Building Amazing Dome Homes with Aircrete – A Beginner Friendly & Cost Effective Material

Aircrete is a pretty neat alternative building material that mixes dish soap foam and cement to create lightweight bricks. These bricks can be used to build dome homes, traditional houses, and lots of other structures, and it's very DIY and beginner-friendly. Joel from Domegaia sat down to tell us all about the aircrete recipe, how it works, what it costs, what kind of insulation value it has, and where it can be used in the world. He also dives into some of the challenges of building with aircrete, including mixture collapse issues, building permits, and more.

Domegaia has a ton of resources on their website and YouTube channel, and they also run workshops all around the world. You can follow and find out more about Domegaia on their website, newsletter, and YouTube channel here:

Some of the domes featured in this video include:

Domes at Brave Earth Costa Rica

Dome at Hanuman Maui

Steve Areen's Dome Home in Thailand

Thanks for watching!

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CREDITS
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Music Credit: Exploring Alternatives

Editing Credit: Exploring Alternatives

Filming Credit: Joel and Ella from Domegaia

Photo Credit: selected photos provided by Steve Areen

#aircrete #domehouse #domegaia

[ExploringAlternatives]

Thanks for watching! You can follow and find out more about Domegaia here:

Some of the domes featured in this video include:

Domes at Brave Earth Costa Rica

Dome at Hanuman Maui

Steve Areen's Dome Home in Thailand

[ExploringAlternatives]

Just wanted to share a bit of info because some people are asking about the story about how some Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) roofs are failing in the UK. We're definitely not experts but we looked it up and it sounds like RAAC is a different way of using aerated concrete that involves steel reinforcement. This Guardian article has more information:

"With an estimated 30-year lifespan, failures among Raac roof panels in 1950s buildings were inevitable. Engineers also discovered some panels were too thin for the distance they were used to span, some lacked enough steel to anchor them to vertical structures, and leaky roofs triggered a “rapid worsening” of steel corrosion."

The aircrete method featured in this video does not use any metal in the structure so it seems to be quite different than the RAAC method, but just like with any new or alternative building project, it's always a good idea to consult with experts like structural engineers, architects, etc.

Thanks so much for watching :)

[fredericapanon]

Aircrete (foamed concrete) was used in a lot of schools and public buildings in the UK in the 1960's. They are now discovering a lot of structural issues, leading to the closures of many public schools. It is quite a problem, requiring expensive remediation or replacement.

Edit: thank you for mentioning this issue in your post and highlighting how this video's method is different.

[theladykaybee]

My mom and I have had air-crete on our radar for nearly a decade now, and we are so excited about this foam pump!

[WhistleLad]

Love Dome Gaia! Had the best time at their workshops. A life changing experience in every way

[cloverhighfive]

This looks very interesting for remote locations, since you need to carry less base materials over.

[litestreamer]

I'd like to know about the resistance factors to extreme elements - how does it do in floods, how much mph wind can it tolerate, is it earthquake rated, are there insulation comparisons with say, straw bale, sand bag cal earth structures, or earth ships, or compared to concrete alone relative to its thickness? Can you use chicken wire inside walls vs. fiberglass, for its EMF blocking abilities? It all looks very intriguing - this was a good intro. Tho it likely varies from state to state, wondering in general how big a structure can be built w/o permit. Hope you follow up with a more indepth report. Would like to know is there an aircrete greenhouse out there?

[marg]

Nothing strange here, u're brilliant, id buy a home like this in a heartbeat, it's the anatural way to live, the future, excellent work, so beautiful✌🏼🌴🍏✅

[cathylynnpietranton]

Thank you Matt and Danielle this was very interesting. It's amazing how many different materials can be used in building that are economical.Also better for the environment 👍👍 ❤

[donnamount]

I have seen bridges built in the SF bay area and used by MANY heavy semi trucks...fascinating ti watch being built...LOVE IT ...❤

[kennyhagan]

I have been curious about this for years and so far this is the best information that I have found. Thank you for the video, I learned a lot.

[julieaskingforafriend]

The one house that would get me out of my RV would be a hobbit hole. I'm kind of in love with this building method.

[themindinvisible]

Those are definitely amazing glamp style little dwellings! Love the open air ones, wow! Great video! 😍

[pamelaodonnell]

This is pretty amazing! I'd would live in one of these homes, they're really beautiful!☺

[Ed-jgud]

What is the largest residential building that’s been built with aircrete? Would be nice to see a full scale 4500 sf house built with it to show how far you can take the tech

[Ohwhin]

What I find fascinating with Aircrete is that it seems to be the best marriage of cost, efficiency, and customizability. Most of the aircrete structures I've seen are domes but that's just becaue you can do it that way and it makes the process of building a smaller building easier. You can totally build a rectangular or square building our of aircrete, and especially with a small crane you could use much larger slabs. I'd love to try building a solid building out of aircrete and do load testing.

[katiriaedwina]

❤this is just how I imagined my dream home. And about This cement mix, this is a great idea and looks so satisfying.

[lawrencehockett]

I like it. Very cool. Seems cost effective. Messy process, but the results definitely seem worth it.

[dylano]

I would use this with tire house building to quickly fill the tires versus pounding with dirt. That is very tasking and time. Filling with foam cement would significantly speed up the building with tires. Aad the tires would be far stronger than just foam cement and fiberglass

[loveandllife]

that's my future dream home. I love dome houses, this is a fantastic concept.