EPS Dome House Modular House Frequently Asked Questions During Sales

**How is the insulation performance? Can it be used at -40℃?**

The insulation performance is excellent. The material itself has a thermal conductivity of 0.03 and a thickness of 18 cm, providing outstanding insulation. It has been widely used and well received in extremely cold regions such as Hokkaido, Japan; northern Quebec, Canada; and Inner Mongolia, Northeast China and Northwest China.

**How is its resistance to snow accumulation and snow load?**

The arched roof structure gives it excellent snow load resistance. In Hokkaido, Japan, where snow on the ground reaches nearly 2 meters deep, it performs without any problem. The standard house model is designed based on the arch principle of the Zhaozhou Bridge, providing excellent resistance to snow accumulation and snow load. If you need to increase the width or length, auxiliary support can be added with internal keel steel frames.

**Does it withstand summer heat? What is the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors?**

Because the material itself has a thermal conductivity of only 0.03 and a thickness of 18 cm, it neither absorbs nor conducts heat, providing superb insulation. In summer, without air conditioning, the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors is about 15℃ under natural temperature conditions.

**How wind-resistant is it? The modules are so light — could they be blown away by strong wind?**

No. The curved walls create very little wind resistance, and we have a mature wind-proof solution. When shipping, we provide anti-uplift anchors to secure the modules to the ground. In addition, during the mesh-reinforced mortar plastering of the interior and exterior walls, the fiberglass mesh extends 20–30 cm onto the ground on both the inside and outside, and the house walls are bonded integrally to the ground with anti-cracking bonding mortar. This makes the house extremely solid. Our project in Wenchang, Hainan, experienced Typhoon Yagi without any damage.

**What is the maximum floor area that can be built?**

The standard model is a circular type of 28 m². All other models are derived from this type. It can be extended to the left and right in whole multiples of 1.15 meters, and can be lengthened or widened indefinitely. Houses can be built in various shapes — circular, cave-style, tunnel-style, elongated, and more — and multiple houses of different shapes can be combined to form a suite. Houses of any size can be built.

**What is the minimum floor area that can be built?**

The standard model is a circular type of 28 m². If you want a smaller house, you can switch to a boat-style house. The minimum size is about 12 m² for a pointed-roof boat house.

**Can it be widened, lengthened, or heightened?**

Yes. It can be widened or lengthened in whole multiples of 1.15 meters. It can also be heightened, but internal steel frames need to be added for support. We recommend a maximum height increase of 1 meter. The standard height is 3.32 meters; with the 1-meter increase, the total height becomes 4.32 meters.

**Can a two-story house be built?**

No. However, you can achieve this by increasing the house height and then adding a loft or mezzanine inside yourself.

**Can it be built on a rooftop?**

Yes. On the rooftop you can pour a 10–20 cm high concrete pad, or build a platform foundation with a steel frame and treated timber.

**Will it leak? How is the waterproofing done?**

No. After the EPS modules are assembled, all assembly gaps are filled and leveled with expanding foam, then a first layer of waterproof sealing is applied to the gaps using a polypropylene waterproofing membrane plus anti-cracking mortar. After the second layer of mesh-reinforced exterior plastering has cured, the entire roof surface is sealed with Yuhong waterproofing coating. A finish-coat mortar is then applied over the waterproof layer. Combined with the curved walls, which do not allow water to accumulate, the house will not leak.

**How is the foundation built?**

There are usually two ways to build the foundation. The first is to pour a 20–30 cm thick concrete slab or a ring beam. The second is to build a raised platform foundation with a steel frame or treated timber, which works if you do not want to (or local regulations do not allow) hard-surfacing the ground.

**How thick are the wall modules?**

The EPS module is 18 cm thick. After the interior and exterior walls are finished with mortar, putty and emulsion paint, the total thickness is about 20 cm.

