Dome build: Shutters: Mounting the shutters?

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Planning meeting of one: More inner contemplation. Move along please! Nothing to see here.

Having the central ribs ready means I have to mount them on the dome somehow. Which means I have to make a decision on where to do it. Down on the ground? Or up on the dome? Bringing the outer ribs down means I can build the shutter frames quickly and easily. Then each shutter can go back upstairs. Here lies the next problem.

Building the shutters up on the dome means struggling for access. While the outside ladder may lean towards the dome it feels decidedly unsafe despite my scaffolder's hook and safety line. The ladder really only offers safe access to the lower sections of the dome.

Access from the slit via the internal stepladders is highly rotation dependent. The problem is always one of not being able to rotate the dome because it then denies me access from the outside ladder. I usually need both sets of ladders to reach the dome with new build components. You will just have to imagine the endless descending and climbing during a day's work.

Lifting the finished shutter frames must be done from outside. They must have something to hook onto at the top of the dome for safety. Not only are they quite heavy but they are large, very cumbersome and vulnerable to wind gusts. The shutter's curvature makes it a difficult lift up a high ladder. 

I only have one pair of hands and normally need at least one to hold onto the ladder. A winch doesn't really help because of the oddly shaped load and the ladders, shed roof and veranda getting in the way. Besides, there is no gin pole with a pulley sticking out of the dome. And if there were it wouldn't help much. There are simply far too many hurdles on the climb.

Which leaves me with the option of adding central ribs to the existing outer pair. But how? The crossbars holding the outer ribs will have to be removed. Sky hooks are in relative short supply locally.

I could temporarily screw the outer shutter ribs to the slit ribs before removal of the long crossbars. The central crossbars can be braced to sit side by side in the middle of the slit to match the outer crossbars [temporarily fixed] inner position. Then the short crossbars can be added between the two sets of ribs. Now they are shutter frames I must add the drawer slides. The slides go where the shutter frames are presently hanging.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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