From: J & D Goldman (jmgoldma_at_dwx.com)
Date: 12/12/02
Message-ID: <000301c2a254$494e0e40$2adececf@gateway> From: "J & D Goldman" <jmgoldma_at_dwx.com> Subject: Re: Simplicity domes, and a question about PVC... Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 19:42:49 -0600
Following up on Pat's comments:
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>In article <009301c27afe$783f6e60$4fdececf_at_gateway> you write:
>>The weather is finally starting to go bad around here, which means
its
>>time to catch up on indoor projects. I'm still chipping away at
Domes
>>for the Next Millenium, and hope to do more on that this winter.
>>
>>One idea for a chapter is Simplicity Domes. The main objective
would
>>be to compile materials, designs, methods of construction, etc.,
>>that reduce the "reasons not to" when one considers a dome as an
>>alternative to the routine rectilinear structure. If nothing else,
>>its a leader to help people break the ice and try a dome for the
first
>>time. This might be easiest to apply to small structures like sheds,
>>garages, place-in-the-woods, etc., but need not be limited to that.
>>
> I like this idea, and that's one of the reasons I've been
>considering manufacturing versions of my dome greenhouse to sell as
kits
>(http://reality.sculptors.com/hydro/greenhouse/) and sheds or
playhouses
>for kids are another good way to help folks "break the ice." (I like
that
>idea!)
> I would encourage the use of the Reality Sculptors Wiki
>(http://reality.sculptors.com/cgi-bin/wiki) to start collecting these
>ideas, reasons, designs, images, common excuses "not to", etc. It
seems
>like a perfect application for the wiki, and will allow each person
to add
>ideas and respond to others but we'll construct something durable,
rather
>than simply having it fill our inboxes and sit in the web archives.
The
>wiki can be a dynamic (as dynamic as we make it, anyway) place that
>continues to grow and refine the idea, and provides a place we can
refer
>others to in the future, rather than saying "go dig through the
archives.
>
> Try it out. Cut-n-paste some of your existing ideas and documents
>into a new wiki page "SimplicityDomes" would be a fine name, and in
fact,
>to once again demonstrate how easy it is to create wiki pages, I just
made
>one at http://reality.sculptors.com/cgi-bin/wiki?SimplicityDomes (You
can,
>of course, make a different named page, or link to others from
there.)
>
> Give it a whirl! It's fun! :-)
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Ok, you convinced me...I'll try and get into the Wikki next time I get
some time free and see what I can get started there. We agree that
the "Simplicity Domes" theme would be a good place to start.
Along those lines, I'm curious - what are you using as a hub for the
PVC greenhouse you show on the web site? I can't see how the pipe
struts are connected.
Here are a few things I hope will get others interested in
brainstorming a bit and contributing. I'll try to paste this into the
first wikki page:
Simplicity Domes
Philosophy: Domes made of commonly available, inexpensive materials
requiring a minimum of special tools, machining or fine technical
skills, but are still reletively easy to erect.
Topics include design, materials, methods of construction
Struts, hubs, covers, panels, anchoring, weatherproofing
Special note on finding and using "waste, discard or scrap" materials.
Hardware and methods of making your dome foldable, portable or easy to
relocate.
Dome types especially well suited for small structures
Notes on making good use of the space inside a dome.
Why not build a dome? (check archive for some good lists already
there)
Round
Wall height near perimeter
"Acute angle" phobia
Here is another thought - put together a contest of sorts on
"Simplicity Dome" designs and then compile them. Might even raise a
few bucks to offset your expenses for hosting all this.
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>>But to some extent this is a case of "easy to use = hard to
>>make", as someone has to do the up-front work, especially the
thinking
>>part. (Rather reminds me of some great builders who often say the
>>same thing - "Sure, I can do complicated stuff - you got plans?")
I
>>guess for Simplicity Domes, I'm thinking about ways to make domes
from
>>commonly available materials (PVC pipe, EMT tubing, OSB, etc. with
>>tools you might have on hand, could afford to buy or perhaps rent,
>>even from jigs you can make easily. I've seen quite a few of these
on
>>the web, and continue to collect them, but thought I'd put the idea
>>out on the list in case anybody has some strong desire to contribute
>>to such a chapter. I do a great deal of looking myself, but I'm
sure
>>some of you will come up with something I've never seen and would
not
>>have thought of.
> I've been researching PVC for my ball-and-socket hub design, and as
>soon as I raise some money for the prototyping, I plan to give it a
go and
>try to produce kits. But I also just finished reading "Cradle to
Cradle"
>recently (a fantastic book, and I recommend it to everyone on this
list!)
>by William McDonough and Michael Braungart and they have lots of bad
(yet
>vague) things to say about PVC and basically think it should be
phased out
>and not used at all.
> This I find a bit confusing, and would like to know more about why
>it's so bad. I don't *need* to use it for my dome greenhouse kits,
and only
>selected it because it was cheap and available locally in many
places. But
>if it poses an environmental threat, I'd rather go with something
safer.
>
> Does anyone have more info on the perils of PVC? Suggestions for
>other things? I'll also do some digging in the chemical libraries,
but
>thought I'd check the collective knowledge-base.
>
>> Even if you don't have anything now, if you spot something later
>>that might be useful, please send it my way. I hope to have several
>>pages of credits in the appendix!
>>
>>Thanks - Dan G.
>>
> Just start assembling info in the wiki, and it will start to take
>shape. Later on, if you want to work on print-publication, we can
extract
>the info for typesetting, etc. (If I'm misunderstanding and you don't
want
>to web-publish at all, please correct me. This is an old thread...)
> It's just that wiki is one of the best tools I've seen for
>group-collaboration, and can produce quality results if people only
use it.
>(That's the tricky part...getting people to try it.)
There are some organizations that are *really* anti-vinyl. They go
after the vinly siding people bigtime. If I come across some websites
for these folks, I'll pass it on. There are also the vinyl industry
promoters, of course, that take the opposite view.
-Dan G.