Its Alive! Giant Greenhouse Dome Takes Shape!

Posted on February 10, 2011 by admin

OK, so you are looking for proof that just about anybody can build a geodesic greenhouse dome? Well check out these pics of my friend Kacper’s new dome that he built for under $500.oo! Holy cow! The thing is 40ft across!

Laying out the dome foundation! With a little help from friends. Look at the size of it!

The first layer of triangles takes shape. It starting to look like a geo dome now!

It takes all sizes to build a greenhouse! Think how healthy she will be with all the amazing organic, food grown right at home!

Its getting bigger and bigger so when doing this size dome scaffolding is a must!

It might not look that big but this greenhouse dome will have room for small trees! The peak of the roof is over 24ft off the ground but this structure will easily shrug off the strongest winds.
Next step: the UV resistant insulating light spreading high tech cover material!

Posted in Geodesic Dome Construction | 1 Comment

How To Build A Geodesic Dome Model

Posted on January 21, 2011 by admin

Build Your Own Geodesic Dome Model

Need more proof before you build your own geodesic greenhouse dome?

Well, be like an architect; build a model! It’s easy. It’s fun! And it will train your brain to be ready for your big geo dome greenhouse project.

So grab a bunch of newspaper (at least 70 same sized sheets) some tape, scissors and a small tape measure and lets get started!

Remember any geodesic dome is formed by joining multiple triangles together it doesn’t matter what size the dome ends up, the same principles still apply.

How To Actually Build Your Own Geodesic Dome – Out of Newspapers!

1. Start with a single sheet of newspaper and roll into a tight tube starting from one corner. Use tape to hold it together. Repeat until you have 65 tubes.

2. Next,sort the tubes into two piles to make 35 long tubes and 30 short tubes.

3. Make the long tubes: Cut off both ends of a tube until it is 14 inches long. Use this tube as a template to create 34 more long tubes (mark as you go!).

4. Make the short tubes: Cut off both ends of a new tube until it is 13 inches long. Use this tube as a model to create 29 more tubes of the same length (mark as you go!).

Constructing Your Dome Model

1. Fasten 10 long tubes together with tape to make the base of the dome.

2. Attach a long and a short to tube to each joint. Make sure that there are two longs next to each other, followed by two shorts, and so on, as shown.

3. Connect the tops of two adjacent shorts together to make triangles. Repeat with the long tubes.

4. Use short tubes to join the tops of the triangles notice the dome is starting to curve?

5. At each point where four tubes join, tape another short element sticking straight up. Connect these short pieces to the joints on either side with longs, forming the next row of triangles.

6. Connect the tops of these new triangles with a row of longs.

7. Finally, insert the last five shorts legs so that they meet at a single point in the center of the dome.

And there you have it!

Easy fast and simple. Wait a bit! That’s how it works with big domes too!

Now you are ready to graduate to your big out door geo dome or a back patio size play geodesic dome for the kids or cats or birds.

Have fun! Next week I will tell you the amazing story of my good friend Kacper and his geodesic dome plans! Hint: He had no experience, almost no money and it still looks fantastic! Or if you are impatient like me you can Visit Right Now!

Posted in Build Your Own Dome - Model | 3 Comments

Geodesic Greenhouse You Can Build Yourself

Posted on January 18, 2011 by admin

Everyone has heard about food security, the hundred mile diet and the slow food movement. But what if you could “do it yourself” and have a hundred foot diet!

Well that’s exactly what my friend Kacper did! In his massive 40 foot geodesic greenhouse.

Before I tell you about that amazing story though, I have to tell you how much I love “Bucky” Fuller and his geodesic domes!

Fuller became famous for creating the geodesic dome of 1949. This structure of the domes comprise of a simple network of triangles that form a roughly spherical surface.

The image below shows a geodesic dome, created by Buckminster Fuller.

The geodesic system consists of dividing a sphere into equal triangles so that it was light, strong and easy to build. Because each triangle supports the others the finished dome is super strong, lightweight, transportable and easily assembled.

Think about an eggshell, it’s a weak material but when arranged in the shape of an egg it becomes very strong.

The geodesic dome greenhouse has a very high strength to weight ratio because it is made of lightweight materials but is made in such a way that the stress is evenly distributed to all members in the structure. The design  was originally offered as a way of producing ecologically efficient housing for the mass market but now most people build or buy domes to grow food. Geodesics Inc. was set up in 1949 by Fuller to develop the concept and since then some of the largest free standing structures in the world have been made this way. Think of Epcott Center for example.

So enough blathering about domes for now. Tomorrow I will talk more about my friend and what he discovered about constructing geodesic domes, right in his own back yard!

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