently said he was finishing last-minute painting, cleaning and staging for the open house on Oct. 24.     "I am looking forward to the open on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.p. Saturday, Oct 24, as part of the National Dome Tour, and eager for guests to tour the home and learn more about an alternative to conventional structures," Downer said.     For more information about JD's Domes LLC, call Downer at (618) 709-2424. For more informations about the dome structures on the National Dome Tour on Oct. 23 and 24, go to www.monolithic.com and click on the events calendar, and scrool down to National Dome Tour. Tours of monolithic  businesses, schools and churches will be held on Friday, Oct. 23, and the tours of dome homes on Oct. 24. To see a photo of Downer's dome home and other homes on the tour, go to National Dome Tour on the Internet.