The jack-o-lantern face has been replaced with evocative portals. As the sun progresses across the sky, the apertures in the dome create a sundial effect as the shadows and shapes dance across the decks.



Bob Buchmeier, owner of Ameri-Foam, (no longer in business), and his team have expertly refined the rough-cut openings in the dome. With precision and finesse, this team sprays the areas with foam and gently sands and shapes until the defining art form has been achieved. The flexibility of this process allows a freedom seldom found in home design. Rarely can a building medium keep pace with a dreamer’s imagination, but this jewel of a product is truly amazing in the creative hands of Bob Buchmeier.

Mr. Buchmeier can virtually spray over any shape and form, instantly creating uniqueness in one’s space. Free-form fountains, fireplace mantles, showers, freezers, ponds, landscaping walls and décor set your imagination free. We have had a wonderful experience creating with this team of dedicated artisans.



The Jack O'Lantern face actually made it on the front page of the Pensacola News Journal. I was shocked by the multitude of people who actually believed the dome would stay that way. We did it for the upcoming Halloween as a ha-ha. But, I guess the Dome was so unusual, they had no idea what to expect.
I am sure they are breathing a sigh of relief as the finished product proved to be much different than the "face"

With a sigh of relief, we have become structural! The balloon is up, four inches of foam sprayed, over five miles of rebar placed and five inches of concrete sprayed on the interior. Because we are in the midst hurricane season, relying on the fans for inflation left us in a precarious predicament. Storm surges will annihilate generators.

The balloon was inflated on April 30, 2002. In those twenty minutes, the beach's landscape was irrevocably changed. The dome became the new landmark and the subject of much discussion. The island is home to many walkers, bikers, and 1.4 million visitors each year. Streams of people each day come by to inquire and gaze at the balloon.

The most common questions people ask are: is the home being built underneath the balloon; why aren't they working on the dome, (not realizing that at this stage the work is being done on the interior); how is the balloon removed; and of course, what is the cost. We have conducted numerous tours through the dome to inquisitive passers-by.
EVERYONE we have spoken with has expressed support and excitement for the project. Those who have experienced hurricanes first-hand grasp very quickly the implications and advantages of this structure.



The neighborhood elementary school toured the dome on the last day of school. We were intrigued and encouraged by the thoughtful questions the students asked. One six-year-old boy looked around in awe as he whispered, "When I grow up, I want to have a home like this." Having the opportunity to share this technology with children was a great joy. Field trips to interesting places leave an indelible mark in one's memory. We know these students will be discussing this adventure with their grandchildren. Mark conducted a demonstration comparing conventional fiberglass insulation to the foam being used in the dome. He dipped each one in a bucket of water to simulate the results that occur when a hurricane douses a home. The soaking, soggy fiberglass insulation elicited a resounding "Yuck!" And the unaffected foam received a "Wow!" in response. Many of the children asked if they could take a piece of the foam home as a souvenir. The crew was very helpful in distributing these keepsakes from the field trip to the impressed students. The collection of pictures and thank you notes we received from the children was a wonderful bonus for us.

The local ABC news affiliate is continuing to do dome updates on Sunday evenings. Mollye Barrows has aired five segments to date. The segments generate extensive hits on the website, and several "I saw you on the news. Great house!" responses. Because our desire has always been to educate and increase exposure of dome technology, we are extremely appreciative of Ms. Barrows and her camera crew. They are very interested in the project and are always ready to film the latest achievements. We are also grateful to our local newspaper, The Islander, for distributing information through their articles.

The website has gone global! We have received visitors from all continents in the world. All very exciting for us as we sit on this spit of an island in Florida.

With over 1.4 million visitors to the beach each year, the dome is in a position to generate a tremendous amount of interest. We have been told by the local government to expect a majority of those visiting to make the dome one of their tourist attraction stops.

A unique opportunity awaits future visitors to the sugar white beaches of Pensacola Beach, Florida. VACATIONING IN THE DOME!!! For those who want to experience living in a dome or to vacation in a one-of-a-kind house, the dome will be available for weekly rentals. Visitors can spend a week "living in the round" while they vacation on an island covered in white sand and surrounded by emerald waters.



Our goal is to be ready for the 2002 Christmas and New Year holidays. Anyone interested in renting the dome of a home can contact us at 850-723-5107 or domeofahome@aol.com OPEN SESAME!!! Openings were cut on July 11, 2002, finally allowing passers-by to get a glimpse inside of the structure. Much confusion is exhibited concerning the windows and decks by those stopping to stare at the balloon. We could literally spend twelve hours a day in front of the construction site constantly answering questions. Amazing the amount of curiosity domes create.

We hope by offering scheduled tours and opening the home for weekly rentals to provide a venue for further understanding and acceptance of the incredible advantages of the dome structure.

Since that initial field trip of the elementary school, we have had hundreds tour the Dome of a Home. Most are truly fascinated by the various features and "feeling" inside the Dome. However, my favorite reactions still are from the children. This year I let the kids play a crystal bowl in the master suite. Standing under the sweet spot where the sound reverberates and surrounds you, they took their turns making music. They seemed awestruck at how differently music sounds in the round. Once again, it was a wonderful experience for me and I hope, hurricanes willing, we can offer tours on a more consistent basis in the future.

