“Climate”

“Climate”

Ihave a 20′ Solar Dome. I am going to erect it on a raised, oversized platform. I am
in Ecuador, just east of the Andes. In this region, we get alot of brief, intermittent
rains and quite a bit of heat in between. I am building the platform in a very shady
grove and am building a raised, inner floor for it. It was suggested in your questions
and answers that a plastic vapor barrier be affixed to the entire underside of the platform. I’m not seeing this as making sense because of the height of the platform
(five feet) and the raised, inner floor. All the local houses are of this “platform style”
and dry quite readily due to the height of the platform.

It would only make sense if you wished to exclude the moisture in the air. It sounds like your climate is dry enough so you do not need the vapor barrier.

A friend of mine used the same type of dome in the mountains of souther Ecuador
and had alot of problems with rain blowing in through the closed doors. In our area
there is not so much wind, but I will be wanting to keep all four doors open even
when it rains. What do you suggest in this case, to keep the rain out.

I suggest you attach a small tarp porch over the door openings with small tarps (Grip Clips may help you do this). Attach the tarp to the clips above the door and to the pole running horizontally to each side of the door. The tarp should be wide enough to protect the open door from rain. Tie the other corners of the tarp out and away from the dome to create a open porch. You could alternatively use our porches.