UnityDome Most efficient dome free plans

[@markmilne3967]

I wish I could like this video 100 times. This exemplifies how great KZbin is when people like Paul can share boundless amounts of expertise to anyone in the world for free. Thank you.

[@SXVWT]

Gives all he has for free. This man deserves a big statue. LEGEND!

[@SpeedmasterNZ]

Yes Thank you Paul. Im going to look at making one in Thailand when my wife and I turn for our holiday home.

[@mikebeutner798]

This is the best design I have seen for a dome because, as you clearly state, it maximizes the use of 4x8 sheets of plywood and eliminates the cost of hubs while providing enormous design convenience and flexibility. Really excellent work! Thanks for your willingness to share. It's wonderful to see innovation on display.

[@morphergaming0531]

This is exactly the size I've been looking with the perfect height. Considering building a tiny home but I wanted the size of a yurt with a single story only. You have hit perfection.

[@GunnarsGames]

This is the best design I have seen for any geodesic dome. I will build this one on a concrete platform so the door is square. The ability to combine multiple domes is amazing. Such a simple design with readily available materials.

[@sgardner]

Paul you are a genius and so very generous with your time and ideas. So glad I found your KZbin channel via Pinterest.

[@mattbooth92]

I built this in my garden at a 0.57 scale factor so the footprint fit my garden. Had to raise it a little to make it so I could get in but it works perfectly. Great plans thank you for sharing Paul.

[@jamesmartin5357]

what math did you use to scale it if you don't mind me asking? i'd like to scale this up to 30 ft in diameter.

[@ornametrics]

​@@jamesmartin5357use a triangle calc to find the angles then size up the struts accordingly.

[@MrBacte]

What wood you used? I cannot find what wood dimensions to use for the triangle?

[@mattbooth92]

@@MrBacte I used 50mm X 50mm and then cut it down to the correct dimensions

[@jasonbell6079]

Thank you for the time and effort you put into teaching people about this subject. I’ve learnt a lot and I’m looking forward to taking on this project.

[@pertinentparadigm1337]

Holy shit this is awesome! I recently bought some plans from you but I'll be making this one first. Think I speak for everyone when I say thanks for making these opensource and FREE!! This is perfect for a modular tiny home on wheels I've been looking for!

[@johnnybayles7412]

How would you put this on wheels? It would have to be so narrow.

[@pertinentparadigm1337]

@@johnnybayles7412 It would be challenging to figure out but slide out origami style.

[@johntwiname1]

Brilliant Paul I had been doing an octahedron breakdown for going into a corner and this dome does it. I am impressed and we will build one in Cullybackey N.I. Your are doing a fantastic service to the dome community Paul.

[@Jonathan-sk4pt]

this by far seems the best. Paul thank you for simplifying! wathced tons of videos and hope to coordinate my plans to your site or here. this now is doable for any person of skill. best product to help a wondering human to find a humble home

[@hannesgouws5103]

I'm a draftsman an have been working through your tutorials Paul. Absolutely fantastic work on these, well done. I hope you do a tutorial on this, it looks like a lot of fun to model (and build). Wishing you all the best!

[@Geo-Dome]

Yes I will upload one shortly and let you know. I'm starting a free masterclass series so these questions are great for content. Thanks

[@georgeelias1016]

First, my respect to your kind heart for sharing your knowledge free. Also my appreciation for the brilliance of one-piece dome model. I saw your comment that wanger flanges could be expensive. You are a wonderful engineer but a bad salesman :)). God bless…

[@klausjack-h4l]

Hi Paul thanks for your amazing work !!! every video is an inspiration greetings from Spain

[@themountainjake]

Just discovered your channel and this video and am really impressed. This seems like some Buckminster Fuller-level innovation! Well done and thank you!

[@petefoster4244]

Thanks for sharing such an elegant design with the community Paul. I see so many possibilities to explore brilliant

[@michelewhitewolf3712]

Excellent 👍. This is workable solution for many different applications that a homesteader may require. Easy fabricated in a shop during off times. Then assembled as needed. Thank you so much for your time and generosity.

[@liambenyamin5482]

There isn't a cut list. A cut list would be awesome!!! I believe this is the most beautiful of all the domes to date! Thank you for sharing!!! It's a game changer.

[@leftfootmoreright3304]

Paul shares his plan including measurements plus hints and a how-to for free. and people like you still find something to complain about. use your head and go figue the cut list out for yourself. it is not rocket science.

[@chicagobuck]

Thank you for sharing this with us. And for free! It's beautiful!

