On Sep 29, 2010, at 9:02 AM, Bob Gillis wrote:

On Sep 29, 2010, at 9:02 AM, Bob Gillis wrote:

see below answers

Sincerely,

Bob Gillis

Hi Bob,

How’s things?

I have a couple of questions regarding the domes:

1. What material is the canvas made out of and what’s the weight?

Shelter Systems’ coverings are made by taking a special plastic copolymer (a simple compound composed of carbon and hydrogen which is chemically similar to wax) and stretching it until it becomes stiff. At this point, the material is at its maximum tensile (pull) strength. It is then sliced into thin strips and woven into a fabric. This gives it amazing tear resistance. The fabric is then laminated on both sides with some sheets of the same stretch-strengthened material and is thereby stabilized and super strengthened. You cannot tear it with your hands.

Approximately 4 oz for a square yard

2. I’m needing to have a rain catchment areas and was thinking of putting a tarp on top of the dome- raised in 4 corners and have 4 catchment areas in the creases. I read that it was not advisable to have anything over the domes- why is this the case?

Rain Catchment System: The flap of shingling material that circles the dome at about 5′ can be tucked into a gutter that can direct rain run off into storage. The gutter could be of metal or fabric and should hang from the 12 clips that circle the dome just under the ring pole at the above mentioned 5′. In most towns there are individuals who are in the business of making custom gutters (look in the yellow pages). I would recommend a narrow gutter of say 2.5″ to 3″ as you will want to fit the gutter under the pole system of the dome. Each of the 12 gutter joints should be the same 150 degree angle. You will need a down spout and a storage tank for the water.

Another gutter system can be constructed using a long strip of water tight fabric such as a blue tarp material say 18″ in width and long enough to go around the dome and then downward into a water storage vessel (this can also be made of a blue tarp by cutting a tarp into a circle with a radius of say 8′. Then gather circumference of the circle tarp around one of your vent tubes and tie it tight with some of the line included with your dome. Tie this upon tube to a clip of your dome at about 5′ high so the tube is about a 12″ off the ground. You will then need to start to attach your “gutter” to the 2″ skirt of your dome at the approximate height of 5′ and circle the dome so as to create a gutter of tarp material on both sides of this 2″ skirt that starts at with a gutter that is only 3″ deep and ends with the gutter being 9″ deep once it is all the way around the dome. One way to attach the “gutter” is to use 3″ by 1/8″ by 1/8″ sharpened slivers of wood as pins to pin the tarp cutter to this 2″ skirt. The gutter then should be formed into a tube and directed down into your water storage “bag”. A length of tubing can be also inserted into the bag thru the tube to syphon water as you need it. Be careful to prevent small rodents from gaining access to you water as they may drown and pollute your water. Filtering and water purifying systems may be relevant. If your needs are small a 55 gallon plastic drum may suffice. For filtering do a search online for ( rain water filter system ) One we found was: http://www.baproducts.com/rainwatr.htm

DO NOT COVER SHELTER WITH A TARP, PARACHUTE OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A SINGLE LAYER OF OUR SUNSHADES. A tarp can fill with rain and collapse shelter. A tarp will trap heat and cause the poles to deform. Do not cover your dome with anything except a single layer of our SunShade. Do not overlap sunshades.

Cheers for you response!

Renai