The Selection Process

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 OK. Having decided to 'go for it' various elements had to be considered.....function (of course), transportability, ease of construction/destruction, cost, weight of materials, robustness (it is Ireland with associated weather) etc etc

After taking all of this into consideration and a having considerable history in starting projects and failing to complete them....I decided on bamboo cane as the main structural element. Bamboo is very light and very strong under compression and tension along its length (the key forces experienced in a geodome structure). Unfortunately it is not native to Ireland and sourcing oiptions are limited. In the end I went with delivery from a bamboo importer in the UK, who were both cheaper and far more responsive than the key source in Ireland. 


To connect the poles to form the geodome you need something light and strong to accept the poles of choice at the correct angle. There are several design options on the web all having their pros and cons. In this instance I have gone for Building with Hubs, UK


The pros here are that the 'hubs' are re-usable as are the connectors that you screw into the poles of choice, the price and the extensive guidelines, documentation and general help and encouragement available via their excellent website.

Finally ....covering the dome. Before procedding with the orders for the above this topic gave me most concern. There are endless possibilities of coverings to match any purpose and any wallet depth you have. My initial plan is to investigate the cheapest solutions first until the 'geodome' has proven its worth to me in terms of further investment of both time and money. Initially I will try and get a polythene sheet and garden net solutions to fit this presenting me with the option for  greenhouse/fruit growing capability. Some sort of sectioning of the sheeting may be possible to incorporate opening up sidewalls for social, leisure purposes but initially these will be dependent on design skills and joining skills of polyethene sheets....as yet unknown.



A dome calculator (click on the above) available on the buildhubs website shows what you need to order for the diameter of your choice. In the next post I will go through the materials required for a 5.2 metre diameter 3V frequency 5/8 (of a sphere) construction.





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