Since I am in England, where it's normally cold and damp (like now), I took the extra precaution of building in two thermal breaks - one between the pre-cast dome's arch and an intermediate firebrick arch, and the other between the firebrick arch and the decorative outer arch (over which the front wall is built). Each thermal break is about 1cm, stuffed with soft, fire rope caulking.
I just took some temperature readings with a laser thermometer. The inner arch (part of the dome) was about 250c, the intermediate arch was about 150c, and the outer arch was 40c.
Looking at finished project photos on the forum of a well-known French manufacturer of pre-cast domes, you still see people building the front wall of their housing directly onto the front of the dome! (They tend not to insulate under the floor, either.) Not only do many of them end up with cracked facades, the heat losses must be colossal!
I just took some temperature readings with a laser thermometer. The inner arch (part of the dome) was about 250c, the intermediate arch was about 150c, and the outer arch was 40c.
Looking at finished project photos on the forum of a well-known French manufacturer of pre-cast domes, you still see people building the front wall of their housing directly onto the front of the dome! (They tend not to insulate under the floor, either.) Not only do many of them end up with cracked facades, the heat losses must be colossal!
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