[@susanneschauf7417]

I am very impressed. Best channel for geodetic domes. I want to built this in my garden. Thank you so much for your explanations ❤️

[@adriancozumel2022]

Greetings from Cozumel Mexico 🇲🇽 this is an awesome start project!!! Thanks for your work and specially for sharing your knowledge!

[@audigit]

Thank you for IDEAS THAT WORK, leading to other ideas that develop. I'm working on the ideas, and you implement your thoughts in a great sharing platform. Thank you for creating this site.

[@kathleen8167]

So cool. Looking to build a frequency reverberation structure.. I do sound therapy in Montana in the woods. Thank you for your work.

[@andrelouw7343]

Thank you Paul for your efforts and sharing your design. This is brilliant. Looking from above I notice that this design lends it self very well to stretching it into a tunnel.

[@Geo-Dome]

Yes I agree, will be looking at this next...

[@PeterWest70]

I am looking for a dome plan for 2 persons, for a desert area, bolted to a slab, to serve as a hub for additional "add-on" daisy chain expansion. Glad I found your channel... was quick to subscribe! Thanks

[@prairiemountaineer]

Great design... hope I get to try it out (maybe next summer, as this one already has enough projects). Thx for sharing

[@firsty8056]

That's a really gorgeous looking dome, i can't wait to give it a go

[@DesertJungleMan]

The 3 angles you might be looking for the kite triangle to make a jig are (it is not a right angle triangle): 86.97 degrees~87 59.13 degrees~59 33.90 degrees~34 It is derived from “Deltoidal hexecontahedron”

[@tiptrick7762]

I love you

[@DesertJungleMan]

Sending love to you as well, show us your work @@tiptrick7762

[@fisheater844]

Was wondering about that, no 90 degree corner because when viewed in the plan view the corners appear to radiate out at 90 degrees. Paul mentioned that you could take a corner out or build onto a corner I just can’t see how that would work. I am wanting to build onto an interior corner could you or someone explain what I am not following.

[@DesertJungleMan]

@@fisheater844 probably it would work out since you have to fill the seem gaps with some a flexible material like silicon as a weather seal. So, I would not worry about it too much, it is though important to know the angles for building the dome as a whole. If you want to reduce the risk, build it on sketchup first and see how it would work. Good luck, and share results if possible

[@kulwinderThandi]

@@fisheater844 building on an inside corner you would only need a 1/4 of the dome, look at the plan view and divide it into 4 sections use 1 for an inside corner, 2 for a flat wall and 3 for an outside corner, 4 would be the stand alone dom

[@go4acro]

Dude so nice, I wanted to make one that can be moved and this one can turn into 4 pieces, amazing. Thanks

[@sterlingfletcher7801]

Fabulous! I just completed my imperial GD27, I would love this in Imperial conversion as well! Thank you!!

[@philatherton4242]

Great thinking. Simplest design I've seen yet

[@vesc1389]

Thanks Paul, this is a wonderful design, with so many "features" in the result! Think I will try this with EMT, either 3/4 or 1 inch. Can even build in stages if rested into a corner, then flat wall, etc. Inspiring... thanks again.

[@JohnGuest45]

stacking 10 struts on one bolt? lol

[@bwillan]

This is a good looking dome layout. Perhaps a calculator could be constructed for the strut lengths for different size domes.

[@Ludifant]

Sure I can do that. But if you know what it is called, you can find one online. These type of domes are derived from catalan solids. This is for instance a disdyakis triacontahedron, which is a deltoidal hexecontahedron where the deltoids are split into two triangles. If you wikipedia them, you´ĺl see the similarity between the two. Here is a calculator for a deltoidal hexecontahedron: rechneronline.de/pi/deltoidal-hexecontahedron.php

[@JohnGuest45]

You dont learn anything if everything is done for you. Any calculator can be used to find the chord factors , Strut Length / Radius equals Chord Factor. For a different size dome, Radius * Chord Factor equals Strut Length.

[@audigit]

@@Ludifant thank you!

[@dougieparke]

@@JohnGuest45 so if I want a 13m diameter, I am building 4 metre-ish triangles?

[@clydeharless899]

@@JohnGuest45 Not all of us have that background

[@LongWalkHome1]

Exceptional, Excellent design, Thanks for sharing!

[@zerkco9280]

Great Job, very usefull for me ! Thank you so much for sharing and working for the community. I was looking for a good dome to build and this one is one of the best model I saw. I mean easier to construct for a good average size. Ideal for me. Thanks. I am still watching your channel with great attention and pleasure.

[@queenelcene638]

Wonderful, beautiful, ThankYou for the free plans download. Peace, respect, love.

