Vacation Dome House By Steve Areen, Thailand

With Hajjar's guidance and design ideas, and Steve's son-in-law Tao's masonry skills, Steve created his own dome and painted in six weeks. The cost for the basic structure was under $6000. It took a few more weeks to add the details, such as doors, screens, pond, upstairs structure, stonework and landscaping. All this, including furnishings, was under $3000, bringing total cost to about $9,000.
As much as Steve loves his dome home, he probably would not have built it if it was a long process. The low cost and time-efficiency of using blocks is what enticed him into building.