The Roof
In building a dome, the roof provides most of the exterior finish. Like any roofing project, it's best to start at the bottom and work up.
Unfortunately, as you get higher up on the dome shell, it becomes more and more difficult to reach the work area. Scaffolding worked for a while , but even it became ineffective above twenty feet or so. We maintained the level for each course around the dome with the use of a water level.
Eventually we rigged up a harness system so Edgar could hang from
a rope connected through the opening for the top skylight. The shingles were
lowered from the opening, down to where Edgar was working, using a little
cart with casters. (pictures above)
After a very long time, we finally reached the top of the dome. Although this method of shingling was extremely labor intensive and involved the cutting of many shingles, it seems to have been worthwhile. We do not have leaks.
The skylights (of which there are a total of 23)presented some special problems for shingling. A lot of flashing was necessary.
