I acquired a good pile of lumber from our local Grossman's Bargain Outlet.
I covered it up well and tied it down to keep it until the assembly could begin.
Since we opted to not install a basement with this house, we decided to build a garden shed right away. I (Rick) hope this will free up enough space so that I can still park in the garage after we move in.
This shed will double as a greenhouse until we have time to add-on the planned greenhouse/Victorian conservatory off the south side of the garage.
I selected a Garden Dome" kit for this project. Specifically the Cube-Octa Dome with the Vertical Base Option (VBO), the extended Cupola, and the X1, high wind reinforcements. When I ordered this particular combination kit I was told that no one had ever built one before. (fun, fun)
I acquired a good pile of lumber from our local
Grossman's Bargain Outlet.
I covered it up well and tied it down to keep it until the assembly could
begin.
On November 5th, Rod's crew formed out the hexagon base in preparation
for pouring the slab.
Rod supervised the concrete pour on November 7th.
The concrete was then smoothed to perfection.
A few days later (November 13th) I set up shop in the middle of the slab.
I decided I didn't like the original plans resting the entire shed on
the PVC connectors.
I installed pressure-treated 4x4's around the base instead.
By the end of the day I had framed out the Vertical Base.
The next day, the 14th, I implemented a lot of re-inforcement.
In addition to more screws, I added L brackets around the base to
help minimize what I felt was an inherant weakness in the design from
twist.
I then tackled the first round of triangles.
Rod's crew said that the structure resembled a crown from Burger King.
On November 16th, a rainy, 30 degree [F] day, I rented a 12 foot ladder,
since my 6 foot already wasn't tall enough.
The ladder worked great to help balance and hold some of the pieces as
I bolted them together.
By the end of my allowed working time on Saturday, I almost had the
cupola finished.
Those uppermost boards are a little over 9 feet long.
The ladder was getting pretty slippery
The boards were soaking wet and slippery.
It was cold too.
I had some challenge getting them in place without breaking my neck...
Next I need to finish framing the cupola, and add more "X1" struts. Then I'll tackle the skin. I plan on using salvaged barn siding for 4 sides of the vertical base. I'll use CDX plywood for about 1/2 of the dome. The remaining 2 vertical sides and dome surface will be covered in Polycarbonate from Sundance Supply.
Due to scheduling problems and availability of a generator this project has been stalled for a while. When we return to it, we'll update this page and split it into several parts...
April 30th 2006 - tore it down.
Unfortunately I was not able to return to the project until the untreated wood had rotted. During the house construction a truck backed into the shed and knocked several pices out. After 3 1/2 years, the shed frame was still just a frame, and it was really falling down. We'll either rebuild this, or put a barn here instead.