Buildings in the country, made in a non-standard form, decorate the site and increase its attractiveness. Houses, gazebos, greenhouses, built in the form of geodesic domes, certainly will not go unnoticed. Implementing a small geo-dome project is a snap. Many gardeners can cope with the construction of such a structure, despite the originality of the frame structure. Minimum costs for the purchase of building materials allow you to complete all the work in the shortest possible time. Dome technologies are also of interest to suburban housing builders. The space inside such a cottage is characterized by increased functionality. In the domed house, 20% more usable area due to a decrease in the number of building envelopes. On this and manages to save building materials.
Architectural structures, which used a mesh shell as a supporting structure, appeared in the middle of the last century. The first geodesic domes were designed by Richard Fuller (USA). The American patented his invention. It was planned to erect constructions unusual for that time in order to obtain cheap comfortable housing in a short time. However, to achieve mass development according to the invented technology failed.
An air domed tent over an open-air summer pool protects vacationers from the scorching rays of the sun, while accumulating heat
The extravagant project has found application in the construction of futuristic objects: cafes, stadiums, pools. We also paid attention to the geo-dome and landscape designers, who began to place these structures in the center of the landscape composition. And then, and now, experts are attracted by the spaciousness of domed buildings. By including imagination and fantasy, you can find many options for using space within a sphere.
The design of the geodesic dome is characterized by a large bearing capacity. The size of the entire area of the structure depends on the diameter of the spherical frame. Small domes of five meters height are erected without the use of a construction crane by two or three people.
Why is this design better than others?
The spherical shape of the geo-dome contributes to the harmonization of space, which is saturated with positive energy. Being in a spacious and incredibly cozy round room is good for your health. It is not for nothing that domed structures are classified as ecological structures. The advantages of light geodetic structures include:
- the lack of the need for a solid foundation, and this greatly simplifies and speeds up the installation of the object;
- no need to use construction equipment, which reduces the noise by several times during the work.
The construction of geo-domes is based on frame-and-shield technology, which makes it possible to erect a number of structures for various purposes at the summer cottage or suburban area, for example:
- bath or sauna;
- home or summer kitchen;
- garage or carport;
- gazebo or children's playhouse;
- year-round swimming pool;
- greenhouse or greenhouse, etc.
The main types of geodetic structures
The designs of geocups differ from each other by the frequency of dividing the surface of the sphere into triangles. The frequency of the partition is usually denoted by the letter V. The number next to V shows the number of different structural elements (edges) used to build the frame. The greater the number of edges used, the stronger the geo-dome.
There are six types of geo-domes, of which only five are actively used in the construction of facilities:
- 2V dome (the height of the structure is equal to half the sphere);
- 3V dome (the height of the structure is 5/8 spheres);
- 4V dome (the height of the structure is equal to half the sphere);
- 5V dome (the height of the structure is 5/8 spheres);
- 6V dome (the height of the structure is half the sphere).
It is easy to notice that the hemispherical shape of the object is achieved only with an even frequency of partitioning.
Scheme of the frame of the geodetic dome of type 2V for the creation of small structures. Ribs of different lengths are highlighted and marked with letters.
For small cottage buildings, a 2V dome design is usually chosen. The frame is assembled from two types of ribs, indicated on the diagrams for convenience by the Latin letters A and B, and also highlighted in addition by blue and red. The blanks are also color-coded to simplify the assembly process of the frame structure. To connect the individual edges of the frame of the geodesic dome, special nodes are used, called connectors. When installing a 2V-dome design, three types of connectors are used:
- 4 end;
- 5 end;
- 6 end.
To calculate the length of the ribs and the number of connectors, online calculators are used, into which the source data of the object is hammered: the radius of the base, the frequency of the partition, the desired height of the dome.
Three types of connectors used to connect the edges of the dome frame, converging at one point (the top of the polygon)
Large hemispherical objects, the base diameter of which exceeds 14 meters, are built using 3V and 4V domes. At a lower partitioning frequency, too long ribs are obtained, which complicates their preparation and installation. When constructing a 3V dome, the length of the ribs is almost three meters. Assembling a frame from such long materials is quite problematic.
By choosing a different type of dome (4V), reduce the length of the ribs to 2.27 meters, which greatly simplifies the assembly of the dome structure. Reducing the length of structural elements leads to an increase in their number. If a 3V dome with a height of 5/8 spheres has 165 ribs and 61 connectors, then a 6V dome with the same height of the ribs already has 555 pieces, and 196 connectors.
Pile foundation for installing large domed structures allows the construction to provide the necessary strength and stability
An example of building a domed greenhouse
Before starting construction, they are determined with the base area of the future greenhouse, as well as with its height. The size of the base area depends on the radius of the circle into which the regular polygon fits or around. If we assume that the radius of the base will be 3 meters, and the height of the hemisphere is one and a half meters, then to assemble the 2V dome you will need:
- 35 ribs with a linear size of 0.93 m;
- 30 ribs 0.82 m long;
- 6 five-pointed connectors;
- 10 four-pointed connectors;
- 10 six-pointed connectors.
