Equipment and Machines

 

Foundation

 

 

 

Raising

 

The equipment used in raising a geodesic dome varies with the size of your structure. The higher, the more sophisticated the equipment needs to be.

For most EMT, galvanized pipe and wood greenhouses for instance, a ladder will do the trick. The next level is to use a a scaffolding, then a scissor lift for larger domes. For very large structures a boom is often used for a couple of reasons: it is easier to assemble it from the top down and you can reposition the dome at will. Even domes 20 feet in diameter would be easier to assemble. A scissor lift can be used like a boom and rise as the levels are completed.

 

Bolting

 

Not much on this topic since it’s probably the simplest task when building a geodesic dome. Use washers, insert the bolt and tighten. For larger dome an air drill is very useful since you’d be using larger diameter pipe plus it saves time. You can also use a torque wrench to ensure you tighten at the correct pressure. It is recommended to do the final tightening after you completed a level.

 For more information on bolts please click here

Beer

That’s for all those people who helped you!