8th day - dome completed!

Today we completed the dome! The last rings of straw bale were put in and the wooden ring holding the skylight got fixed in place.

But first we had to plaster the inside of the vaults, a very dirty adventure!

From Strawbale Dome Minke

The outside of the dome got a "shaving", looking much better afterwards:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Plastering the top of the dome is not easy - luckily the roof construction is strong enough to hold the scaffolding:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

The skylight hole si slowly closing up - a fairly impressive view:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Last bale in! Using the sliding boards we can make the last small bale fit tightly:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

The ring holding the skylight is painted white and put in place.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Some clay plaster on the outside is applied before the upper ring is placed back on:

From Strawbale Dome Minke

The outer ring is lowered onto the construction and fixed with screws. Now the skylight ring should hold in place.

From Strawbale Dome Minke

Tomorrow plastering will continue. We hope the weather will improve, we need the plaster to dry quickly so that we can fill in the triangles between the vaults.

The dome has gained a lot of rigidity by being finished, a layer of dry clay plaster will make it very stiff. Great construction!

Here a link to a report about our project in the main news: Markiza News on 28.8.2010