Starting the Detail Planning Process

We sat down this weekend and tried to make up for most of last week. Our son brought home a cold and it has migrated through the family, so last week was mostly spent doing damage control on the family and not planning for the future.

We did get a quote from Monolithic Domes for the cost of preparing the formal drawings. Once we get a final concept with a few section drawings of the interior we should approve that and at least have that process underway. They estimate 2 to 4 weeks to complete the drawings once they get started.

We also spoke to another general contractor and he seemed interested in the project. He has built a geodesic dome in the past and the interior work is very similar to a monolithic dome, just the shell construction differs. He wants to see the final drawings before he can give us a true bid, but he definitely sounded interested and knowledgeable about the process.

We took the latest version of the house plan (which is 99% correct in terms of room arrangement) and discussed the layout of the electrical switches and light fixtures. We placed fans and such. Our eldest daughter asked about an intercom and we agreed that one in the main house is unnecessary, but connecting the separate domes with one might be useful.

Finally we discussed the site plan and sketched out roughly where we think the house should go and the driveway and garage. It is very approximate, since we are working from an aerial image we got from Google Earth. It may also depend on the location of the city utilities and such which we'll find out about on October 12th. We did find the survey and the aerial photo teh city provided to us, so we can go and give a copy back to the planning and zoning board of the city to help them prepare for our meeting. Yes I know that sounds strange, but when you deal with city government you realize that one division frequently does not communicate well with another. Sigh.

This week we will turn our attention to the kitchen and dining room arrangement. Where to put the appliances and sink, cabinets, the island, etc. We also want to start thinking about floor coverings for the whole house.