METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

The cost of submitting the application, including paying contractors for nonsense bids, was over
$12,000. Even with this substantial investment, there was no guarantee of a grant – this was
strictly the cost of the red tape. Without enough time for architectural drawings or an engineer's
outline, we had to submit the cost of building our home. And you can imagine how complicated
this would be with a monolithic dome. How could we give an accurate bid without this
information? We couldn't. But, we were assured that if our grant proposal was accepted, we
would be allowed an extra 20% of funding if our expenses exceeded our original bid. More on
that adventure later.
The burden of making a decision to go forth left me anxious and sleepless. When I did sleep, the
red tape monster chased me through my many nightmares. We were going to spend at least
$12,000 just to apply for the grant. If we decided to build the dome, the grant would only cover a
very small portion of the expenses. Quite literally, we would be investing all of our savings in one
egg in one basket. I was a nervous wreck. Mark thought it was an opportunity we should take.
I'm thinking, "If the government is offering it, it probably is not a good deal for us. Remember the
deals they made with the Native Americans?" Obviously, Mark convinced me to keep on trudging
through the mire and muck. Exhausted, I finally completed the most difficult homework
assignment of my life.
Several weeks later, we received a notice advising us that our grant proposal had been accepted.
A conference was scheduled to meet with our FEMA representative and county liaison, Bob
Davis. Other families who had also been accepted were present at the meeting. At that meeting
we were informed of even more impending red tape. Only two families, including ours, decided to
proceed with the next stage.
Because the grant was associated with FEMA, we had to have the house tested for asbestos
before demolition could begin. If it did contain asbestos, the cost of demolition would be
exorbitant. We did not know at the time that this was required and therefore, did not request the
additional funding for demolition. In a routine demolition of a residential home this is not required.
Fortunately, we did not have asbestos.
One hoop successfully jumped through.
The asbestos hoop was only one of many in this three ring circus.
Deadlines loomed. We had less than 24 months to find another place to live, demo our home,
hire an engineer and architect, design an unusual dome home, build it while dodging other
hurricanes, and complete the final paperwork before time ran out. If we did not meet our
deadline, the grant would be revoked.
Talk about pressure! And then, there was the politics – an element I had not factored in.
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