Geodesic dome
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Carpenter
Hello from Canada,
Some friends built themselves an Alpine 45 geo Dome years ago and now are plagued with dry rot in the ceiling. The done has a 2x6 structure with R20 batt insulation. This leaves no room for attic ventilation and obviously was doomed to fail from day one. They are getting up in years and at a time when they should be retiring; are now trying to salvage the structure.
They have asked me for some advise and I'm trying to come up with a workable solution for them. The interior of the dome is finished with T&G cedar so adding a dropped ceiling would be costly and disruptive.
The obvious need is to create air space above the insulation and get it vented to draw out the moist hot air before it can condensate.
Would it be structurally sound to remove the shingles and roof deck and add a raised roof to the existing dome roof? I'm thinking of adding the new roof 16 inches above the old structure by means of legs gussetted to the 2x6's. I would use the same build as the original roof using 2x4's laid out and interconnected in the same manner as the original dome. This would result in a dome with a raised lid (roof) on it. We could then vent the entire perimeter of the roof, much the same as soffits on a conventional home and then vent the peak by means of a cupola. This 16 inch raised roof would allow for R60 and still have room for air flow. Is the approach sound? Can the original dome support this? I'm told there are many domes with this same problem. We are more concerned with saving the structure than the appearance of the exterior. I would be grateful for any information on the load carrying capacities of domes.
Thanks Jim
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