All buildings, of coarse, start with the foundation. I used cinder blocks because its storage building and I wanted to keep it simple and somewhat movable. One thing I discovered was a lack of information on raised foundations specific to dome building. When you build a dome, you have to think round, so I decided a wagon wheel design would be best suited for a dome foundation. I used pressure treated 2x6 pine for the floor joists, attached via joist hangers, to 4x4 pressure treated posts for the rim joists. In order to determine the configuration of the rim joists, I had to cut and fit the first coarse of struts. Cutting the floor to fit was interesting but not difficult.
There are two basic forms of framing methods in dome construction. Hub and strut and penalized. I chose the hub and strut method. The strength of the dome structure allowed me to use 1/2 inch EMT conduit for the struts. Once I calculated the strut lengths, which you can find dome calculators on the web, I started cutting pipe. To create the hub I flattened the ends of each strut and drilled a 3/4 inch hole for a bolt. I used the most common 3 frequency dome so I cut and color coded the three different sized struts, and yes there is an online calculator for the number of struts needed. After I had all the struts cut, smashed and drilled, I started bolting them together. I was amazed at how fast the frame went up and its strength. I had to remove some of the struts to allow for the door frame. 
Cutting the outer sheeting triangles was a little more difficult than I thought. I built the two different triangle sizes and used them as templates for the outer sheeting. Human error reared its ugly head and I discovered that minute differences in the strut lengths caused subtle size changes so I had to custom fit some of the triangle sheets. To attach the sheeting to the frame I routered a groove into 2x4 studs, creating a saddle, and cut them into 4" blocks then screwed the sheets to the blocks saddling the pipe strut. After disassemble and reassemble in its final position, I coated the dome with a acrylic latex roof coating. I filled the gaps between the triangles with caulking and added a polyester fabric strip for strength. I used a couple of coats of primer and embedded a polyester geotextile fabric into the last coat. Once the primer set I applied the final couple of coats of tinted acrylic latex roof coating to seal the dome.
Building this dome was a wonderful learning experience for my family and I. I finally realized my dream. The dome was complete and I immediately filled it with STUFF. I am amazed at the simplicity and strength of this little 20' dome. This dome has held record snowfalls of 25 inches and doesn't show any signs of stress. In comparing the cost of this dome and a storage building of the same size, I saved about $3000 dollars. I WILL build a dome house later when I have the funds.Why a dome you may ask, I never see squares or triangles in nature so building a square with a triangle on top seems unnatural to me.
