The interior structures are on a different footing that the dome itself. The soil at the camp has a lot of clay in it and the dimensional stability varies with moisture. The problems that surfaced in the interior were the metal studs for the walls that were attached to the dome directly at the top and set on the interior structure at the bottom. As the dome settled and the floor heaved, the walls were crushed. The gym floor heaving and sinking with moisture changes presented problems with the walls that supported the basketball goals on either end of the dome. The glass goals were mounted on a 10' long truss that was supported by the wall on both ends. The gym floor water damage was another issue that was tackled and is covered in this article.
The buckling walls are in the process of being dealt with. The walls are being detached from the dome structure directly. They will have a slip arrangement at the top, and the support will be a lever at a right angle to the relative motion to minimize wall destruction. Please see the figures 1a & 1b below (1).
The heaving and sinking floor situation was first noticed with the walls that support the basketball goals. The wall on the south end of the dome was easy to see because the back side was never finished out. Please see the pictures in figures 2a & 2b below (1) as to the separation. The wall was looked over and bracing was added to the top of the wall to add assurance for the basketball goals that are suspended from the walls as in figure 3 below (1). The south wall was secured with an anchor in the dome itself and a chain secured to the wall. The north wall was secured with metal studs and a deck to return basketballs to play floor. Please see figures 4a & 4b below (1).
The dome floor "bowl" trapped water that caused damage requiring a patch that was 1056 square feet in area. In figures 5a (1) & 5b (2) below the round holes in the picture (very hard to see) represented an attempt to dry the under floor with air circulation provided by blowers. This effort didn't work. We pumped about 200 gallons of some nasty water from under the floor with shop vacuums. The drying effort was not working.
The floor was then cut out and hauled off. The original floor was set on some 3/8" rubber cushions. There were two layers of ¾" plywood with ¾" maple flooring on top. The price of maple gym flooring started out at about $7.00/ft. We were able to secure some used flooring at $2.00/ft. I came out of an old gym in the Texas panhandle. The maple flooring was 1" thick, so we went back with two layers of 5/8" plywood. The maple was a study in and of itself. The old flooring was from trees that were harvested about 80 to 90 years ago. The grain was straight and true with minimal knots and such. The original dome floor was made up of saplings. Please see figure 6 below (2).
The damaged floor was cut out and a new vapor barrier was installed. The rubber cushions were used in the middle of the bottom sheet of under floor. The edges of the under floor had some plywood pads to secure the floor. Figures 7a & 7b below (2) show new vapor barrier and the first few sheets of under flooring. Figures 8a, 8b, & 8c below (2) show the maple installation over the under floor.
The patch had a different striping scheme that our original floor. Our floor had never had any maintenance, and it was decided that the whole floor be sanded to insure that best job possible. The whole floor was sanded down to 150 grit. Please see the pictures in figures 9a (2) & 9b (3) below.
The finish consisted of two coats of sealer before the lines were applied. After the lines were applied, a third coat of sealer was applied. The coats of sealer were allowed to dry for four days before sanding with 200 grit. The floor was then "tacked" with a damp mop before the next coat was applied. The top coat was applied last. Please see figures 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d below (3).
