Most recent pix- May 2007

Elijah is a very good worker! He wants to do everything that we do and is actually able to help with a lot of tasks, like holding the bag open to make a pillow like he's doing here.

More recent pix- May 2007

Recent photos, taken about a week ago.

We are fans of using the shovel 'n load method, as opposed to the bucket method... although soon we will be changing over as the dome gets too high to reach with a shovel.







Here you can see the way the bags are beginning to come in, creating the curvature of the dome.

Recent Pix-May 2007

Again these photos were taken with my cell phone and are not the best, except the aerial one I took from atop our storage container. And of course Lou showing off his muscles...

Floors completed- March 2007

These photos are not great because they are taken with a cell phone, but they show our completed floors. In order to pour the slab in the center we divided the circle into four parts. We set up scree boards along the edges of each portion and that way we were able to get the floor pretty level. I really wish I had pictures of this process...

A cold day in the desert- January 2007

These photos were taken by Rebecca Gasca on a very cold day in the desert, just before we began pouring the floors. Here we are dealing with the plastic that goes underneath the footings and floors to protect from water damage.

Floors-January 2007

These photos were taken while we were in the process of pouring the floors, which are made of the same soil-cement mix we use to fill the bags but with more cement added. A big thanks to Larry, our neighbor, for teaching us how to finish concrete!

Footings- August 2006

These are the earliest photos we have of the project, taken just after we finished digging the footings for the foundation bags. Besides digging the hole 2 feet into the ground, this is the first step of the project.

See our mountains of dirt! They are over halfway gone now...



I like this shot that looks down the length of the house, we've taken a lot like this so you can really see the progress from this angle.

Foundation- November 2006

These are photos of the foundation, which is the first two rows of bags set into the footings. Of course you cant see the bags here because they are covered by a plastic vapor barrier to protect from water damage. You can also see the drain pipes for the plumbing if you look closely.