6th day

Although this was just half a working day, the dome got two layers of bales more. In the morning it took over an hour to mount a second layer of scaffolding, and the boards have to be moved around to make space for the rotational guide.

At noon the dome had become rather impressive:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

6 layers of bales make the dome 2,4m high and the curvature is already well visible.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Gernot Minke is very satisfied with the strength of the dome. When applying some pressure the dome is a little bit "wobbly", but does make a structurally very sound impression. As Minke mentioned, an ideal structure for earth quake zones, because it is flexible without loosing structural integrity.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Thomas stuffing the gaps in the dome from the inside.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Stuffing needs a lot of manpower:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Ladders were built to access the dome from the outside.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Heating cables with 1900W were fixed above the reed mat before plastering. This is the only heating in the dome.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Holes were drilled in the straw bales and ring beam to mount the short ventilation ducts. To the left holes for the air inlet and outlet:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Tomorrow is sunday and a day off - so do not expect any blog... :-)