Domes in the Default World

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 10:51 am

Embrace the Triangle, My Son, and You Shall be Saved......Especially if you allow some means for the wind to either pass through or bypass your dome-icile, you'll find that they're REMARKABLY sturdy! We were having windbursts to 70MPH here in Michigan last Fall, and when the big blasts hit my domecluster you could hear/feel the framework HUMMING but there was NO movement AT ALL. Thanks, Bucky!!!

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 11:15 am

Ooops, I forgot to go on endlessly about tarps.....

If you try to cover a big round thing with a big flat rectangular thing, you WILL have problems....The wrinkle factor is minimized if you use smaller tarps and a little strategy. On our 19' dome I started by enclosing the base with two 6'x20' and one 6'x10' tarp. This gave one section complete solidity and absolute shelter against the wind and dust, with an expandable doorway area. (the 10' tarp) The base tarps were zipstripped to the ground-level dome frame for seal, and the inside groundcloth (old canvas) overlapped that. The next layer up consisted of five panels cut to fit and overlap 6" or so- Customizing them was an aesthetic choice, mostly. Five 6'x10' or so tarps would have been fine. With a normal, freestanding dome you'd then have a squarish top-tarp or on customized to cover the top pentagon, but in our case there were two more domes on top of that instead. I kept a spare tarp handy to throw over the deck/roof of Level One in case of a cloudburst, but used it more at night to keep down the dust.
I'm better at vernacular engineering than previsualization, so I solved all of my dome covering problems by waiting for a sunny day and then playing with different tarps and scraps, and a sixer. By the fourth beer I had it all worked out.
Another solution to the problem of tarpflap is to create a sort of cargo net from utility line- lay it over the dome 20 or 30 passes, and then knot a spiral of line down and out from the "North Pole" until you've created a giant spiderweb with openings between 1' and 2'. Adjust for doorways. This whole kit and kaboodle lays over your tarps, and holds them in place. IT TAKES A HELLUVA LOTTA ROPE, but you can recycle any short lengths you've got lying around and even if you buy all new, it's light line that's fairly cheap. I've used this idea to replace the decking inside the dome as well, using 1/2" rope. Someday it'd be fun to make a BIG dome and hang webs all inside it, along with sleeping pods like spider eggcases...

juanicoheal · Post by **juanicoheal** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 5:28 pm

I work at an airport, so now that you mention cargo net. I'm thinking I could that with this light insulation stuff "cool-guard" that we use for perishable cargo to keep out the heat. hmm the brains working overtime.....

Ok - I'm not sure - 3/4" or 1/2" EMT? - Is their much difference when the final product is up? There sure is a difference when they hit the pocket book. 'Round here the 3/4" is about 1/2 the price of the 1/2".

If I saved on the structure, I may be able to do more with the skin. Maybe a giant eyeball looking to the heavens.....bloodshot of course. But I want to make sure that I have something that'll stand up for a while - maybe hang a hammock inside.. Or my daughters trapeze....

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:47 am

juanicoheal wrote: Ok - I'm not sure - 3/4" or 1/2" EMT? - Is their much difference when the final product is up? There sure is a difference when they hit the pocket book. 'Round here the 3/4" is about 1/2 the price of the 1/2".

....

I'm assuming that you mean the REVERSE, pricewise....I STRONGLY ADVISE that you avoid using 1/2" conduit- I'm thinking of making a garden dome to train snap peas and squash up onto, AND I"LL EVEN USE 3/4" FOR THAT. Halfinch just isn't strong enough to bear a big windload or climbers without bending and eventually failing. Depending on circumstances that can be very quick, and very nasty. Concensus seems to be 3/4" for anything over 5 or 6 feet, no single strut longer than 5', and don't use it if you can bend it in your bare hands. It IS possible to bend a 5' long 3/4" strut, but they're plenty strong if you load the vertices and not the spans. Plus, even if you lucked out and there were no strong winds to squash the dome on-playa, having a bunch of randomly bent and distorted struts makes future reassembly a real asspain.
I wish that halfinch were stronger- there's a LOT of remodeling going on in Kazoo these days, and the dumpsters are full of it.....Maybe making a big structure out of a bunch of 1/2" conduit Buckyballs or something......

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 11:04 pm

I can't think of any suitable use for 1/2" conduit other than for what it was designed.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Feb 26, 2004 12:35 pm

Sometimes I'll stick scrap 1/2" inside of 3/4" struts before I smash the ends down, for high-traffic places where strut middles might get stepped on.....Not an absolute remedy, but helpful.