I'm building Thios in public. Not the sanitized, everything-is-going-great version of "public" — the real version. The version where I show you the failures, the costs, the decisions that kept me up at night.
This is the first post. The first step. And I want to start by telling you why any of this matters.
How It Started: Get the Carbon Out of My Salad
In 2023, I made myself a salad. Organic spring mix from California. Organic tomatoes from Mexico. Organic cucumbers from somewhere I don't remember.
I did the math on the carbon footprint of that "healthy" meal. The answer made me sick.
That salad had traveled over 3,000 miles to reach my plate. The refrigerated trucks, the distribution centers, the plastic clamshell containers — all of it for a meal I'd digest in hours.
I thought: What if I could just grow this myself?
But I live in a climate with harsh winters. Growing year-round means a greenhouse. And greenhouses — real ones, not the flimsy plastic things that collapse in the first windstorm — cost $15,000 to $50,000 installed.
That's when I started sketching.
The Problem with Prefab Structures
If you've ever priced a backyard structure, you know the pain:
- Pre-fab sheds: $3,000-8,000, but they're ugly boxes made of particle board that rot in 5 years
- Custom-built structures: $15,000-40,000, requires contractors, permits, months of waiting
- Geodesic dome kits: $8,000-20,000, complex assembly, notorious for leaking at the joints
- Shipping container conversions: $10,000-30,000, requires equipment to move, zoning issues
The common thread? You're paying someone else's markup. You're locked into their design. And when something breaks, you're dependent on them for parts.
I wanted something different.
The Thiosphere Concept
What if there was a structure that:
- Used standard lumber — 2x4s and plywood from any hardware store
- Was modular — start small, expand later, reconfigure as needs change
- Was simple to build — no specialized tools, no contractor required
- Was open source — modify freely, share improvements, even sell what you build
The Thiosphere was born from these constraints.
It's not a geodesic dome, though it looks like one at first glance. It's a nested-sphere design — two concentric shells with an insulating air gap. This solves the leaking-joint problem that plagues traditional domes.
It's elevated off the ground, which handles drainage, insulation, and lets you place it on uneven terrain without pouring a foundation.
And it's built entirely from materials you can buy at Home Depot or Lowe's.
Why Open Source Hardware?
I could patent this. I could manufacture it. I could become another person selling overpriced backyard structures to wealthy homeowners.
But that's not the vision.
The Whole Earth Catalog came out in 1968 with a simple mission: "Access to tools." Stewart Brand and his team believed that if you gave people the right information, they could build better lives for themselves.
They weren't selling products. They were sharing knowledge.
Thios is my attempt to carry that torch forward. Instead of access to tools, we're providing access to space.
The designs are free. The CAD files are free. The community discussions are free. If you want the complete handbook with step-by-step instructions, that's $29 — and that $29 directly funds building and testing the next prototype.
What You'll Find on This Blog
This isn't a marketing blog. I'm not going to post listicles about "10 Ways to Improve Your Backyard" or whatever SEO-optimized content is trending.
Here's what I will share:
Design Decisions
Every choice has tradeoffs. Why spheres instead of rectangles? Why 2x4s instead of steel? Why this joint design instead of that one? I'll explain the reasoning — and the mistakes.
Prototype Builds
We're building these things. Actually building them, with real lumber, in real weather. I'll document the process: what worked, what failed, how much it actually cost.
Business Transparency
How much does it cost to run an open-source hardware company? Where does the money go? What's the funding model? I'll share the numbers.
Community Stories
When people start building Thiospheres, I want to tell their stories. What did they use it for? What modifications did they make? What would they do differently?
The Road Ahead
I'm writing this on July 1st, 2024. Here's where we stand:
- Prototype 1: Built, tested, partially destroyed by design to test failure modes
- Prototype 2: In planning, will incorporate lessons from P1
- Handbook v1: Drafted, being refined based on P1 learnings
- Community: Just starting — a Discord server, a GitHub repo, a handful of early believers
The goal for year one is simple: prove the concept works. Build prototypes. Document everything. Get the first handbooks into builders' hands.
The goal for year five is bigger: a network of small manufacturers around the world, each producing Thiosphere structures for their local markets. Open source means anyone can become a certified builder. The designs improve through community contribution. The cost comes down through competition.
A Personal Note
I'm a solo founder with AI as my co-pilot. I don't have a team of 20 engineers or a VC war chest. What I have is stubbornness, a laptop, and a belief that shelter shouldn't be this expensive.
Building in public means you'll see the messy parts. The weeks where nothing works. The prototypes that collapse. The financial stress of bootstrapping.
But you'll also see the wins. The first successful build. The first customer testimonial. The first time someone sends me a photo of a Thiosphere they built themselves.
That's the deal. Transparency in exchange for trust.
Let's Build Something
If you've read this far, you're probably the kind of person I want to build with.
Here's how to get involved:
- Join the Discord — Ask questions, share ideas, connect with other builders
- Star the GitHub repo — Follow development, report issues, contribute code
- Subscribe to this blog — Get updates when new posts drop
Or just bookmark this page and check back. I'll be here, building in public, one post at a time.
Let's make shelter accessible. Let's make something remarkable.
— Pete
P.S. That salad? I'm still eating it. But I'm also building a greenhouse. Updates to follow.