Geodesic Dome Build

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tinyallotment

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Geodesic Dome Build
« on: February 05, 2015, 10:42 »
Hi All

After a years delay due to last winters weather and then illness and a death in the family we are starting the build of our Geodesic Dome Greenhouse. This is only a small one as it is going to be the first one we have built and so will become a test bed for trying out ideas etc for future builds.

This one id going to be made primarily out of 50mm x 25mm roofing baton with poly tunnel plastic stretched over it.

This may be a slowish build because we are building as and when we can afford both the materials and time so bear with us, we will get there in the end.

Ultimately the Dome will house an off grid Aquaponics System and I will have to think ahead as to what kind of system I am going to build as once the dome is built I will be limited in size to what I can get through the door.

The dome will be insulated on the North side to try and keep some heat in at night and we may well build a heat recovery system to store hot air from the day to release at night. As I say this is going to be a test bed.

This is what the dome should look like when it is built. It is 4500mm in diameter and 2800mm high with 16 square meters of floorspace.



This is what it looks like now.



I will post more updates as things happen

paul


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Snoop

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2015, 15:32 »
That looks like a fun project. How will you ensure it doesn't get blown away in the wind? I ask because I'm always on the outlook for fun things to do, but it's incredibly windy here.

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2015, 22:00 »
How will you get the plastic sheeting taught with all those angles?? It looks like a really neat project.
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snowdrops

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2015, 22:48 »
That looks a bit like the biomes at The Eden project. Is each triangle covered in plastic individually? Can you replace one at a time, hasn't got ventilation?
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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2015, 07:55 »
That looks like a fun project. How will you ensure it doesn't get blown away in the wind? I ask because I'm always on the outlook for fun things to do, but it's incredibly windy here.

Geodesic Domes do tend to be more stable in high winds than either poly tunnels or greenhouses but I will take precautions against it getting blown away. Once the base is installed I will drive stakes into the ground which the base will be screwed to plus I will have at least 2000Lts of water in the dome which will not only prevent the dome from moving but will also help thermoregulate the dome.

How will you get the plastic sheeting taught with all those angles?? It looks like a really neat project.

That looks a bit like the biomes at The Eden project. Is each triangle covered in plastic individually? Can you replace one at a time, hasn't got ventilation?

The dome is made up of triangles which are screwed together to form hexagons and pentagons which in turn are screwed together to form the dome. The plastic is stretched over the triangles in groups of two and three so it is easier to get the plastic drum tight. It also means that if a portion of the dome becomes damaged you only have to replace that section unlike a tunnel.

The dome in the photo above does have ventilation in the top of the dome and you can convert any of the triangles into a vent. I will fit vents initially until we install the heat recovery system. Normally in a greenhouse, summer heat is seen as a waste product that need to be got rid of. In permaculture there are no waste products and there is a use for everything. The plan is to have ducting that draws hot air from the top of the dome and pump it underground to be stored in some sort of thermal mass. I will probably use the water tanks of the aquaponics system to store the heat which will then be slowly released over night.

Paul

 

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surbie100

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2015, 11:27 »
It looks like an amazing project. And a fab design. Look forward to seeing how you build it and hearing how it works for you.

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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2015, 12:18 »
It looks like an amazing project. And a fab design. Look forward to seeing how you build it and hearing how it works for you.

Thanks Surbie

I love building stuff like this. There is a lot of planning and head scratching until you get the geometry in you head then it is full steam ahead for that section followed but another bout of planning and head scratching.

It also have just the right amount of accuracy for me. You have to be pretty accurate with your cuts or else it wont fit together but it is not like furniture making or anything. Your joind need to be good but not perfect if you know what I mean.

paul

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Markw

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2015, 23:54 »
I was looking at the ones Geo-Dome do last year, The door looks tricky, It will be interesting to follow your build and I hope it goes well for you,
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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2015, 09:16 »
Hi All

I have actually started work on building my Geodesic Dome greenhouse for the allotment. I have been talking about it for years and waiting until I had enough money to buy all the materials etc but to be honest I am never going to get it built if I wait until everything is in place so I have decided to just start building it anyway.

When it is finished it will look like this



We have built the base this weekend. The base is quite complicated. There are 15 base boards made up of three different types. Each of the base boards need to have a 12º angle at each end and along its top edge. 5 of the board also have to slope to the right and 5 to the left.

A couple of days ago I bought the wood and cut all the boards to length with the right angles on the ends. Then I set about cutting the tapers with the 12º angle along the top edge. I did this on the table saw by setting the blade at a 12º angle and setting the depth so it just cut through the board. I then used another board on top of the one being cut, offset by 32mm to give me the correct taper (I hope)



All the boards cut



I cleared the ground of grass and weeds and started fitting the base boards yesterday. Using a stake in the centre of the dome as a datum point for both level and radius it was not too difficult to assemble the base although I will need to tweak it a little when I have an extra pair of hands



Now we need to start making the jigs for making the 103 triangles that make up thee dome. We will make triangles as and when we can afford the materials but I hope to have the dome made by the end of the summer.

I will keep you posted

paul

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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2015, 17:20 »
I am trying to do a little bit towards this each day or at least several times a week and as it is nice weather I thought I would make a start of the templates for the triangles.

There a two types of triangle that need to be made. One type makes pentagons and the other type makes hexagons. I need to make 30 pentagon triangles and 69 hexagon triangles so an accurate jig is essential.

You start by cutting one of each of the triangles from plywood. Then you clamp a piece of 2 by 1 along each edge basically making a finished triangle as it will go in the dome. Once you are happy with your shape you hen fix anther triangle of 2 by 1 inside your first triangle and screw and glue this inner triangle to the plywood. this is your jig.

I have cut the plywood but I am getting the first bundle of wood tomorrow so will try and get the jigs done then



paul

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surbie100

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2015, 17:22 »
99 triangles is an awful lot of triangles to make! Good luck.  :)

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Annen

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2015, 17:33 »
Sorry to be ignorant, you may've said, but are you making it in wood or glass, or cushions like the eden project?
Anne

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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2015, 17:35 »
There is actually 103 triangles as there are 4 custom ones to make that go either side of the door.

I think it is just one of those things we are going to have to knuckle down and get on with.

You do it in stages. First you cut all the wood you are going to need that day to length. Then you run them all through the table saw to put a 6.2º angle on them all. then you cut the correct angles on one end of the struts, then you assemble them. I reckon we could easily do 24 in a lazy day so it is get them all made over a couple of weekends if you have nothing better to do. It will take us a little longer than that because we can't afford to buy all the wood at once so it will probably take us a couple of months to get all the triangles made and covered with plastic

Paul

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tinyallotment

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2015, 17:37 »
Sorry to be ignorant, you may've said, but are you making it in wood or glass, or cushions like the eden project?

We are making the structure out of wood with poly tunnel plastic stretched over it

paul

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Annen

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Re: Geodesic Dome Build
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2015, 17:40 »
That sounds like a cheaper option than the Eden project anyway! :nowink: :nowink: I will follow with interest.



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