A Minion ready to protect against storms

“For as long as I can remember, my dad has wanted a Monolithic Dome home,” said Alise Burke in an email about her dad’s new tornado shelter. It’s actually an Ecoshell — a concrete-only dome thinshell. They painted it to look like a Minion from the movie Despicable Me. Burke lives in the country next door to her dad, Ed Kelton, near Farmersville, Texas. Last December “a tornado tore through our rural community and many of our neighbors and my students lost their homes and one lost their child.”

“We were lucky,” she added. “As we looked around for storm shelter options, my father suggested the Monolithic Ecoshell. It was the same cost as a well made in-ground shelter. We split the cost and here we are.”

Mike South, President of Monolithic, said that three concrete piers were dug down about five feet into the ground. The piers are tied to the four-inch thick reinforced floor. The 10-foot diameter Ecoshell was finished with steel-reinforcing bars and four inches of concrete. A Tornado Tamer Safe Door was integrated directly into the concrete shell.

This is one tough building.

But just because it’s a tough, doesn’t mean it can’t have a sense of humor.

“I am an artist and art teacher nearby,” continued Burke. “I told my husband it would blend in better if I painted it to look like a willow tree. He suggested it looked more like a Minion to him. I ran with the idea. Bryan and our kids all participated in painting the dome yellow. I spent about a week working on the other details.”

We love it.

“I was so impressed by your domes,” said Alise. “I have decided that someday I will be getting another dome for my art studio.”