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Hi, I'm Hendrik from the Church of Bass in Seattle. We are a non-profit underground event space with an emphasis on community building, art, and music.
We are creating an intentional space at the local burner decompression event and need help. We have a 32' diameter 4V dome with no suitable cover. The dome will be set up inside a very drafty airplane hanger, and we really need to cover it. Last year we used old theater stage curtains but that won't work this time around. The fire department made it really clear that they are imposing the following requirement strictly this year:
"All decorations, drapes, signs, banners, plastic displays, split bamboo, items such as carpeting, artificial turf used in the vertical position, combustibles, etc. within 18 inches of ignition sources, such as lights fixtures, heaters, electrical outlets, electrical connections and flame-producing devices must be flame retardant. Curtains, drapes, hangings and other decorative materials suspended from walls or ceilings must be flame resistant.
Painted back-drops/signage utilizing oil based or water based paints if provided with backing materials such backing material that is located within 18 inches of ignition sources must be accompanied by a Certificate of Flame Resistance indicating the item is flame retardant, or it must be removed."
Do you have any idea what material we can use to cover the dome. One of the ideas we are throwing around are "building wrap", or the aluminum foil material used for insulation. Of course we have hardly any budget as we are gifting the space to the gathering, in the spirit of burning man gifting.
Do you have a dome cover that we might be able to use? Do you have any ideas for us?
Any help would be appreciated. My email is hendrik@churchofbass.org
Love,
Hendrik
We are creating an intentional space at the local burner decompression event and need help. We have a 32' diameter 4V dome with no suitable cover. The dome will be set up inside a very drafty airplane hanger, and we really need to cover it. Last year we used old theater stage curtains but that won't work this time around. The fire department made it really clear that they are imposing the following requirement strictly this year:
"All decorations, drapes, signs, banners, plastic displays, split bamboo, items such as carpeting, artificial turf used in the vertical position, combustibles, etc. within 18 inches of ignition sources, such as lights fixtures, heaters, electrical outlets, electrical connections and flame-producing devices must be flame retardant. Curtains, drapes, hangings and other decorative materials suspended from walls or ceilings must be flame resistant.
Painted back-drops/signage utilizing oil based or water based paints if provided with backing materials such backing material that is located within 18 inches of ignition sources must be accompanied by a Certificate of Flame Resistance indicating the item is flame retardant, or it must be removed."
Do you have any idea what material we can use to cover the dome. One of the ideas we are throwing around are "building wrap", or the aluminum foil material used for insulation. Of course we have hardly any budget as we are gifting the space to the gathering, in the spirit of burning man gifting.
Do you have a dome cover that we might be able to use? Do you have any ideas for us?
Any help would be appreciated. My email is hendrik@churchofbass.org
Love,
Hendrik
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Seattle
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Re: Fire retardant geodesic dome cover needed - ideas, availability etc?
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 2:46 PMTwo types of fabric come to mind that may work for you.>>
Nomex, from which Air Force flight coveralls and mechanics' coveralls is made, is impossible to light on fire, even if you're trying real hard..
Fiberglass cloth, as was used in the manufacture of many drapes and such in the 1950s, is impossible to burn. If you can get it.
You can buy fiberglass roving as used for sailboat hull repair but that's pretty expensive.
Then there are various chemicals and salts which in solution will provide a soaking bath to render any normal fabrics very fire resistant. I have a formula around somewhere from an old book on what chemicals to use. If it came down to an issue, you could take a sample piece of the treated cloth, fire up a lighter, then show that the piece will not burn.
The last option, and maybe the most practical, is to request some info from that same fire dept. as to what materials they could recommend that would be not too expensive and yet pass muster. Maybe they will work with you on it.
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Re: Fire retardant geodesic dome cover needed - ideas, availability etc?
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 5:26 PMHow about this: Keep your fire sources more than 18" away from the dome... and just use the same material as last year.
