To get you started:

topic posted Tue, May 16, 2006 - 6:59 PM by  meggio
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When building your Star Dome you will need:

-12 20 foot lengths of 3/4" 480 psi PVC pipe (2 will make the base and 10 will make the frame)
or
-24 10 foot lengths of the same (4 will make the base and 20 will make the frame)
+ 16 connectors to connect 10ft sections together into 20ft lengths
(buy extra PVC pipe, sometimes the pipe will break during setup or take down, usually the base pipes break because they are weaker)

and
-10 4 inch, fully threaded carriage bolts with washers and nuts (to connect the frame to the base at the 10 points)

-Zip ties. Lots of them. Get the long kind. White matches the PVC, colorful is fun. Don't drill holes in your frame pipes to hold them together, only drill the base pipes. Use zip ties to hold it together otherwise.

-Armor-All. The perfect lube for PVC.

Buy extra base pipes to bring with you to the setup location and drill them in advance. If any of your pipes ever do break from stress on the dome these are the pipes that might. Don't try drilling your base pipes while they are bent into a circle. They will break.

Why can you choose your pipe length?
You can choose the length of PVC based on your hauling capacity. If you choose to use 24 10ft lengths, you will need 16 pipe connectors to fit them all together. The longer the connector, the better the pipes will stay together as you bend and flex them. Make sure all your connectors are the same size. Buy extra! Sometimes they break during setup and take down. To make it easier to fit your pipes into the connector fittings, spray ARMOR-ALL into the connectors. This makes vinyl slick and easier to fit together and undo... especially when playa dust comes into the equasion. Wear gloves too... Armor-All on your hands makes it hard to handle the pvc pipes.
posted by:
meggio
Salt Lake City
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