Hi Robert,

This is Ed, owner of one of your domes.

On your website, where you discuss floors, you say:

“There is a good reason that our floors are not sewn in. We have eliminated a critical area for leaks: seams at ground level. “

The floor I received has a long seam in it, and two shorter ones, where pieces of material look sewn together. Can you explain this, in regard to your statement about no seams at ground level?

Thanks,
Ed

A sewn in floor puts a seam on your dome at or about ground level. This seam can and almost always leaks water running off the dome and wicks it into and on top of your floor no matter how well the ground drains around your dome. This seam would go all the way around your dome and would create a serious leakage problem. The site you select for you dome should have good drainage so that the water that flows off your dome will flow away from your dome and not flow under your domes walls. If this is the case then you should have no problems with the seams in your floor. If water flows under your walls and puddles under your floor you need to dig a ditch around your dome that will direct water away from your dome. If you are in a low lying area then you will ether have to build up a rise in the earth that your dome sits on or a deck to get your out a saturated area. With good drainage you will not have problems with water. Even if your floor was a boat and you had poor drainage it would be like you were walking on a water bed. Let me know if I have answered your question to your satisfaction.

Sincerely,

Robert Gillis

Hi Robert,

Yes, you’ve answered the question.

I am having drainage problems with my deck, so water has been getting under and seeping through that seam. I’ll figure something out. I was a little disappointed because your website calls it a “high grade waterproof floor”.

You think a seam sealer product would help? (if I don’t solve the drainage problem)

Is there a way to get the deck to drain away from your dome? Even if you sealed the floor which would be difficult you would still have water under your floor which would most likely, in the long run, rot the decking. One fix might be to make a cut in the decking about 1/2″ deep, under the skirt of the dome and provide a means for the water which will seek the the low point of this cut to drain to the ground. This could be a space between the decking or a 1/4″ hole you drill at one end of the cut. These small drains would need to be kept open. If you made the cut wider and and or the holes larger, say 2/3 or 1/2″ then they would not clog as easily. The best may be to cut clear through the decking but not the sub structure. In this case you would need to provide support under the decking with 2 by 4s or 2 by 6s secured to the cut decking.

Let me know if you try this if it works for you as it should.