Selection of materials
As frame ribs, you can use whetstones, a fence board, a profile pipe, as well as special double struts. When preparing the ribs take into account their width. If a fence board is selected, then it will have to be cut into several equal parts with a jigsaw.
Leveling the pad
Having prepared all the structural elements of the future dome, proceed to leveling the place for the construction of the structure. At the same time, it is necessary to arm yourself with a building level, since the site should be perfectly flat. The leveled place is sprinkled with a layer of rubble, which is well compacted.
The construction of the base and assembly of the dome frame
Next, they begin to build the base of the greenhouse, the height of which, together with the height of the dome, will make the room comfortable for operation. After the construction of the base, they begin to assemble the frame from the ribs according to the scheme, which shows the sequence of connections. The result should be a polyhedron.
The framework of a half meter hemisphere for arranging a greenhouse in the country is made of wooden bars connected by a connector method according to the scheme with each other
Assembly can be facilitated by coloring the ribs of different lengths in different colors. This color highlighting of individual structural elements avoids confusion. Isosceles triangles assembled from bars or pieces of a profile pipe are fastened together by connectors (special devices). Although small structures can be fastened with self-tapping screws and a conventional mounting tape.
Fastening Polycarbonate Sheets
Polycarbonate sheets cut in the form of triangles are screwed to the frame. During installation, special screws are used. The seams between adjacent polycarbonate sheets are decorated, and at the same time they are insulated with slats.
Interior arrangement
Beds are made along the perimeter of the greenhouse, and their height should be equal to the height of the base of the frame. When decorating fences, various materials are used. Better and more elegantly combined with plants grown in the greenhouse, natural stone. For convenience, the path in the greenhouse is made as wide as possible. Be sure to equip a place for relaxation, from which you can admire the beauty of outlandish plants and flowers.
The frame of this domed greenhouse is made of a profile pipe. Polygon faces are made of polycarbonate sheets that transmit light and block ultraviolet rays
For the rational use of the internal space using polypropylene pipes, which are attached to the edges of the frame. On these pipes a cache-pot with ampelous plants is suspended. Low-growing plants are planted along the edges of the greenhouse, and tall ones are closer to the center. To maintain a sufficient level of humidity inside the dome, a water tank is installed in the northern part of the structure. Strengthen the greenhouse effect inside the greenhouse allows reflective film, which is attached to the structure of the frame, located above the tank with water.
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The internal arrangement of the domed greenhouse is carried out with maximum use of the available space. The height of the plants affects the choice of the place of planting in the greenhouse of such an unusual shape
Arbor in the form of a half-open hemisphere
The gazebo, made in the form of a half-open hemisphere, will become the most attractive place in the summer cottage. This air structure is going to be assembled within one working day. Installation of the frame is made from a profile pipe. The diameter of the dome should be 6 meters, and the height of the object - 2.5 meters. With such dimensions, it is possible to obtain 28 square meters of usable space sufficient to accommodate friends and relatives. Structural elements of the 3V dome are also calculated using online calculators. As a result of automatic calculation, it turns out that for the construction of the gazebo you will need:
- 30 pieces of ribs 107.5 cm each;
- 40 pieces of ribs of 124 cm;
- 50 pieces of ribs 126.7 cm each.
The ends of the ribs cut from the profile pipe are flattened, drilled and bent by 11 degrees. For ease of assembly, the geo-dome lattices are marked with the same color along the length of the edge according to the scheme. The result is three groups of elements that are attached to each other according to the scheme with washers, bolts and nuts. After completing the installation of the frame, produce a covering of covering material, which can be considered as:
- plywood sheets;
- canvases of colored polycarbonate;
- lining;
- soft tiles, etc.
If you close only the upper part of the frame, you get the original semi-open gazebo. Using curtains, you can decorate the remaining free space on the sides of the gazebo. To achieve an unusual design of the dome structure will allow your imagination.
You can find out what to look for when choosing curtains for a garden gazebo from the material: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/shtory-dlya-sadovoj-besedki-i-verandy.html
Collapsible metal frame can be dismantled at any time. If necessary, the collapsible structure is transported to nature, where it is quickly assembled and covered with a cover made of water-repellent fabric.
Or maybe build a whole house?
The house, in contrast to the buildings discussed above, needs a shallow heat-insulated wooden foundation. Corner racks of the base walls, as well as horizontal struts, are attached to the erected foundation. After proceeding with the installation of the dome battens.
The spherical surface of the frame is sewn from the outside with plywood sheets, the thickness of which should be at least 18 mm. Windows and doors are installed in selected places. To warm the structure, new generation thermal insulation materials are used, which are also covered from the inside with sheets of plywood or other decorative materials.
Also, material on the stages of building a frame house will be useful: //diz-cafe.com/postroiki/dachnyj-domik-svoimi-rukami.html
The construction of a country house in the form of a geodesic dome is carried out using heat-insulating materials laid between the internal and external finish of the double frame
For fast fastening of all materials, it is recommended to use a double strut system in the construction of a country house.
As you can see, every gardener can find application for a geodesic dome at a summer cottage. If you can’t build such an original structure on your own, then hire professionals. Many builders are happy to undertake such projects, because they can be erected in a short time.
