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A roof over our heads
 "blue peter" skills put to good use 22 january 2006 This is the shape I hope the full-scale wooden dome will turn out to be.
A roof over our heads  dome "nursery" 20 june 2006 75
triangles of the correct dimensions were cut out of 5mm plywood
sheeting. They were glued together using Pink Grip grab adhesive
into combinations of pentagons, hexagons, and half-hexagons.
A roof over our heads  dome frame assembly 31 july 2006 This
was the exciting part - would all the pieces fit together and make the
desired dome shape? The individual shapes were "tacked" together
using duct tape then glued with Pink Grip. This job required two
people and also some spring clamps to hold things together during
assembly.
A roof over our heads  dome frame assembly 31 july 2006 Nearly there ! One of us had to enter the dome and work inside while the other glued the final pieces from the outside. A roof over our heads  dome frame assembly 31 july 2006 Success!
The dome was covered with plastic sheeting for a week to protect it from the
weather and let the Pink Grip adhesive cure and form a
strong bond.
A roof over our heads  making an "eggshell" 06 august 2006 The
dome frame was covered with a layer of papier-mâché (shredded
newspaper, hand-pulped in a mixture of 1:10 PVA adhesive:water). 60-70 litres of papier-mâché was needed.
A roof over our heads making an "eggshell" 06 august 2006 The finished, although still very wet, article. A roof over our heads  It's a gazebo
12 august 2006The dome took ages to dry as the weather turned
cooler and cloudy and I was concerned it would turn mouldy. I had
to cover it with a tent made from the upper part of a cheap gazebo
(Tesco) and sides formed using plastic dust sheeting. I used a
2kW fan heater on and off for a week to assist the drying process.
It worked - but I didn't dare look at the electric bill the
following month!
A roof over our heads  dried & weather-proofed - waiting to be fixed to base 30 august 2006 The dome was painted with two coats of red mahogany satin finish wood preserver. A roof over our heads  close-up showing papier-mache layer and base block & glue joint 08 september 2006 The
papier-mache formed a good bond with the plywood frame. The dome
was securely attached to the dome base ring by wedge-shaped blocks of
wood screwed and glued to both the base and frame. The frame was
also glued all the way round with another strong grab adhesive which
cured over a period of days.
A window on the world  hole for hatch cut out & base trimmed to sixteen sides 08 september 2006 I
cut out a 50cm wide hatch and extended past the top centre point
of the dome to ensure I could observe the zenith when the observatory
was finished.
A window on the world  this will form part of the hatch assembly 08 september 2006 The cut out piece would be used to make the observatory hatch lid. Keeping out the elements  dome assembly in kitchen (tolerant wife !) to construct weather-tight hatch lip 17 september 2006 The
weather was turning against us and we had to take the dome assembly
indoors in order to add a papier-mâché weather-tight lip
to the hatch. Note the "cling-film" to prevent the papier-mâché adhering to the dome surface.
Keeping out the elements  drying tunnel in kitchen (very tolerant wife !!!) to dry out weather-tight hatch lip 17 september 2006 A 2kW fan heater blew hot air for about 8 hours to dry out the first papier-mâché layer (about 0.7cm thick) and about another 12 hours to dry out the second, and final, layer (total depth about 1.5cm). The house was rather warm !
Keeping out the elements
hatch completed
05 october 2006 I
applied a single layer of glass-fibre resin (GRP) around the inside of
the hatch lip. This ensured the lip and lid were soundly bonded
to each other and still allowed some flexibility. A thin rubber
weatherseal was applied to the inside surface of the lip, two sturdy
handles for hanging and man-handling the hatch, and ten cheap aluminium
handles for securing the hatch to the dome. The hatch lip
was weather-proofed with two coats of red mahogany satin finish
wood preserver and the whole hatch assembly given a further two coats
of yacht varnish.
Keep them doggies rollin'
 guide castors fitted to rail 10 march 2007 I eventually replaced the original polypropylene guide rollers (visible to the right of the castor on the side of the base rail)
with the same castors on which the dome rail runs. The small
plastic rollers wore and caused friction. The dome skirt also
rode over the base easily. This modification was much more
robust and allowed the dome to rotate more easily and stay on track.
Modesty preserved  skirt fitted to dome 30 september 2006 The
skirt is made of 6mm rubber compound. It is quite stiff but with
enough flex to "ride" the guide castors. It was screwed on using
4cm "easy fixings" (for chipboard & plasterboard) and the tops later
painted with black enamel paint for cosmetic purposes. The dome was further weather-proofed with two coats of yacht varnish.
Water off a duck's back
 "watershed" finished off with roofing shingles 22 october 2006
Roofing shingles attached to the watershed and the whole assembly sealed with silicone sealant ensured a pleasing appearance and a functionally weather and watertight structure. Now you see me
 open for viewing 22 october 2006
Hatch off and stowed inside, scope up and ready for viewing after five months work - a really great feeling !
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