Giodesic Dome

JillyG · #1 01/27/14, 06:15 AM

I want one!
I can turn it into a greenhouse but what else can I use it for?
Would love to hear your ideas.

wy_white_wolf · #2 01/27/14, 08:37 AM

I've been wanting to use one as a gazebo/grape trellis. Make about a 16' dome from electrical conduit and cover it with field fencing. Plant a grape in the middle and train it to gow straight up to the top then spead out. Should be a nice place to set a couple of chairs to sit and relax. The size of it should keep the deer back from the majority of the grapes as they would only beable to pick at the edges.

WWW

Alice In TX/MO · #3 01/27/14, 08:58 AM

Plans:
http://www.domerama.com/geodesic-dome-plans/

You tube video:

Callieslamb · #4 01/27/14, 09:00 AM

Chicken coop?

dirtman · #5 01/27/14, 09:49 AM

Anything that you don't mind having water leak into.

TnAndy · #6 01/27/14, 10:40 AM

Exactly. They are fairly hard to get a decent sealed roof due to all the angles.

I was a fan of them at one time.....you get the most volume in a given footprint of any building possible, (nice if you're building a radar dome) but the practicality of it overcame my appreciation of Buckminster Fuller's creation.

Bellyman · #7 01/27/14, 10:53 AM

The little wooden shed types of dome do nothing for me. I can't see them holding up to a windstorm any better than any other shed design.

The domes that I was thinking of when the subject started was the steel reinforced concrete domes that are like a foot thick (+) and can hold up to like 200mph winds.

Yes, they are a pain to get sealed up so they won't leak water.

I'm not as familiar but I have also read about more traditional home styles that have been built with steel reinforced concrete that they also claimed would hold up in tornado sized winds. A more standard peaked / pitched roof will also shed water more readily than a dome shape. It's definitely not a "cheap" way to build but I would think doing it well would create a structure that could be passed on to the great, great, great, great grandkids.

fullmetal · #8 01/27/14, 12:19 PM

for a home the monolithic domes seem to be a better choice but i think the geodesic ones are also a great idea if the time is taken to do them right. you cant just slap one together but i have toured a few and when built right in the first place they are amazing buildings

haypoint · #9 01/27/14, 01:05 PM

On one of the Home improvement programs on TV, Dream Home in a Day, or something like that the family went to a factory that manufactures Geodesic homes. They recommend a 4 foot knee wall so you have some useable space along the wall. Even had bay windows. A truck delivers all the sections, pre-assembled. Just set in place and bolt together. Dome Homes in Washington or Oregon.
Another Buckmaster Fuller idea.
Here is another of his equally useful ideas:
http://www.thehenryford.org/museum/dymaxion.aspx

Gianni · #10 01/27/14, 01:21 PM

There is a 45' dome home 1/2 mile from my house. 85 mph wind last summer did no harm but blew an airplane hanger in between us onto the interstate.

JillyG · #11 01/28/14, 05:39 AM

I would love to have figs but here in NY they will not survive the winter. I was hoping to erect a dome and use the space for a few fig trees. I guess if it leaked that would be OK but if done right no reason it should.

just_sawing · #12 01/28/14, 07:33 AM

What intrigues me is the possibility to use lumber from my sawmill that now is going to the pallet industry.
For those that don't know the industry the largest buyer for wood at this time is the Tie market. The ties are boxed hearted which means that the center of the log only. We buy logs from 35 to 45 cents per doyle scale foot and the log we want is 12 inches at the small end. this gives the tie and 4 side boards (approx est.) These boards can if they are in the right species sell for lumber but most since they are everything from Oak to Hackberry just go to the pallet industry which pays very low. If I could use 3 foot boards to make a structure, that has possibilities.

wy_white_wolf · #13 01/28/14, 07:53 AM

Here's a calculator for domes. Going to a 4v or 5v dome you can build a good sized dome with sort pieces. But they do get complicated pretty fast.

WWW

am1too · #14 01/28/14, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JillyG

I want one!
I can turn it into a greenhouse but what else can I use it for?
Would love to hear your ideas.

Recently a multi geodesic dome home was built near where I live.

Rectifier · #15 01/28/14, 10:51 PM

I knew someone who lived in a dome for awhile. They backpacked all the short timbers and small panels in and built it way back in the bush.
In the end, I believe it leaked.

I would probably spray it with shotcrete or the rubberized foam they use to waterproof roofs these days on old mobiles. It would be ugly as sin though!

just_sawing · #16 01/29/14, 05:52 AM

What I like about a geo is if you are willing you will find short material for this.
I have seen pallets of 3 ft squares of ply given away before and owning a sawmill I have burnt enough short boards to build a hundred.
The fundamental problem I see is most of the You tubes that I have seen do not take in the compound angle of the thickness of you wood and that makes a single contact point for the sections which is hard to water proof. I calculated the angle for a four inch wood and it was simply 15 degrees so it isn't hard math to cut a compound angle of what you need.