Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

[tfasz]

I went down the path of not completely filling in my mortar gaps during my first 3-4 courses on the dome. I figured I would save some HeatStop 50 and would fill it in with homebrew mortar after the dome was finished. As I got higher up I started fully filling in the mortar gaps as I figured that was the part of the dome with the most stress on the joints and mortar. Now that I have all my insulation and materials to start my igloo I'm tempted to not even bother filling them in and just insulate over what I have and start on the stucco for the igloo.

What do you think - should I fill in the mortar gaps before I enclose it? Am I being too anxious to move to the next step? I've also considered filling in the gaps with some perlite/cement just to get it smooth for the insulation to cover it.

Appreciate your thoughts and feedback!

Here are some examples of the current gaps.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

Yes, you should.

[tfasz]

Re: Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

Ok then - back to the hardware store for me. Need to pick up some lime, sand, portland cement, and fireclay.

Thanks!

[tfasz]

Re: Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

Thanks for the encouragement to fill those in. It was my first time making home brew mortar and it seemed to work out ok. I'm amazed how quick and how hard it sets compared to the HeatStop 50. Not sure I used the exact right kind of sand, but it seemed to do fine.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

Looks good, and it will perform much better as well as last longer.

[benny361]

Re: Should I fill in the gaps before I insulate?

Oops, Good job!
and looks pretty nice.