Protecting the delicate balance of the barrier island while building structures is the ultimate goal when selecting the various products to use. The dome of a home is not only unique in its outward appearance. Throughout the construction of the home, from the pilings to the skylight, many of the products being used are unprecedented in their application.



In keeping with the Siglers' desire to use new technologies that are more energy efficient and environmentally benign than their predecessors, the pilings they chose were the Seaward's Seapile Pilings.

With a home designed to physically last centuries, using wood or concrete pilings was impractical. With a viability of decades, wood and concrete pilings would severely shorten the lifespan of the home. Seaward International's SEAPILE pilings compliment the dome structure by their longevity and environmentally-friendly characteristics.



SEAPILE pilings are made of recycled and recycle-able composite materials. The SEAPILE composite piling is made of plastic that has been structurally reinforced with fiberglass rebar, making them impervious to corrosion, termites, and borers. Unlike chemically treated wood, the SEAPILE piling does not leech chemicals into our environmentally sensitive beach. And unlike concrete pilings, the SEAPILE does not begin to pit, allowing the rebar to corrode.



The SEAPILE piling is placed into the ground by conventional methods. Davis Marine Construction jetted the sixteen pilings several feet into the ground and drove the pilings to grade level outlining the perimeter for the future dome structure.

Alan Potts from Seaward International was extremely supportive and excited about the latest venture for the use of the SEAPILE piling. Mr. Potts and the Siglers hope to expand the publics' awareness of this advanced alternative.

Seaward International, Inc. is a manufacturer of high performance foam-filled marine fenders, buoys and floats, and composite marine pilings and timbers. Using the same technology, Seaward International is also developing an environmentally-friendly railroad tie. More information about these pilings can be found on Seaward's website: www.seaward.com

After the pilings were placed in an oval shape, a concrete ring beam was created. Steel rebar is placed vertically around the ring beam footing and then the concrete is poured. Later in the process, the embedded bars are used to join the concrete shell with the concrete ring beam.

The Monolithic Dome Institute, ( www.monolithicdome.com ) fabricated the airform that becomes the home's shell or frame. The Airframe is made of a very heavy PVC vinyl fabric whose seams are sealed with microwaves. Five men for five days worked to complete the airform. After being attached to the ring beam, the airform requires less than thirty minutes for the fans to inflate it. The fans will run continually throughout the construction of the shell of the dome.

Once inside the inflated airform, the world becomes surreal. Sounds echo and reverberate. Listening to music in the empty airform is a unique experience as it surrounds and reverberates through you. In some parts of the dome, a whisper is easily heard. In other areas, raised voices barely carry. Being inside the inflated airform is somewhat overwhelming. The expansiveness is belied by the exterior appearance. Inflation day was joyous and touching. How often is one's home framed in a matter of minutes? Now, if they could only discover an inflation method for the complete product.

Without a doubt, choosing Seaward's composite pilings was a genius move on my husband's part. When Hurricane Ivan hit, our yard became a virtual quicksand pit. The entire house was gently rocking, as evidenced by the tapping of pictures on my interior walls. Instead of cracking or splitting like concrete or wood pilings might have done, the composite pilings easily handled the stress and dispersed it.

Our mission is to help reduce the suffering associated with the destruction and loss of one's home in a natural disaster. We want to help promote awareness of the superior building technologies that can alleviate unnecessary losses. Many of the new technologies are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than their predecessors allowing the construction of structures while protecting and preserving the delicate balance of nature.

Our home is available for rent and we participate in annual house tours allowing others the opportunity to personally experience the benefits of monolithic domes.


In the six years since we wrote this mission statement, many hurricanes have devastated the Gulf Coast. The Dome of a Home withstood these storms admirably, receiving no structural damage. We have had numerous guests from the affected areas visit and discuss the attributes of building a dome building in the coastal environment. The Dome of a Home allows them to actually see one that has looked into the face of Mother Nature's fury and survive.

The Dome of a Home's notoriety soared during Hurricane Ivan's reign upon the Gulf. Three days before landfall, the Travel Channel aired an AMAZING VACATION HOMES episode featuring the Dome of a Home. They had been to the house to film in May and less than four months later the Dome of a Home is making global news because she is facing "the Storm of the Century" with the MSNBC news crew inside of her. The news crew placed incredible faith in her and we are grateful she proved herself worthy.

Because of the recent inundation of tropical systems along the coast, the media coverage has been overwhelming. The Dome of a Home has been featured on National Geographic's HURRICANE SUMMER; UK's IS THIS THE WORST WEATHER EVER?; Discover Channel's EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HURRICANES; ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA; several news programs and more newspapers than I could keep count.

In our original mission statement we wanted to promote awareness of superior building technologies. This has happened beyond our wildest expectation -- the silver lining behind Ivan, the Terrible's storm clouds.