geodesic dome coverings

[bsilver18]

hi everybody,
my group is planning on building a 24' 3v dome this year and had a couple questions about coverings. what would be something good to use other than a parachute? i remember some having a stretchy spandex type material last year. any ideas what that might be? thanks

[Stickygreen]

stretch material is awesome for a covering, just buy yourself a whole roll, and cut it into 10' lengths, then all you need to do is tie a knot in the fabric, then using the know as an anchor, zip tie it to the dome wherever you feel it needs attaching. This may sound more time consuming than a parachute, but It's not, once the wind kicks up and you've got ten people fighting for there lives holding the chute down, the spandex way is so much nicer. and make sure to bring a ladder, practice building your dome before you get to the playa, try it both ways building from top down, and from bottom up, you'll see what works best for your crew. also if you can a cordless power drill, or driver, makes tightening all those bolts way faster.

[Nadamal]

stretchy fabric - damn good idea!

i think i'll try to incorporate that into our shelter. I've bought a bunch of used parachutes to sew together to hopefully cover a dome-ish camp... it'll be 18 feet high at the center, and 50 feet in diameter. maybe a big swath of spandex will keep things from getting shredded when the hell breaks loose...

[greenthumb85]

My camp builds 3 domes each year, 2 big 5v and 1 small 3v. We just use old sheets and put grommets through them. You just need 2 sizes per dome I think, I forget how they go... but be sure to fold the sheets over 2 or 3 times before putting the grommets through or the sheets tear! Bring extras just in case! It takes some fitting and a good amount of prep and planning, but no matter what material you use, I strongly recommend putting up your dome at home a few times if it's your first year building one, you never know what might go wrong and it helps to have some practice putting it up! No one wants to waste their whole first day trying to put up a dome!

Don't forget the hardware, the Gerlach hardware store runs out quick! Live and learn

[stray0176]

So I'm part of that three dome camp that greenthumb posted, and the grommets are a b***h. We spend three or four days sewing them before the last burn and replacing old grommets. However it worked pretty well and was relatively good at keeping the dust out.

[greenferret]

[quote="stray0176"]So I'm part of that three dome camp that greenthumb posted, and the grommets are a b***h. We spend three or four days sewing them before the last burn and replacing old grommets. However it worked pretty well and was relatively good at keeping the dust out.[/quote]

Sewing the grommets in? Last year I just used hammer-in grommets from Home Depot which didn't really hold in well in the makeshift shelter, and would like to do better with a new dome this year. Did you sew to attach the metal hammer-in grommets better, or did you do something else?

Thanks.

[stray0176]

When the grommets rip out you need to sew reinforcement fabric onto the first piece of fabric to cover the hole. Sewing a patch of duct tape on also works then hammering the grommet through that.
Sorry I wasn't super clear

[whaleboy]

stickygreen- what's the bit about the knot? What shape do the 10' rectangles of spandex end up being? Tie a knot where? just one knot per rectangle?

I do the bit with the sheets and the grommets, but they tear a bit every year, and it's kind of a bitch piece-by-piecing your whole covering. I guess spandex 10' pieces would be sort of similar. It just takes me so damn long to put all the pieces up. When I grow up to be a big burner, maybe I'll have spandex triangles that fit the triangles of my dome with bungee loops at the vertices.

[pinemom]

Covering thy Boobies....






The material is Shade cloth, from manufacturer. 12 foot tall goods.

When making the seams where you will use Grommets make sure you use a cotton or elastic type belting/banting material sewn on first ...then use hammer in grommets. So Lining the areas to be grommetted ensures strength.

This is the 4th year for the Boobies...and they are great, no tears no grommet rip outs!