[@thetruenolan6655]

This is a really brilliant design! Very practical, especially with the easy bisections and quartering. Nice job!

[@davidfuller764]

I could not agree more! Thanks!

[@harlemsar]

Thank you for your generosity, greetings from Colombia : )

[@zepposprojects3205]

Thanks Paul! Been looking at your video's and you sir, are amazing and inspiring.

[@edi9892]

I never liked geometry in school, but I do like it in art and architecture...

[@pokkrongphasukyued8851]

This is the best I have ever seen. Thank you very much.

[@geodeaholicm4889]

THANK YOU PAUL for yout excellent design, explanation, & pdf. i hope to build one if i can get some affordable land.

[@wlgeiger]

Love these! I would appreciate imperial since you asked but also, since you've done so much work I can whip out the converting app :)

[@DJR3H]

Nice, thanks! My gd27 dome is in use for the last 5 years and still great to use.

[@mackyb27]

Maybe it looks like simple and from the math point and linking it is along with flat bottom. But there are actually 6 different pieces from engineering standpoint that has to be build, also triangles are bad gor any kind of openings like windows. I was thinking in the same direction but ultimately I came to a conclusion that less elements the better. My approach was mixing triangles penta and hexagon shapes to form modular structure. I ended up using only 5 elements with 3 od them not being prismatic (forming triangles) that are used for static load. Kudos for your work and sharing it. Really good work.

[@oscarb.morales5906]

Definitely would like to have plans for this dome, I enjoyed the possibilities explored using Sketchup, and more importantly that this half-dome seats flat. That in itself simplifies a lot of issues.

[@Geo-Dome]

Link is in the description!

[@believetheresgoodintheworl4792]

Paul you are amazing! Thank you endlessly for sharing your knowledge and plans with the world. We are a group of friends in Ontario and we want to collectively help each other build domes on each others properties. We love this plan due to the simplicity of only having the one size triangle, and the adaptable nature of this design, however we have a connection for free lumber of 3 feet in length (2x4 studs) we were hoping to utilize. Can this plan be modified, or you you have an alternate plan you would recommend us to use? Thank you kindly!!!

[@yinzerboys]

This is awesome thank you! For your knowledge and time

[@tipo9nine514]

Amazing. My plan is for a 24 foot dome, and this is about 22, so I just need to put my thinking cap on and figure out the measurement changes to make that happen.

[@UPSIDEDOWNRAMBLING]

Thanks a million for all the great information you share. The dome looks great and it's the right size for my project as well!!

[@scottishpride032]

I really enjoy this dome style. The kite frame, with the single shape really simplifies it, plus the fact that the dome is dividable in 4 quadrants is really cool too! I'm planning to build a 4 season greenhouse dome and this might be my top choice. I plan to make a footing from ICF Blocks and insulate the north wall part way up. I'm curious if the dome size can be scaled up much without stressing the struts?

[@studioharpya]

Hi from Brasil, congratulations Paul you are a Visionary , love your ideas. Thanks for sharing.

[@peterkoh1129]

Thank you very much... a lot to learn from and amazing design...

[@jamie2944]

Great stuff Paul, you've done us all a massive service, cheers legend!

[@markroeder2491]

Could you put out an updated download with imperial measurements?

[@charonstyxferryman]

Try this search on Google, (from 4:44) : *3355 mm in ft=*

[@Berkana]

This is fantastic. Thanks for doing this!

[@samuelspeedsr6706]

Fantastic Paul. I've been researching Geodesic domes for about 40 years. It's on my bucket list to build one. would love to talk to you about it if possible. Thank you.

[@maggiesmith979]

This one is really beautiful

[@josephKEOarthur]

Truely a godsend.. Much respect and thanks!

[@audigit]

Haa! you are the best. Straight away an interesting build... Let me know how if this knocks up with the Joints you sell... I'm all in for the build, if so. thanks. I think Aircrete Harry and you should have a conversation, over a few beers.

[@rossgebert9422]

Great one Paul, love it! Thanks.

[@DylanTimothyDean]

where is the sketchup Model? A friend and I are planning on scaling this up slightly and building it! How can you get the triangle dimentions, we want to form our own insulation inserts from Mycelium to fit in the triangle and overlap eachother like shingles. Coat them with liquid rubber on the outside and give it a sunken foundation

[@arquitemaschile]

Beautiful solution, Im not a big fan of domes, but I might just try this one out, thanks for sharing your work.

[@justmeted1969]

Very cool concept! Quite elegant. Thank you!

