Construction Journal: EAC Montessori Middle School Dome Greenhouse ("Blue House Greenhouse")
The Middle School students have built a Dome Greenhouse
For Graduation (6/19/02) they will "give" or dedicate the structure to the school as a community-based endeavor. 
We welcome volunteers. Contact the school at 607 277-7335 if interested in serving on a committee or two and helping to maintain the greenhouse and surroundings.
July 14,2002
Mr. Nicholson's collage
Door frame detail
Door Frame
Dome
Glazing panels
6/16/02
After a week of dodging rain...the glazing is on!
Below is the structure on 6/9 before any glazing
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Sunset Through Struts. (Notice the evidence of Colorado's fires)
Large Picture of Sunset
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6/9/02 CONSTRUCTION DAY #2
Started to bolt plates down. Installed 11 glazing panels. Tightened all hub nuts.
Sunset through dome
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6/8/02 CONSTRUCTION DAY #1!
1:30 pm
4:30 pm
5:15 pm
5:45 pm
6:00 pm
7:30 pm
8:00 pm
hub detail
Weather Sites
6/7/02
We moved gravel, strut assemblies, and also ordered pizza:-)
6/6/02
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Weather For Ithaca
Pentagon assembly<Here's our lumber (A very small part of it, anyway...nice dinosaur in the background, wot wot?)
Here's the chopsaw that we borrowed from Tom's brother
cedar endgrain detail
We nailed most of the T1-11 plywood on.
We had a cool field trip to Steve Nicholson's house on Friday to tour his solar- and wind-powered home!
Garage has undergone a preliminary cleanup to maximize workspace, although most work is being done outside (we hope it doesn't rain!)
Journal:
6/4/02
Filled drainage trench form house w/ gravel/cloth. The ditch ws finished on Monday, due to the timely arival of "The Kubota Guy!"
6/3/02
Did some linseeding, some trenching, and some lumbering. Nailed still more T1-11 onto the frames. Linseeded quite a lot of wood. We also started digging a trench from one corner of the Blue House to a drainage place near the greenhouse site. We also put some gravel into that trench. Wendy was here today! So was Rich, who came again to help with the T1-11.
6/2/02 (Sunday) Tom and his dad came to do some more stuff.
5/30/02
Mostly a building day in the morning... Clifford got Gatorade powder, bless him. Got some more foundation frames done, and we moved the lumber to the main area inside. Rich Eshelman came to help saw the T1-11 and build the frames.
5/29/02
Alex and Ari in trench laying gravel over tile and laying cloth in the morning. We have to order more cloth--we're short about 8 ft on the main trench, and the drainage trench has no cloth at all.
Kajo and Nathan did preliminary drilling/cutting.
Everyone did drilling and cutting after lunch except Kajo, who had to leave.
The drilling was GREAT!
5/28/02
Did tool sort/inventory, and had a lesson on how to use tools.
Also moved gravel and laid drainage tile in trench.
5/27/02
Dome greenhouse construction. Here's the drainage "donut" as of 5/27/02
A kind neighbor helped dig this exit ditch on 5/25!
The black polyethylene plastic is to help keep site dry and to
reduce weeds. The bottom of the ditch gets a 3-5" layer of gravel
with a coil of perforated drainage tile along the outer edge.
We'll line the inner edge of the ditch with 2" blue foam to help
hold the soil.
Gravel then gets added in layers to facilitate compacting.
5/25/02
Backhoe and back work in drainage donut. TCN dropped off tools.
5/23/02
500' drainage tile delivered
3 yards of washed gravel delivered.
2" blue foam (2' x 8'), cedar and 22 foot Geodesic Dome Greenhouse kit delivered!
5/20-22/02
Digging! Paper models built. Instruction video watched. Trees hauled away, logs stacked.
5/19/02
Ash trees cut down in yard and near site. Metal shed moved (still needs to be shoved away from site 10 more feet or so).
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