Think Round

A Fireplace in a Monolithic Dome

By David B. South & Dave South Posted 8 Oct 2015

I’m often asked if there’s a trick to installing fireplaces in a Monolithic Dome. It’s pretty straightforward. The real question is, “Do you need the fireplace?” I see the romantic appeal of visiting around a glowing fire or the desire to reduce your heating bill. However, the energy efficiency of the dome typically changes a need for a fireplace into a want. If you decide you really want a fireplace, here are some tips on installing one in a Monolithic Dome. … read more

The First Fertilizer Storage and a Barbed Wire Plaque

By David B. South Posted 17 Jul 2015

The fourth Monolithic Dome built outside Idaho was in Chandler, Oklahoma for Bill Matthews in 1978. I had written an article for a fertilizer magazine explaining how a Monolithic Dome would be a terrific fertilizer storage. Bill read the article and flew to Idaho to see our domes. We hadn’t built a fertilizer storage, yet. His would be the first and it opened the gates to fertilizer domes all along the Mississippi River. … read more

A Closer Look at the Birth of the Monolithic Dome

By David B. South Posted 7 Oct 2014

A dream sparked by a talk about geodesic domes, life in Chicago running a computer center, founding a polyurethane foam insulation business, and the path that led to the invention of the Monolithic Dome—read the personal story and history of the Monolithic Dome as told by David B. South. … read more

An Important Revisit: Monolithic’s First Fertilizer Storage Plant

By David B. South & Freda Parker Posted 12 Jan 2012

Knowing that a Monolithic Dome would make an ideal fertilizer storage, in 1978 I sent information to a fertilizer magazine. They wrote an article, featuring the Monolithic Dome as a new product, and I received a call from Bill Matthews in Chandler, Oklahoma. Bill wanted a fertilizer storage dome on a site just off America’s famous highway—Route 66. … read more

Technical Comments About ‘Sweet Dome Alabama’

By Kenneth Garcia Posted 23 Aug 2011

Kenneth and Beverly Garcia discuss additional details about their Monolithic Dome home—Sweet Dome Alabama. Built on a hillside near New Hope, Alabama, their unique tri-dome home includes geothermal heating and cooling, energy recovery ventilation, on-demand hot water, and more. … read more

Will Lightning Affect a Dome?

By David B. South Posted 18 Jun 2009

According to the experts, when lightning strikes a Monolithic Dome the electricty will travel to the rebar and dissipate into the footing. Lightning rods are used in conventional homes to prevent the lightning from traveling through the highly resistive wood of the home and starting a fire. They are unnecessary in a Monolithic Dome. The structure is already grounded. … read more

Keeping up with the Domeses