Comments for mike.texasdomes.com http://texasdomes.wordpress.com seize the dome Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:39:18 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on About by mjsouth http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/about/#comment-119 mjsouth Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:39:18 +0000 #comment-119 I would create the holes the same way, but for plumbing vents I would let the pipe extend out of the dome, instead of just mounting a vent. Drill the hole from the inside, then clean it out. The last thing to do is cut the hole out of the airform. Cut the hole in the airform so that the pipe just barely slides through it. Then use the foam in a can to fill in the space. (In my experience, foam in a can isn't good at actually water proofing anything.) After all that, use some NP1 to seal the roof. It is a single part urethane caulking, and it is the best. You can <a href="http://shop.monolithic.com/products/np1-urethane-caulking" rel="nofollow">buy some NP1 from us</a>, or look at some industrial door and window companies. Thanks for the comment, Mike I would create the holes the same way, but for plumbing vents I would let the pipe extend out of the dome, instead of just mounting a vent. Drill the hole from the inside, then clean it out. The last thing to do is cut the hole out of the airform. Cut the hole in the airform so that the pipe just barely slides through it. Then use the foam in a can to fill in the space. (In my experience, foam in a can isn’t good at actually water proofing anything.) After all that, use some NP1 to seal the roof. It is a single part urethane caulking, and it is the best.

You can buy some NP1 from us, or look at some industrial door and window companies.

Thanks for the comment,

Mike

]]> Comment on About by Roger Williams http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/about/#comment-118 Roger Williams Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:19:59 +0000 #comment-118 Mike, I read an article on installing an ERV in your dome. If you need to put in a another vent for plumbing, would you do it the same way? How do you keep the dome from leaking? Is the the foam you put in? Mike, I read an article on installing an ERV in your dome. If you need to put in a another vent for plumbing, would you do it the same way? How do you keep the dome from leaking? Is the the foam you put in?

]]> Comment on About by Jim Ripley http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/about/#comment-54 Jim Ripley Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:51:19 +0000 #comment-54 Hi Mike, I enjoy reviewing your website. I own www.turtletanks.com and have been building small domes for 20 years. Recently I developed www.enviromix.ca and we make our own concrete mixers. Just a thought on your website. I have a streaming server which I use for a Virtual Home Show. The direct link is> http://fromthegroundup.net/virtualhomeshow/index.html This video format might work well for all the info on the monolithic website. We are making plans for a 50 foot dome in a rural area of Kelowna BC Canada. best regards, Jim Ripley Kelowna BC Canada Hi Mike,

I enjoy reviewing your website. I own http://www.turtletanks.com and have been building small domes for 20 years. Recently I developed http://www.enviromix.ca and we make our own concrete mixers.
Just a thought on your website. I have a streaming server which I use for a Virtual Home Show. The direct link is>
http://fromthegroundup.net/virtualhomeshow/index.html
This video format might work well for all the info on the monolithic website.

We are making plans for a 50 foot dome in a rural area of Kelowna BC Canada.

best regards,
Jim Ripley
Kelowna BC Canada

]]> Comment on About by mjsouth http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/about/#comment-52 mjsouth Tue, 27 May 2008 15:15:15 +0000 #comment-52 We love our Mac computers, especially in a business environment. We ran a Windows network for many years, and it was a huge job. Macs have made rolling out our network very easy. We use Nastran for all of our FEAs. We are running Nastran on Windows XP 64-bit edition. The Windows XP is running on a Fusion, a virtualization program for macs. We chose Fusion over the others because it will let the 64-bit version of windows to take advantage of the multiple core processors. We are using an 8-core MacPro for our analysis. We use AutoCad that also runs of fusion for our drafting software. But we have been looking heavily into a program called Vector Works. A quick note: You have noticed that we have switched to Macs, but we still use some Windows programs in our design and engineering department. There is no other way. We use windows, just to run those programs, thats it. They use the mac for emails, word processing, our database, etc. This makes it easy to manage, and virus free. We are also spending less money. When you buy a mac, it comes with almost all the software you need installed on it. We get a new computer, and I can have it on someone's desk in less than an hour. With Windows, you get a empty computer that you have to install everything onto, tweak, virus protect, install every single printer on, etc. The list goes on and on. Not to mention the extra software that you have to purchase for them. Thanks for the comment, Mike South We love our Mac computers, especially in a business environment. We ran a Windows network for many years, and it was a huge job. Macs have made rolling out our network very easy.

We use Nastran for all of our FEAs. We are running Nastran on Windows XP 64-bit edition. The Windows XP is running on a Fusion, a virtualization program for macs. We chose Fusion over the others because it will let the 64-bit version of windows to take advantage of the multiple core processors. We are using an 8-core MacPro for our analysis.

We use AutoCad that also runs of fusion for our drafting software. But we have been looking heavily into a program called Vector Works.

