Floor Plan

The dome we are talking about will not be high, as a high profile (e.g. like half a baseball) will offer more resistance to airflow and be a larger target. We are talking about something more disk-like, on the order of 1/3 baseball slice, with no riser-walls. You will make a "half-arch" template, or jig, out of a material strong-enough to allow you to bend the rebar around it. Make your measurements and calculations carefully, to suit your purposes! You may want to be able to stand erect and walk around inside most of your dome.

Remember, we are talking about an all purpose survival dome and human den . ... kind of like a low-profile super-igloo! This is a place to cuddle, be warm and safe and sleep; not a place to have company over for dinner (at least not in large numbers). Small structures are cheaper to build, are stronger, are less visible, etc.. It should be able to take strong impact, resist water and minimize materials used in construction. Also, a lower profile will have another critical advantage to be discussed later.

This jig, or template, will look like an "L", with an arc running from the top leg of the L to the lower leg. (Another way to visualize this is to imagine a circle; then draw a vertical line through the center, followed by a horizontal line 1/3 of the way down from the top. The shape of the jig will be a top "quadrant" of the circle.) This can be made of a number of materials; including piecing ½" plywood, cut-to-shape, and bordered at the arc-edges by short sections of glued/tacked 1X4 or plywood. The idea is to create a "channel" over the course of the arc, which will allow you to bend the rebar to the shape of the arc, as follows: