Wow!

I have a question: did you find some sort of sunlight resistant PVC? (I've never seen any white pipe that was resistant to sunlight degradation.) Just wondering.

I bought the PVC at home depot.

You do bring up a very important point, which I have added to the article.

PVC degrades in UV, and you can only expect 2-3 years before it becomes brittle.

One solution I found on the web is to paint the PVC with house paint which has a very strong UV restistant additive, so that the paint lasts 10 years or more.

The plastic covering I bought has a UV blocker in it, to guarentee that it lasts 4 years. This plastic has a "This side up" sign on it, so I assume that it is a coating that reflects UV.

I expect the UV coating on the cover to protect the PVC pipes.

the problem with house paint is that it will not adhere well to plastic my suggestion would be a paint made by krylon called fusion. it is specially designed to adhere to plastic and should last for 7-10 yrs. it also come in a spray can which may be more convienient. to make it last even longe you may try an over spray of rustolium clear coat which is about as strong a paint as you will find good luck.

Hi, Thank you for posting your article on geodesic dome greenhouse. I have a geodesic dome frame and would like to turn it into a greenhouse. I have just a few questions. When it gets hot in the summer how do you tie up the plastic to let air through as I imagine it gets very hot on the inside? Also, do you tape down the folds of the plastic? I live in a very windy area and am concerned that the wind might catch it. Or do the bricks hold it down well enough? Thank you in advance for your reply. Lisa

It was 70 on Saturday, and I went in to the dome, and to my surpise, it was about 95 degrees inside.
I set up a house fan at the front door to blow air from outside, in. That worked great. I don't think it would work if it was 90 outside.
Once the temperature rises (a few more weeks), I plan to move all my plants out of the greenhouse and just set them on the ground. I only plan to use my dome in spring and fall/early winter. Spring as a jump start and cold protection, and fall for cold weather crops, like brussel sprouts. You can harvest all the way in to december is what I am told.

You could try to construct some sort of vent in the ceiling (heat rises), but I'd worry about it leaking, snow, etc.
I also plan to look in to a ducted exhaust fan. I just want to avoid having to put a hole in the plastic, if I can.

I'm not planning on taping the plastic. It does flap a bit, but I've got it tight enough with the bricks, that it doesn't get damaged. The key is to avoid letting the wind get in or underneath the plastic. If it does, it can lift the whole thing off the ground. You can always use more bricks. They are only $2 each. I also covered the plastic on the ground with soil to hold it down. FYI, put your door on the north side facing away from the wind. The wind is usually on the west side.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Curt