WARREN — Dome Builders, of Warren, started constructing domes three years ago and on Sept. 29, at Boulder Hill Woodworks, assembly began on a 24-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall, 4-frequency dome.

In dome-speak, the higher the "frequency" the more spherical the shape of the dome because there are more, smaller triangles creating the dome. A higher frequency dome is a stronger one, because the smaller triangle has a shorter span and will carry more shear stress, from wind, etc.

Dome Builders' 4-frequency dome was the first they had attempted to construct and it took four hours to assemble. The dome consisted of six differently sized, color-coded struts. There were 250 struts overall used to construct the dome. And prior to assembly, those struts took more than 25 hours to make, all cut by hand. Ninety-one hubs were used in the construction along with 500 nuts and bolts.

A 12-foot step ladder, brought over by Steve Mills, was needed for the final pieces to be put in place.

Dome builders credits Boulder Hill Woodworking in Warren as one of the reasons for their domebuilding success. Rich and Gale Warner operate Boulder Hill, with their primary business being CNC routing work. But they also build picnic tables in season and are always on the lookout for out-of-the-ordinary jobs: like a 40-foot-long bench, or an insulated beer cooler.

To learn more about Dome Builders of Warren, visit http://domebuilders.wordpress.com/.