Superadobe Dome Home
Let's tell you the wild story of how our family of 6, a new friend from Australia, and the natural building community came together to build our oldest daughter an adorable little superadobe earthbabg dome home!
Back at the end of the summer, we shared our hyperadobe roundhouse plans for the very first time. It was years of designing, experimenting, and planning finally becoming a reality. And a huge inspiration for our design was the WillowEnd RoundHouse, the first permitted earthbag structure in Australia.
Turns out this guy Hayden from Curvatecture was hired to manage the earthbag construction of that house, and we both already followed each other without realizing the connection. A whole lot of excited messages later, Hayden arranged for us to jump on a video call with himself and the family that actually designed the house and live there.
We had a great conversation with them that you can watch here which shaped some of the final important changes to the floorplan, and the more we talked to Hayden he started floating the idea of coming to help us work on our house.
I mean first of all, who does that? He was offering to fly across the world, stay with our family who he’d never met, and help us build our house for like a month. So incredibly generous. But you know, sometimes you just talk to people and know there’s something special happening.
So we started to see if we could figure out a way to return this huge favor. And the more we talked, the idea of running a small dome workshop here on our property seemed like a perfect fit. We could raise some money to cover his travel costs, and even better, he was planning a superadobe video course, and this would be a great way for us to film the entire process for him.
And with that the superadobe workshop was born!
The videos below are a compilation of our planning of the dome, picking up Hayden, the full 7 day workshop, and then the work we have to continue to do to complete the dome home. Enjoy!
We Went WHERE? It's a SuperAdobe Roadtrip!
We are gearing up for our very first Superadobe Dome Workshop! Led by Hayden from Curvatecture, this week long event will cover everything from education to classes to building a superadobe dome from bottom to top. Join us on our epic journey as we pick Hayden up, visit Cal-Earth and the Mojave Center, and get prepped for the workshop.
The Story Behind the Superadobe Workshop
Today Hayden helps us get our door and window forms built, and we run a few last minute errands before the workshop starts.
Building a Superadobe Dome Home - Day 1
We're excited to bring you along for the first day of the Superadobe Workshop! Hayden from Curvatecture teaches dome geometry, bag laying techniques, and more.
First TRUE Earthbags? Day 2 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
Yesterday was all about teaching the fundamentals of dome and earthbag building, but today we really "dig" in, start our buttresses, and lay a bunch of bags - including our first true earthbag!
DOOR FORM GOING IN! - Day 3 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
Today we install the door and wood stove forms, and learn about stabilized and unstabilized mixes.
HOW MANY LAYERS? - Day 4 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
Today was an epic bag laying day. The team rallied and laid 5 WHOLE COURSES!
WINDOW FORMS Good or Bad? - Day 5 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
After an epic bag laying day yesterday, today we install our window frames and slow down a little bit :)
TOGETHER WE ARE ONE - Day 6 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
Many of y'all have been wondering how in the world these windows are going to work with the dome shape. Today Hayden introduces the "eyebrow," and it should all start making sense.
DID WE MAKE IT? Day 7 Building a Superadobe Dome Home
Welcome back to the FINAL DAY of the Superadobe Workshop! Let's try to cap this dome - and try not to cry that it's over!
P.S. Make sure to check out the School of Superadobe.
Superadobe MEETS Hyperadobe!
The Superadobe Dome Home build continues as we add a hyperadobe bench and try gravel bags for the first time. We also give you a walkthrough tour of our hyperadobe roundhouse.
This Part Gets COMPLICATED! | Superadobe Dome Home
We're continuing to make massive progress on the superadobe dome home while Hayden from Curvatecture is still here. Door vaults, window installs, exterior plaster (I mean, render). Whew!
Hyperadobe MINI DOME!
Today we're installing the door on our Superadobe Dome Home and building a mini hyperadobe dome out of 8" bags.
TATTOOS & TEARS 😭 - Hayden Heads Back to Australia
It's a sad day, friends. Hayden from Curvatecture is finally headed back to Australia. We commemorate the occasion by getting tattoos together and doing some final work on the Superadobe Dome Home.
The PLASTER MATTERS! Changing the Shape of the Superadobe Dome Home
The Superadobe Dome Home continues! Ashley and Adali work on bottle bricks over the self supported window and door openings, we get our cubic mini wood stove, and the whole family pitches in to keep working on the exterior plaster.
PERFECTING DOME SHAPE Before Stucco (We're a Little OCD)
Today is all about trying to complete the exterior base plaster before prepping for the final stucco coat. We continue to put multiple layers on up top to create that iconic dome shape, cover the buttresses, and get frustrated plastering the inside of the mini dome.
RUSHING to Finish Superadobe Dome Exterior Before FREEZING TEMPS
We're using lathe and stucco on the exterior of our superadobe dome home for the very first time. Let's see how it goes.
The COZIEST CORNER in Our Superadobe Dome Home - Come See!
It’s finally time to install our cubic mini wood stove in the superadobe dome home. This adorable fireplace is offset into its own mini hyperadobe dome with a penny tile floor, and making sure it’s installed correctly is the last step to drying in the building.
Adali's COLOR CHOICE For the Superadobe Dome
With the winter weather coming in, we're looking for a window of opportunity to get the elastomeric waterproof seal painted on the superadobe dome home. Once this is complete we can turn our attention to the interior. What color will Adali choose?
Ecoflow POWER in Our Superadobe Dome Home ⚡️
Thanks to Ecoflow for sponsoring today's video! After getting a little distracted by the Legendary Goat Barn, we're back at the dome! With the outside protected, we're turning our attention to the inside, running electrical and starting the base interior plaster.
Get up to $2,796 Off on EcoFlow Member's Festival Annual Membership Mega Sale!
GOODBYE Superadobe Earthbags?
Today Ashley absolutely crushes an incredible amount of earthen plaster on the inside of the superadobe dome home and completely transforms the interior. The superadobe bags are no more!
Her SECRET for Perfect Earthen Plaster
Time travel with us as we go back to early April and pour the concrete steps to get into the superadobe dome home - then come back to present day as Ashley shares her secret plaster recipe and sculpts the beautiful interior.
Unique Custom FLOOR + FUN DIY Solar Ground Mount
The Superadobe Dome Home gets a unique floor and a DIY custom mini solar ground mount!
The FINISHING TOUCHES Begin
Today we start the finishing touches on the inside of the Superadobe Dome Home!
The Completed Dome Home
Thanks again to everyone who helped us complete this project!
The final touches includeed hand finished earthen plaster, hyperadobe steps, a separate mini dome and tiny wood stove to keep it warm in the winter, an off-grid solar system, bottle cap and penny floors, a custom built bed, and of course as many reclaimed materials as we could find.
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About the Author
Jonathan Longnecker is the strongly opinionated tattooed and bearded half of Tiny Shiny Home. He loves making music, figuring out nerdy solutions, exploring the outdoors, and living off-grid.
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