A quick note: You have noticed that we have switched to Macs, but we still use some Windows programs in our design and engineering department. There is no other way. We use windows, just to run those programs, thats it. They use the mac for emails, word processing, our database, etc. This makes it easy to manage, and virus free.

We are also spending less money. When you buy a mac, it comes with almost all the software you need installed on it. We get a new computer, and I can have it on someone’s desk in less than an hour. With Windows, you get a empty computer that you have to install everything onto, tweak, virus protect, install every single printer on, etc. The list goes on and on. Not to mention the extra software that you have to purchase for them.

Thanks for the comment,

Mike South

]]> Comment on About by Michael Cykana http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/about/#comment-51 Michael Cykana Tue, 27 May 2008 11:13:11 +0000 #comment-51 Mike: My son took the Monolithic training class this past April. My wife and I came down to see him get his certificate and look at the dome he helped construct. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. In reading your site, I was a bit surprised that Monolithic Dome uses Macs for drafting and finite element analysis. Being an engineer and also a Mac user I was wondering what programs/tools does Monolithic Dome use for drafting and finite element analysis? Mike Mike:

My son took the Monolithic training class this past April. My wife and I came down to see him get his certificate and look at the dome he helped construct. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.

In reading your site, I was a bit surprised that Monolithic Dome uses Macs for drafting and finite element analysis. Being an engineer and also a Mac user I was wondering what programs/tools does Monolithic Dome use for drafting and finite element analysis?

Mike

]]> Comment on Featured Dome Project in Temple, TX by John Lambiase http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/temple/#comment-44 John Lambiase Tue, 13 May 2008 06:16:16 +0000 http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/?p=25#comment-44 Where is this dome located in Temple? My wife and I moved to Temple from Port St. Lucie, Florida (Home of Hurricane Francis and Jeanne in 2004.) A dome could be in my families future. My problem was finding a company to build it. Now that I see you have built one here in Temple, I am going to seek some more information. We are about 2 years out from building. Thanks for your time. I would love to see this particular dome if a location can be provided. Thanks in advance. John Where is this dome located in Temple? My wife and I moved to Temple from Port St. Lucie, Florida (Home of Hurricane Francis and Jeanne in 2004.) A dome could be in my families future. My problem was finding a company to build it. Now that I see you have built one here in Temple, I am going to seek some more information. We are about 2 years out from building. Thanks for your time. I would love to see this particular dome if a location can be provided.

Thanks in advance.

John

]]> Comment on My Conference Presentation by mjsouth http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/my-conference-presentation/#comment-39 mjsouth Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:19:13 +0000 http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-39 Thanks for the question Frank. We have been doing some of that experimenting, and we will be doing some more of it at our next <a href="http://static.monolithic.com/workshops/index.html" rel="nofollow">workshop.</a> I will try to write something about it in the coming weeks, to show the results. For now, you can check out a <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=BPw0Oj0b0yk" rel="nofollow">video about reground styrofoam mixed in the concrete</a> that I posted on YouTube a while back. Thanks again, Mike Thanks for the question Frank. We have been doing some of that experimenting, and we will be doing some more of it at our next workshop.

I will try to write something about it in the coming weeks, to show the results. For now, you can check out a video about reground styrofoam mixed in the concrete that I posted on YouTube a while back.

Thanks again,

Mike

]]> Comment on My Conference Presentation by Frank Walsh http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/my-conference-presentation/#comment-38 Frank Walsh Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:47:14 +0000 http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-38 Hello David, I have some questions about dome construction that are not related to this blog. I have been researching domes for a number of years and recently I have read about foam concrete. I would like to know if it is feasible to use foam in shotcrete form to Create a thin shell dome using the inflatable airform and spraying a thin layer of dense concrete followed by rebar and a layer of low density foam concrete, followed by a thicker layer of dense concrete on the interior. I also considered using denser concrete for the bottom of the dome, graduating to less dense material at the top (like the dome of the Pantheon). Do you know if it is possible to combine these two technologies (foam concrete and shotcrete)? The foam concrete manufacturers say that because the foam used is “closed cell” it prevents water from seeping through. If so, you could end up with a lighter, cheaper, water proof, and insulated thin shell that could be used for emergency shelters. What do you think? Frank Walsh frank.walsh@att.net Hello David,

I have some questions about dome construction that are not related to this blog. I have been researching domes for a number of years and recently I have read about foam concrete.

I would like to know if it is feasible to use foam in shotcrete form to Create a thin shell dome using the inflatable airform and spraying a thin layer of dense concrete followed by rebar and a layer of low density foam concrete, followed by a thicker layer of dense concrete on the interior.

I also considered using denser concrete for the bottom of the dome, graduating to less dense material at the top (like the dome of the Pantheon).

