Dashed Hopes: Not!

I spend to much time trawling the web, but sometimes I find useful things. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about requesting a quote for my draft earth-sheltered plan and the response I received. Well in my continued web trawl, I found another company that, as far as I can tell, uses pretty much the same system as Earth Sheltered Tech. The company is R.C. Smoot Construction and they are based in Texas. Like Earth Sheltered Tech, they build using domed 24 or 28 square foot modules which are formed in a single pour. Unlike Earth Sheltered Tech, Smoot Construction has some pricing information on their website, though the page mentions the pricing is for 12/07 and so are out of date.

They list $27 per square foot for the basic shell. Waterproofing, pouring the floor, insulation, electrical, plumbing, site work, etc etc are not included. At least it's a number that can give one an idea. For my 1100 sq ft draft plan, the waterproofed, insulated shell and two small skylights would be somewhere around $40,000. I have no idea what the rest would cost, but I can make up some numbers. Site work, a septic system, a well, a concrete floor, plumbing, electric, telephone, covering the shell with trucked in material, and garage doors would be $40,000. Finishing the interior (e.g. cabinets, appliances, interior walls, etc) is something I would do myself during winter nights and shouldn't cost more than $10,000. I think I padded the numbers pretty well. The total is $90,000 where I was figuring $100,000. I bet the difference would quickly disappear, but the important point is that we're talking $100,000 ballpark and not $400,000 as Earth Sheltered Tech suggested.

It's interesting that there are only a few construction companies doing this type of work. There's Davis Caves in my old stomping grounds of central Illinois. There's Earth Sheltered Tech in Minnesota and Smoot Construction in Texas. I've searched my area and asked around and haven't found of any such company here. I'm going to continue searching in nearby states. If anyone knows of other companies, please leave a comment.

Update: I bumped into EnerDome West in another of my old stomping grounds: Wisconsin. There are some pretty good construction pictures on this page. They too build with a domed ceiling.