Dome Caught Fire

[CLayne]

Our dome caught on fire and the airform completely burned off leaving a charred mess and exposed foam everywhere. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can recover the dome? Somehow we have to scrape the whole dome...I'm beginning to think we won't be able to fix this. If anyone has any ideas we would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[MSouth]

This is the year of the fires. Yours is the third one this year that I have known about. We are currently repairing one near Abilene, TX. I know that one also was set on fire in South Texas. I've visited the one near Abilene, and seen pictures of the other.

The one in Abilene was very severe. There was a plastic green house next to it, and the green house just fueled a fire that burnt the one side of the dome. We are having to remove the bad foam, replace it, then coat it with an elastomeric coating.

Depending on how much of the foam actually was burned, this could be done without replacing the bad foam. Just take the top 1/2" or so off, then coat it with a heavy coating.

Let me know if you want us to come look at it. Thanks, mike at Monolithic.com

[mike malenfant]

forest fires and brush fires are a major concern in my area.
how can the dome be protected from fire?
how can the fragile exterior of the dome be protected from falling debris in a wind storm, including falling branches and ice ?
to me this is a deal breaker. unless i can add an outside layer of cement or ceramic tile on top of the air form.

[timbau]

forest fires and brush fires are a major concern in my area.
how can the dome be protected from fire?
how can the fragile exterior of the dome be protected from falling debris in a wind storm, including falling branches and ice ?
to me this is a deal breaker. unless i can add an outside layer of cement or ceramic tile on top of the air form.

First of all, any stick built home will have problems with tree falls, ice damage to roofs, forest fires, etc. The dome isn't indestructible. It's very structurally sound & measures can be taken to minimize damage from external calamities. These measure cost accordingly. If you want to cover your dome with stone, cement, steel, etc it can mitigate many of your issues. Burying the dome would take care of most of the problems you're mentioned.

Maybe a bomb shelter would be a better fit.... Just kidding

[mike malenfant]

i was under the impression the domes were fireproof.

anything is possible with money i guess

[timbau]

i was under the impression the domes were fireproof.

anything is possible with money i guess

The exteriors of domes aren't fireproof. It's a membrane that allows the dome to be constructed. Many folks cover their domes with varied coverings. The membrane will degrade when exposed to long periods of sunlight. So they have to be covered. Some of these coverings will not prevent fire damage to the exterior of the dome. The shell itself is concrete & will not burn. So most of the dome is fireproof. Should you cover the interior of the dome with wood, it will burn. Hope this answers your concerns.

[mike malenfant]

an extra layer of concrete on the exterior would truly make it fireproof,
i assume this has been done already.

[GreginAlaska]

I wonder if these people could come up with a fire proof product for the air form?

http://universalfireshield.com/universa ... eld-tarps/

[3dO]

A properly built chain-shell should solve this.

[Necoras]

A properly built chain-shell should solve this.

I was going to mention this. The chain shell (http://www.monolithic.com/stories/monol ... -protector) basically gives you an extra layer of protection. Mike mentioned an extra layer of concrete; this is it.