Just a refresher on Morty and Karen's Dome Home in the Sky. We are on three acres at the 2,000 ft. elevation, on the western slope of Hualalai Mountain (8,000 ft. to the top), facing the Pacific Ocean and the setting sun. Two and one half acres are planted with over 400 Tahitian lime trees, with banana, grapefruit, tangerine, coffee, papaya, ohia, African tulip, palms, tree ferns, avocados, bamboo, a jacuranda and an apple tree mixed in. We live in a 36 ft. diameter, two level geodesic dome, with approximately 1,700 sq. ft. of living space. About two years ago we built an ohana (literally Hawaiian for extended family) house at the top of the driveway. We rent this space to Saya, perfectly suited as extended family. The dome and garage are down the driveway at about the center of the three acres. (See the site plan.)
    The dome is perfect for Karen and me, providing studios for both of us on the upper level and cozy living space on the main level. As such it serves us well. We, however also like to host our children and their spouses and other friends who come to visit us from afar, to have parties and gatherings for talks and music, and to have big sit-down dinners. These functions are not easily accomodated in the limited space of the Dome-Home, and so we planned an addition.
    I decided to go with a 12 sided building, since I had done such a building in Connecticut, and it turned out beatifully. Its roundness, I felt, would complement the dome, while its pointed roof would add interest. And 12 is a magic or fundamental number with many groupings of 12 in both the secular and spiritual domains. We decided on a 24 ft. diameter room, also a multiple of 12, connected to the dome by an extension of the dome's front entryway. This arrangement allowed building on a fairly level piece of front lawn. It also allowed for a new entry that will be via a new front deck through an entrance door at the center of this connecting link. You turn left to enter the new room, right to enter the dome and straight through to walk out onto the surrounding lanai (deck). A new guest bathroom was included in this extension. A second phase of construction will change an existing bathroom into a master bath.
    The first floor plan shows the new construction to the right of the existing dome. The 12 sided room here is called Great Room. The floor is to be carpeted with carpeting running up, over and up the back of the deep benches along 8 walls, interrupted by arm rests at the column lines. We plan to scatter many pillows on these benches. Five benches have 6 ft. high, 6 ft. wide cedar louvered windows above them. Facing this symmetrical array is a free-standing wall fronted by a platform.The key to the functioning of this room is the expandable platform. This 7 ft. by 4 ft. platform is 12" off the ground and can be opened to 7 ft. by 8 ft. It can be used in the following ways: 1. a 7x4 presentation stage for presenters or performers to an audience sitting on the benches or on the floor fronting the benches; 2. a 7x4 or 7x8 oriental style dining table, pulled away from the wall, with cushion seating for 10 or 16, respectively, around it; 3. extending legs brings this 7x4 or 7x8 table up to western dining height, pulled away from the wall and surrounded with either 8 or 14 chairs respectively;  and 4. a 7x8 platform bed, 12 inches high, with a mattress dropping out of the closet in the free standing wall. This last function is further complemented with a storage and closet area behind the free standing wall and an attached bathroom.
    One approaches the new front entry from the mauka  side (the mountain side) of the buildings shown in the top elevation drawing. The new connecting corridor continues the angle walled geometry of the dome's extensions, and extends symmetrically from either side of the new entryway. The entryway also reflects this geometry, and this cruciform is enhanced with three skylights. The Great Room or Pavilion faces out toward the ocean and the setting sun. This makai side (the ocean side), or bottom elevation, reveals all the openable louvered windows, the windows of the new bathroom and the back door leading to the existing lanai. This elevation also shows the large six sided mandala window of the dome-home. The counterpoint and harmony of forms, the dome opposite the pavilion is highlighted by these elevations.

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       I decided on a structural roof system that would reflect the double pitch of the classic Hawaiian roof line. It also served to put the 12 faceted central glass skylight at a high angle to facilitate water and dirt runoff. The triangle formed by the 4x8 main rafter and the 2x8 jack rafters that sandwiched it and the 4x8 column allowed me to forgo tie beams. Using Autocad I was able to detail each of the members that are shown in the section drawing, including the various sills and beams that spanned between columns to form the wall  and floor systems. After producing 26 separate detailed item drawings, most items requiring production runs of 12 or more, I redrew the parts using the dimentioned drawings as my source, and, in the virtual reality of the computer screen, went about re-assembling the details into an assembly to verify my dimensions. I produced an architectural/engineering package of 26 11"x17" drawings and retained Paul Bleck, an architect I had used for checking my ohana house plans, to review these plans. After updating the plans I submitted a set to the building department and received approval in August 1999, about a year after I started working on them.
    I sent the item drawings to Timberwork of Portland Oregon, and received a reasonable quote for pre-cutting and pre-drilling over 250 separate parts, mostly out of structural size fir, pressure treating them afterward, and shipping them to Hawaii. After being shown their plant in Portland by their manager Maury Blondheim, I contracted with them at the end of October to do the work. A 24-foot high cube container was chosen which allowed me to add all the T&G cedar wall boards, the redwood decking lumber, the cedar slats for the windows, and the solid core oak doors to be used for the platform. In mid January 2000 the container arrived in Kwaihae and was parked on Mahi street on January 24.
    I started looking for a contractor to do the work in November 1999. Most didn't respond. The work was seen as troublesome, difficult to estimate, too much dependent on how well Timberwork performed. The only contractor who responded, our good friend George Bennett, came in with a very high price, with much money in the framing work. He was figuring that things would not go together easily and that I might be a difficult customer. It didn't feel right.
     In mid December I was introduced to Bob "Babu" Faust who was building an exotic bridge between two buildings on our friend Lorene's property. Both Karen and I liked him immediately. I asked him to look over our plans and let me know if he thought he could do the job. He told us a week later that he would be happy to, but couldn't begin until Jan 16. He said he has a helper and we agreed on terms. I would be contracting with both workers on an hourly basis. Since his home was a 2 hour drive south, we decided that he would use the small apartment we finished last year under the ohana house, during the week. His enthusiasm was refreshing after the generally negative reception by the contractors. We were feeling very good about Babu. I also felt good about being able to directly participate in the construction process, while freed from the paperwork and constraints of a fixed price general contractor.