[@donedoer]

This is awesome! Bang up job. Is there a Sketchup file available for scaling the dome? I'm looking to build an 8.5m half dome to cap a hoop house that I'm building around my camper and this is PERFECT! Thank you for sharing!

[@douglaskrummrey1175H]

Any updates to this? More details? looks great!

[@DavidPaulNewtonScott]

I am building a dome but covering it with polyethylene and growing ivy over it. No maintenance and the ivy will eventually become structural. I am doing the same thing in Portugal with cork oaks to produce a house that requires no heating or cooling at all.

[@christianvanderstap6257]

I wonder if this will transform into a tunnel as neat as the dome itself. I really do like the way the triangles look in this dome.

[@eglebitinaite2283]

What are the angles of frame triangle? by given measurements it doesn't look to be 90 degree triangle. Thanks for response!

[@ronphillips379]

Thanks Paul. Great information. Useful building.

[@zomesargentina]

Thank you so very much Paul! Cheers!

[@DennisKenneybees]

Thank you Paul for a great video and like Nicola Tesla you are a great humanitarian. I assume the framing is screwed together at various locations along each side. But it seem to me that the frame side that you show as 90 degrees would need a bevel also to create a circle dome? Have you actually built a dome from these plans? If plywood panels are used on top of the frame; I would assume the size of the panels would need to be expanded so all the corners fit together?

[@HemonDey]

Hi Paul, thanks for this bang up job, excellent work and very interesting. As you can split it into halves and quarters so easily, would this not make a great tunnel as well? I remember from your previous tunnel videos that was a difficulty with some of the 3V because they don't have a flat bottom and difficult to slice. Indeed this done would solve those problems the way I'm seeing it. I'll see if I can have a crack at it on Sketchup :) thanks for the plans! it is really appreciated!

[@IBoughtTheFarmca]

How do I cut this down to have a footprint no bigger than 108 sq ft. This way I can avoid building permits.

[@parsonswoodworx]

Paul, this is a really cool plan, and I plan on building a scaled down version (with a knee wall) as a playhouse for my grandchildren. Thank you for sharing it. I have a question on the frame triangles though. I assumed from looking at the frame measurements diagram (on the 4th page) that the angle between the 1828mm side and the 1214mm side was a 90 degree angle. However, if I plug the three leg dimensions into a triangle calculator, I get that angle at 86.79 degrees and the other two angles at 34.56 degrees and 58.66 degrees. Is that correct? Thanks.

[@sparc5]

That's what I got too. The longest side was 2137mm and that's the square (un-beveled) piece. Is that the same as your measurements?

[@ornametrics]

Correct. I've just done the same thing and can now use my own strut lengths to downsize.

[@ancapftw9113]

6900 mm, or 6.9 meters, or about 20 feet. Good size. I'll have to think about building one. Though I might alter it a bit to work with steel tubes instead of wood.

[@markschroter2640]

Would scaling back the frames change the angles? Assuming all the lengths are scaled back in an equal ratio ie. 20%?

[@Speido307]

thank you for sharing, any chances of getting a set of plan with imperial measurements?

[@brighambaker3381]

Can you please explain what the nine off and five off mean in the plans? Are those degrees of the ends that are cut off?

[@tools144]

Brilliant!! Thank you for the free plans.

[@dariostarsky8124]

Are you planning on building one of those any time, Paul? Cheers for everything you do!!

[@TheErmerm999]

I don't understand the angle choise would a 90 degrees angle for the intermitate corner angle not make a stronger joint and panel skinning with glass or sheeting a lot easier while not making other dia angles anymore complex and they are, it might cause more sheet waste but more usable wastage

[@keelenogrady]

Instead of taking those 2 panels out and putting in that door frame, could you just add hinges to those panels and make them into a door?

[@robert.peyroux]

Hi Paul, Thanks for your time and for sharing so nice ideas with us. Just a little stupid question. I first imagined all triangles were right-angled triangles, but then I went on the slide concerning the frame measurements and 1214, 1828 and 2137 do not fit with Pythagore! May be I misunderstood or perhaps these dimensions are not in the same plane.

[@EzequielBaltazar]

Good design! Thank you!

[@mathwithnikhil]

So, if you are cutting those pieces on 8x4 you can directly use solid panels instead of creating struts. Have I got that right? Please I am a complete beginner in this, want to build something like this on my land.

