Cardboard Domes

[Robert_Flowers]

Found this today looks interesting.

http://www.monkeyc.org/dome/index.html

Robert

[Ailsa C. Ek]

Oh wow.  That looks like a lot of fun to build.  Gotta go find me some cardboard.

[Jimmy C.]

I have 4x8 sheets of cardboard that are used as cover sheets for the plastic I rout at work. I think I will try this out. It will give my youngest son a "Dome Fort" To play in.

[Ailsa C. Ek]

It will give my youngest son a "Dome Fort" To play in.

Exactly.  It'll make a great backyard building.    And it beats the heck out of a couple thousand dollars to Walpole Woodworkers.

[Doug Martin]

They should have asked a signmaker.

While recycling cardboard might be cheap the painting looks like a pain.  Instead stop by any sign shop and buy 4'x8' sheets of Coroplast.  Its single thickness corogated plastic sheeting.  It wholesales for around $8 a sheet and it won't need painting and should last a lot longer.  The color does degrade in the sun so go for a light color like white or tan -- red will bleach out fast.

Yes I used to own a signshop and coroplast is the duct-tape of the sign world.

[Amanda_931]

And if you ended up having to have an air-to-air heat exchanger, coroplast if good for the insides of those as well!

(layers put at right angles to each other, stuck in a box, fans at least one of the sides)

[The_Big_Steve]

Someone mentioned coroplast.  I think they use a similar material for the pods on this site.  I really like the idea behind these structures.  I'd like to see some examples of people who actually use/live in structures like these.

http://www.icosavillage.com/


Steve

[Amanda_931]

Cute, but.

The UV protected ones are only expected to last for between 2 and 5 years.  (it's possible that the non-UV protected ones, painted, would last longer)

Add fire retardant and the price doubles.  Or just about.

[Doug_Martin]

Cute, but.

The UV protected ones are only expected to last for between 2 and 5 years.  (it's possible that the non-UV protected ones, painted, would last longer)

Add fire retardant and the price doubles.  Or just about.

Not to take this thread completly off topic but I do know of a pretty cheap way to both UV and fire retard coroplast -- its called "Monstermud".

Monstermud was invented for the haunted house industry (yes, there is such a thing).  Its easy to make -- its premixed drywall joint compound with latex paint in a 50/50 mixture.  Just slap it on the coroplast and it dries as hard as a rock and UV protects the coroplast as well as fire retards it.   My brother runs indoor events in large 20,000 ft2 ballrooms in two different cities/states where he uses regular (read expensive) fire retardant coroplast alongside monstermuded coroplast and styrofoam and the fire marshalls have no problems with it.

It would be interesting to see temporary dome housing built of coroplast + monstermud.  Monsterdomes?

[tjm73]

No one has said build them with wood yet.  I find the dome shape pleasing to the eye.

[Doug_Martin]

No one has said build them with wood yet.  I find the dome shape pleasing to the eye.

I grew up near and went to college in Carbondale, IL where Bucky Fuller was a University Professor in the 60s.  The area is full of dome homes and unfortunately they are almost all deterioating quickly.  Bucky's own dome home in the middle of town was rotting to the ground 15 years ago when I was in college.

I think wooden domes are problematic because there are so many joints exposed to the weather.  I must admit I like the look too.

Update: I just looked and it looks like they are preseving his dome home.  You can see some of the water damage problems on this page:

http://www.buckysdome.org/photos/index.html