Well, I moved into it in October of that year, and completed the rear wall in November. I never got around to sealing it, kept adding more pc for a couple of years off and on. Had a few workshops in it where we put together a smaller dome. In '05 I was on a photo expedition in the Colorado Rockies when a freak storm settled in and dumped about 50,000 pounds of water into the rear room's unsealed 24" thick flat roof. Naturally it was not designed for that kind of weight and it collapsed. The dome itself didn't even notice the weight. When I got home from Colorado I closed off the back room from the main dome and put the roof repair on the back burner. A couple of years after that I had parental care duties and moved so I could take care of them. Both parents passed on in the spring of '08 and I spent the next months emptying their house and getting it ready for sale. During that time I was burglarized five times and all my tools and electronics were taken, along with assorted building materials. Moved back here in Feb'09, the big dome was pretty much full of furniture and other assorted stuff so I moved into another small dome that I had already started. It's about 3/4 done and will maybe get finished sometime this year, between other projects.
The big dome was partially covered with papercrete and partially with just paper pulp with the intent to eventually cover the paper with a papercrete layer. I live in the land of mañana which does not mean tomorrow, but means NOT NOW, and that did not happen (yet). In the interim the papercrete is doing fine, the just paper parts show some effect from the monsoon seasons. So the short answer is no, I have not finished it.
The main reason I chose metal studs is that it is impossible to get straight wood studs here, the atmosphere sucks the moisture out of them and they warp and chip. For a geodesic dome it's important to have straight components for ease of assembly. I soon discovered many things I like, you can pretty much build a dome with tin snips and a screw gun. Metal studs are light, strong, and versatile. Out here in the desert they are cheaper than wood.
spaceman All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information.
On 4/28/2010 9:52 AM, Ron Richter wrote:
--- On Wed, 4/28/10, Spaceman <Spaceman@starship-enterprises.net> wrote:
Thanks Spaceman,
I was looking through your dome site (again) and see the end is in 2002. Have you finished the dome? Can you give an eight year update?
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