[@newcoisas3446]

Hello... how can I develop a large structure / dome with 60m in diameter, what would be the dimensions of aluminum tubes that I could use and what quantity would be

[@jimbaranski4687]

Can this be built from electrical conduit? The each conduit strut serves as a side to two panels. What is the biggest dome that can be made with 10 ft pieces of conduit? Each 10 ft piece of conduit usually gives you two struts of varying length. For a standard dome: Largest Dome made from 10’ stock: length of strut ( number of struts) = length of conduit piece; 64.198”(20) + 47.990”(30) = 115.188”; 61.350” (80) + 55.644” (35) = 119.994”. A 10 ft conduit is obviously 120” I got a bunch of conduit from an electrician who was retiring. I plan to sheath it in used boat heat shrink plastic and maybe spray foam the inside or outside. If you spray foam the outside, you can cover the foam with more plastic, and maybe dismantle the dome framework inside! I don’t know how strong that would be, though. 1.5” Added for strut ends

[@GDFourcade1]

But Paul, The bevels on the longest piece of timber don't seem to be 90 degrees in the built dome, do they?

[@stevengarrett5953]

CAN I GET THE IMPERIAL MESUREMENTS. I LIKE THIS ONE BECAUSE IT LOOKS SIMPLE TO DO. THANK YOU

[@brucelarson8667]

I sure would like to get the imperial measurements and would like to know if this design is structurally sound as I have read with more complex designs.? and thanks for Your knowledge, In san diego Calif

[@michaelfirneno6686]

Enjoying your videos, good idea for a one man build,still possible to get plan in imperial measurements thanks

[@dingo5842]

Paul, I have a question about the angles in the triangles. Based on the 1214/1828/2137 lengths, instead of 30°/60°/90°, they're ~34.5°/~58.5°/~87° (much more complicated to cut and inefficient to cover with right-angled plywood, fabric, etc). Was this for reasons intentional, was it simply by chance, or is it an unintended rounding error? If we can use 30°/60°/90°, it would be a lot easier to fabricate (fewer cuts) and cheaper to source (as we could make more optimal utilization of right-angle substrate sources). We'd probably have to reset the bevel angles, however - but maybe that would not be a hardship. Your thoughts? Thank you!

[@Geo-Dome]

Ah yes a very interesting question, if we changed the angles to 30°/60°/90° we could only produce a flat tiled surface. The small difference in face angle makes it possible to tile a sphere. If I force the 90° angle the others have to be 31.7° and 58.3° respectively and form the faces of a Rhombic Triacontahedron divided in four. Hope this helps.

[@ashiraisrael598]

so the frame is with 2x4 timbers? and you just staples plastic or screw polycarbonate to the frames?

[@InitialG1]

I just found this, and love the design and what seems as the easiest dome construct I found to date. I have one question... This is for a 6,7m dome, covered in plywood sheets Would it be possible/advisable for me to add a percentage to the material thickness/lengths to enlarge the dome to the size I would like ? (I would like to make a dome with this system of diameter 10m or so

[@krissfemmpaws1029]

It would be nice to have Imperial measurements but not necessarily needed. I wonder what it would take to make this into a tunnel type structure? Being roughly 20 feet in diameter it's not enough room to build a 17 foot kayak and get around it. Adding 6 to 8 feet in the middle would be sweet.

[@Ludifant]

You can actually do this build a hoop house with two ends ending in a half dome. If you want an easier tunnel, look at the icosahedron. That middle part will just repeat endlessly giving you a tunnel.

[@ediskujovic898]

I tried redrawing the triangle in Autocad and I get that the Hypothenuse is 2194mm if we are talking about square Triangle. You have it 2137mm. That is almost 5cm difference.

[@adoby83]

Interesting structure! Thanks! It seems that it would be possible to build the dome using a combination of four corner kites and the two triangles only where you want the dome to meet the ground or a wall. Each kite is flat, the curve of the dome is created only where kites or single triangles meet. Would it weaken the dome a lot to take out the two middle sticks in each kite?

[@geobeau2904]

I love this channel Paul and I want to build a dome . With any of my projects, I start with a model before taking on something major.The mirror triangle for your unity dome is brilliant however.... I want to build a diameter of 16 ft 5 in. instead of the suggested 22 ft .After scaling down the frame measurements to a factor of .082057---- for the model, I must have had the apex angle wrong because they do not fit . If there are 5 mirror panels with 10 triangles ,I presume that the angle at the top of each triangle should be 36 deg. ?(360 deg divided by 10) and the bottom should be 70 deg? since no angles are given on the plans. Thanks again for your devotion to domes.

[@KevinWright-yf6jm]

I have downloaded your excellent plans. Thanks tremendously. Since each side is a mirror image, could a one or two meter extension be added at the seven nodes to elongate the design? Thanks in advance for your reply. I really enjoy your videos.