Do you know if it is possible to combine these two technologies (foam concrete and shotcrete)?

The foam concrete manufacturers say that because the foam used is “closed cell” it prevents water from seeping through. If so, you could end up with a lighter, cheaper, water proof, and insulated thin shell that could be used for emergency shelters. What do you think?

Frank Walsh frank.walsh@att.net

]]> Comment on My search for data storage by mjsouth http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/my-search-for-data-storage/#comment-34 mjsouth Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:40:51 +0000 http://mike.texasdomes.com/?p=14#comment-34 Like I said, I haven't gone into a lot of detail about my plans for many reasons. But I will tell you that you are wrong about Time Machine. Time machine isn't limited to internal or external drives, it can also backup to network shares (as long as both computers are running Leopard). My plan is to have our server use Time Machine to do an incremental, fully restorable backup, to a computer that is on our network but out of our office. Backing up to an off site location, like you said, is pretty much the only protection from fire, theft, etc. In our office, we have 5 MacBooks, a MacBook Air, and a MacBook Pro. All of these laptops are using Time Machine, and are backing up to a Mac Mini with 2 500Gb drives hooked to it. We bought our lead draftsman a new MacBook Pro and it took it about 2 hours to restore about 30 Gb of data over our Gigabit network. When it was done, it was exactly like he had left it. Time Machine works. One more quick note: The reason I am so excited about Time Machine, is that if my server room burned to the ground, it would be simple to restore. Just buy a new server, turn it on, point it to the network shared Time Machine Backup, and let it do the work. If I were to restore it from a standard backup, I would be able to restore all the data, but the preferences, users, groups, shares, etc. would have to be restored by hand. Jeff, you have triggered a lot of questions in my mind about exactly how well the xServe would restore. I got a new xServe yesterday, and I am going to do some Time Machine tests and post them online. Then we can see if my theory is right or if I will run into some other problems. Thanks for the comment. Like I said, I haven’t gone into a lot of detail about my plans for many reasons. But I will tell you that you are wrong about Time Machine. Time machine isn’t limited to internal or external drives, it can also backup to network shares (as long as both computers are running Leopard). My plan is to have our server use Time Machine to do an incremental, fully restorable backup, to a computer that is on our network but out of our office. Backing up to an off site location, like you said, is pretty much the only protection from fire, theft, etc.

In our office, we have 5 MacBooks, a MacBook Air, and a MacBook Pro. All of these laptops are using Time Machine, and are backing up to a Mac Mini with 2 500Gb drives hooked to it. We bought our lead draftsman a new MacBook Pro and it took it about 2 hours to restore about 30 Gb of data over our Gigabit network. When it was done, it was exactly like he had left it. Time Machine works.

One more quick note: The reason I am so excited about Time Machine, is that if my server room burned to the ground, it would be simple to restore. Just buy a new server, turn it on, point it to the network shared Time Machine Backup, and let it do the work. If I were to restore it from a standard backup, I would be able to restore all the data, but the preferences, users, groups, shares, etc. would have to be restored by hand.

Jeff, you have triggered a lot of questions in my mind about exactly how well the xServe would restore. I got a new xServe yesterday, and I am going to do some Time Machine tests and post them online. Then we can see if my theory is right or if I will run into some other problems. Thanks for the comment.

]]> Comment on My search for data storage by jeff http://texasdomes.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/my-search-for-data-storage/#comment-33 jeff Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:15:40 +0000 http://mike.texasdomes.com/?p=14#comment-33 I know a tiny amount about Time Machine. It isn't a real backup solution. It is a 'oops I deleted some files I really didn't mean to' solution. A backup solution will copy your data <i>elsewhere</i>. If your machine fail, the backup is separate. If the hard drives fail, the backup is separate. You need something that holds the data, that you can pick up and move elsewhere. Personally, I store my backups in my fireproof safe. Think about what you would do to secure your data if someone <i>stole</i> your xServe. Think about the computers in the twin towers at 9/11. The companies that didn't have offsite backup, all went out of business. One solution, is to buy another xServe, and copy all the data from one to another, and store the second one in a safe location. Not the cheapest solution, but perhaps the simplest one. jeff I know a tiny amount about Time Machine. It isn’t a real backup solution. It is a ‘oops I deleted some files I really didn’t mean to’ solution. A backup solution will copy your data elsewhere. If your machine fail, the backup is separate. If the hard drives fail, the backup is separate. You need something that holds the data, that you can pick up and move elsewhere. Personally, I store my backups in my fireproof safe. Think about what you would do to secure your data if someone stole your xServe. Think about the computers in the twin towers at 9/11. The companies that didn’t have offsite backup, all went out of business.

One solution, is to buy another xServe, and copy all the data from one to another, and store the second one in a safe location. Not the cheapest solution, but perhaps the
simplest one.

jeff

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