Veteran coder builds stone-covered Dome Home into Texas hill

When Al Schwarz moved from upstate NY near Dallas, TX, he wanted a home with low energy bills and protection from extreme weather, so he dug into a hillside, inserted cement domes and buried them again with enough earth and rock to guarantee protection.

He spent 10 years stacking 230 tons of rock as a retaining wall and planting grass and trees atop the home. The final home is heavy enough to guarantee a steady temperature. “A normal house weighs about 46 tons,” explains Schwarz. “This one weighs between 600 and 700 tons, so it cannot change temperature rapidly – only about a degree in 24 hours. Therefore, it’s very easy to keep the inside comfortable.”

His 7 acres cost $49,000, though he took out a loan to build the domes which was not easy to find for such a non-conforming property. He finally found one that had financed other dome homes in the past.

With a greenhouse of vegetables and potatoes, and a lake in his backyard for fishing he is nearly entirely self-sufficient. The home is powered by solar and often feeds back into the grid.
His earth-sheltered home has also become a refuge for neighbors during extreme weather. One neighbor was so impressed they have installed their own prefab dome for private protection from storms.

[alschwarz]

Hello all,
Al here...

Thanks for all the great comments. I'm glad that you like it as much as I do.
Many thanks to Kirsten for her excellent filming and editing.

Many people had questions about the Domes. I took a week long class at Monolithic Domes of Italy TX, and ultimately hired them to build the lockable structure and once I had that and working bathroom, I moved in and started working on everything else.

I bought this piece of property specifically to build this type of house. I researched the topography and found that the lake ultimately drains into the Trinity river about a mile away. The 100 year floodplain line would need to be 30 ft deep before it would get to my land, so I believe I am safe from flooding.

Fortunately, I had the forethought to put in floor drains, so the few minor leaks on super heavy rain, drain away fine.

Temperature control is minimal, due to the thermal mass, but the heat pump is mainly used for dehumidification. I'm sure my indoor pond and fountain contribute to the humidity, but I enjoy it, so it's worth it to me.

I'm in rural Texas, so rules are more limited. Still need the approved and yearly inspected aerobic "septic system". I'm connected to a power grid, with a provider that has buyback credit when I produce more than I need during the day, then I pull power at night.
"City" water and soon fiber internet (cellphone Hotspot now)

Thanks again for the nice comments
Al

[chad]

This guy's an example of having everything you want but not all at once. Patience really is a virtue.

[FloStudios]

I'm a 29 year old programmer born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and I've had a dream for the last few years of building a highly custom, efficient, sustainable and overall "different" home. I hope Al sees that this was enormously inspiring for me.

[Helmzer.an.the.homeless.hounds]

This guy has done something right in life and worked hard for it and has put himself on the level of the pyramid builders unknowingly. True role model

[carolewarrenrealtor]

Such a giving heart ... contributing and sharing with his neighbors food, shelter, whatever. That's a blessing and true definition of community. His home is well designed and engineered, and basically provides everything he needs. Kudos 👏

[dinalee]

This is the kind of neighbor everyone should be. What a great house he’s built and what a great community he’s building with the neighbors.

[elizabethcarrington]

The kitchen is well designed. You don’t need to change a thing except as needed when appliances break. I live in Kennedale Texas. He’s absolutely right about the horrible weather. I’ve lived here for 54 years and it’s so much worse due to the severity of the wind speeds we get. Even if you don’t get a direct hit, the widespread wind damage is significant. Broken windows, skylights, downed fencing, trees on power lines, etc. hes so smart to do what he did. Plus he has water!

[pepperpepperpepper]

You showed an underground dome house before, that felt like a bunker, and seemed dark inside. This one is friendly and inviting. The rocks look great. Really nice place overall.

[martinfrantz]

I watched alot of videos and designs buildings etc.This is by far the most impressive thing I think I have ever seen.Also love how this man is willing to share .He tells his story and doesn't brag how smart he is or much better he is really down to earth literally. Just super amazing. Just can't get over this one.Truely one of a kind.just wow

[CasparMacRae]

"That's the thing, there's a lot of defects in it, but there's so much that you've never seen before, that most of it you won't ever figure out" ❤ made my day

[dahur]

I normally am on the fence with dome homes. But this one turned out very nice.

[TJ-eqdl]

Geezer
Is a genius if we all built and lived In a similar fashion, Mother Nature would be so proud of us.

[bobclarke]

Perhaps the nicest earth sheltered home I've ever seen. Good layout, plants, light...

[bruce-le-smith]

This is awesome. This is the American dream I remember as a kid. This guy deserves recognition for being a chemical engineer and building a homestead that is tornado and fire resistant! Bravo

[colinkelley]

Once again, Kirsten, I don't know how you two do it, another absolutely amazing house AND interview! I love what you do, and how you do it. Looking at what he built, you got into AL's way of thinking, asked some great leading questions, got him talking, and sat back and let him talk, then walk around enthusiastically and show you stuff. It is impossible to do a better job than what you did, for us to see anything and everything important from Al's point of view. Anyone else would have missed half of it. THANK YOU for doing what you do!

[boardwalkbw]

So in love with this entire property and the fact he built it himself and took years to do it makes it sooo soooo much better. Love this guy

[rachelm]

This is one of my favorite stories. I am now invested in Al, and his home because he seems very kind and very clever. His neighbors are lucky indeed.

[huntakilla]

I love this. I'm a big fan of Lord of the Rings, and the Dwarfs that inhabit that universe. And they literally live underground, inside giant mountains. For some reason that idea has always resonated with me. I am very sensitive to warm temperatures, and will get a nasty heat rash if I get too hot. The fact that this house remains a steady, cool temp all year round sounds absolutely wonderful. I think it's incredibly cool and selfless that Al is happy to have his neighbors take shelter inside his home whenever there's a tornado warning going out.

[marthareyes]

That was a lot of fun to watch.
He is a very cool man.
I really admire self-sufficient individuals.
Love everything he has done.
Very peaceful place.
A little bit of paradise.

[ghostbeetle]

That HAS to be my favorite dome/underground house ever! I love how the cave-like quality of it keeps it cosy while still giving you a feeling of lots of space. Ideally, I would like to enlarge the central dome and that upper level entry "gallery" and try to have an Earthship-like greenhouse area up there. Plus, the self-sufficiency and stability are tremendous boons in a world that is suffocating in more and more dependencies and centralism. Enormous respect!