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Copyright 2005-2008 by Marsha Hague
So
you've got your head in the clouds, with your idealistic dream
of dome utopia. Wake up and
smell the milkweeds! Your dome will not build itself,
and don't expect Granny and the kids to finish your dream
house in a weekend, either. While dome kits have been
described as something like giant Tinker Toy sets, the parts
are a whole lot heavier. Some take 2 or 3 people to
handle, maybe 1 or 2 people with the help of the right
equipment. It will cost you twice as much as you think
(maybe more); will take a lot more time than you think; and
bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes are
just...so...ordinary. More fun is tendonitis in
the elbow and bursitis in the shoulder. You earn a bonus
vacation when you have surgery for the hernia you got
heaving bags of shingle scraps into a dumpster. If
you are still young (under 40), and/or have prior construction
experience or good connections, you are ahead of the
game. You may find my tips & hard lessons more
amusing than helpful, or perhaps you will wince along with me
as you recognize your own past misadventures. Here's my
17 cents worth of advice, in no particular order (your mileage
may vary):
- If you can't find a tool belt big
enough to fit you, you are not ready to start.
- If you have no or very little
construction experience, try volunteering with Habitat for
Humanity. They will find something for you to do,
you will learn a few things, and you will find out
quickly how out-of-shape you are.
- For a helpful sneak preview of
what you're in for, watch
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
or
The Money Pit.
- Get electricity to your site as soon
as possible so you can use power tools. Just a
pole with your meter and an outlet on it will give you
what you need to get started.
- Go on a dome tour or two to get
ideas, join one or more dome e-mail lists, go to a
dome-raising, and take a dome-building course offered by one
of the kit manufacturers (see the Links of Interest
page). You might even pay for one or more of your
helpers to take the course. Take the course shortly
before you know you are going to start
building, so the information will still be fresh in your
mind.
- Get a
spiral notebook. In the front, start logging phone
calls, appointments with contractors, what was discussed and
agreed to, what kind of job they did. In the back of
the notebook, put phone numbers, business cards, or ads for
services, referrals and comments you've
gotten.
- When you
have a place for it, consider a dorm-sized refrigerator for
your site. When you're done with your construction
project, it can be put in a rec room, guest room,
garage, deck, or given to a child going off to
college.
- If you have ADD, OCD, are time-management or
organizationally challenged, or just struggle to make decisions,
building a house will be the PROJECT FROM HELL.
- Hiring contractors and subs is kind of like
dating, only worse. If you ever get a chance, watch
The Adam Carolla Project to see what fun it is. If I wanted to pick up dirty
socks after a guy, I'd get married. (Yes, I did have to pick up a pair of dirty
socks after one crew left. Jeez.)
- If any liquid is on sale such as caulk or paint, CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATE.
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