**Can heavy items such as TVs and air conditioners be hung on the walls?**

Small and light items such as pictures and lamps can be hung on EPS module walls, but heavy items cannot. Heavy items such as air conditioners and water heaters can be mounted on interior partition walls.

**Is there a bathroom inside?**

Yes. You can partition a separate space inside for a bathroom or other functional rooms using steel frames with OSB boards, steel frames with fiber cement boards, timber frames with OSB boards, brick masonry, or similar methods.

**What is the house height?**

The standard house height is 3.32 meters.

**What is the service life?**

Under normal use, the house lasts more than 30 years after completion.

**How are the interior and exterior walls finished after the modules are assembled?**

After assembly, the gaps in the interior and exterior walls need to be filled and waterproofed with expanding foam, and then mesh-reinforced plastering is applied using anti-cracking render mortar.

**How are the plumbing and electrical works done?**

Before the mesh-reinforced mortar plastering is applied to the interior and exterior walls, use a hot knife to cut channels in the EPS modules, then run the pipes and wires through them.

**Can the exterior color be chosen?**

The EPS module itself is black. The exterior color of the house is determined during construction, by choosing the color of the emulsion paint or stone-look paint.

**Why do some houses have peeling paint on the exterior?**

This is usually caused by the quality of the exterior paint and the construction workmanship. After the mesh-reinforced plastering, putty should be applied, followed by exterior emulsion paint. If stone-look paint is used on the exterior, it can be sprayed directly onto the finish-coat mortar layer. As long as construction follows proper standards, paint peeling will not occur.

**Can it be exported?**

Yes. Our EPS modules have CE certification and SGS test reports.

**Is it easy to transport? How many sets fit in one 40HQ container?**

Yes, it is easy to transport. EPS modules are light but bulky (volume-based) cargo — not heavy, but they take up space. Typically, one 40HQ high-cube container can hold EPS modules for 4 sets of the 28 m² circular house (excluding auxiliary materials), or 3 sets if auxiliary materials are included.

**Is it easy to assemble? Are there any skill requirements for the assembly workers?**

EPS module assembly requires no special skills. Taking the 28 m² circular standard model as an example, 3–4 people can complete the main structure assembly in about 2 hours. After that, it moves on to the interior finishing stage.

**How is the interior finishing done?**

It is done the same way as a conventional house — you need a plumber/electrician (for plumbing and electrical work) and a mason (for mesh-reinforced plastering and floor tiling). Note that the plumbing and electrical work should be arranged before the plastering.

**Are there any special requirements for the doors and windows?**

No special requirements. If you have door and window fabrication capability, or have a partner fabrication workshop locally, we can provide the door and window drawings for you to fabricate them locally. Typically, double-glazed thermal-break aluminum windows and steel single-leaf security doors are used. We also have a dedicated door and window factory that makes matching products for us, and we can supply them to you at actual cost.

**Can multiple houses be combined into a suite?**

Yes. Houses of different models can be combined to form a suite. This works very well for both campsite homestays in the cultural tourism industry and residential housing construction.

**Does it need steel frame support inside?**

It depends on the house model. Some models need internal keel steel frames for auxiliary support. Usually the 28 m² circular standard model and the 33 m² oval model do not need steel frames. For other models that require steel frames, we will introduce this during the pre-sales consultation. If needed, we can provide steel frame drawings, and you can fabricate the internal support keel steel frames locally.

**Is it fire-resistant?**

Yes. Our EPS modules are made of B1 fire-retardant grade material, and we have the relevant certification reports.

**Is it toxic?**

No, it is non-toxic. Please rest assured. Our EPS modules have an internationally recognized SGS test report.

**Why is this house said to be earthquake-resistant?**

First, the structural stability is better. With the arched roof design based on the Zhaozhou Bridge principle, swaying during an earthquake will not create a risk of structural collapse. In addition, even if a strong earthquake knocks the house down, the lightweight EPS modules will not cause fatal crushing injuries to people. Therefore, this house has strong earthquake resistance.