NOTE: Images on this page may be enlarged for enhanced viewing simply by clicking on them. Each episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes introduces viewers to dreamers and do-it-yourselfers who oversaw the building of their own vacation home and hear about the challenges that they faced. In this episode of we meet homeowners David Walske and Rick Goldstein and get a first-hand look at their unique geodesic-dome house in Sedona, New Mexico.
The house they built is on a visually stunning piece of land that borders a national forest. This particular house and location presented quite a building challenge in terms of the geography and slope of the land. In fact, the slope was deemed by some who saw it as "unbuildable." Ultimately, the skeptics were proven wrong (figures A and B).
"There are several reasons why I wanted to be my own contractor on this home," says David Walske. "First of all, to fulfill the lifelong desire to build my own shelter is kind of a primal desire. There are some very practical reasons as well. What was more important to me was to that in each and every phase of the construction, I was presented with the opportunity to make choices." And make some serious choices he did. In fact, during the majority of the construction David lived in trailer onsite (figure C) so he could supervise every phase of the project. He undertook some substantial portions of the building himself, and even on portions of the construction that were subcontracted he worked side-by-side with the contractors. That arrangement was something that he had to work out in advance with the companies that were hired. While David was more involved with the physical building of the dome, Rick Goldstein handled hiring the sub-contractors and dealing with the paperwork -- while still working full-time in Los Angeles as a film editor.
Geodesic-dome houses first gained wide popularity in the 1970s. A common perception is that they are easy and inexpensive to build. In some cases that can be correct, but David and Rick took on their project with the intention of building a showplace. The interiors were elaborately planned out and furnished, and the finished design provides for a great sense of interior space (figures D, E and F). David and Rick did considerable research to find out as much as they could about dome construction before they began building. They found a provider from Minnesota that had a vast amount of experience and resources for this kind of building. "It's very important," says David "to have somebody with the specific knowledge of this specific type of construction -- knowledge that you can't find in books, that you can't just go to the local hardware store and ask about." In fact, they actually travelled to Minnesota prior to building to finalize their plans and go to "dome building school." This knowledge, and video shot by Rick, helped later as David actually began to piece together the dome structure itself. In the segment that follows, the do-it-yourselfers discuss preparation of the building site and the foundation.
RESOURCES: More information on dome houses:
Natural Spaces Domes sedonadome.com GUESTS: David Walske and Rick Goldstein |
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