07/06/2026
9/29/2025 The first day of installing the glass panels!
This was one of the days we had been looking forward to for months—and it quickly became one of the most challenging.
Before a single panel could be installed, each piece of custom-tempered glass had to be carefully masked with painter's tape. Then we applied high-strength double-sided sticking tape to the aluminum dome frame. Once everything was ready, the real challenge began.
Working high above the ground, three of us carefully lifted each glass panel into place, hoping we all had the same idea of what "centered" meant! Every panel had to have an even gap on all sides before it touched the adhesive. Once the glass was in exactly the right position, there was no room for error.
Then Barry took over. He carefully applied the structural caulk around the entire panel, smoothed every seam by hand, and removed the masking tape while the sealant was still fresh to leave behind clean edges.
As if that wasn't enough, Mother Nature decided to test us. Throughout the day, the mountain west winds grew stronger and stronger. At times they were so powerful we honestly wondered if they might lift the glass right off the dome before everything had fully cured. To protect our work, we quickly hung a large plastic tarp as a windbreak for the night.
It certainly wasn't an easy day. It demanded patience, teamwork, problem-solving, and more than a few deep breaths. But every challenge taught us something new, and with the very first glass panels finally in place, our dream began its transformation from an aluminum skeleton into the beginning of the crystal-clear GeoDome we had imagined.
Sometimes the hardest days become the most rewarding. This was definitely one of them.