Observatory in progress

[Dealy]

Well after much deliberation and negotiating with my lovely, beautiful, kind and cooperative wife :D, I've decided to make a start and build a backyard observatory to view from.

The first decision was dome or roll-off. There are advantages doing it both ways, which basically cancelled each other out, so my decision was based more on practicality for the location. I was always going to build it myself with a mate so a dome was also going to be the more difficult way to go, so in the end I decided on a roll-off roof. I do miss out on the "cool factor" though.

My wife works from home and didn't want an "ugly box" in the backyard to scare off her clients, so a major consideration was how it would look.

Council requirements are no approval necessary if less than 20 sq metres in area and 3m in height.

So here are my google sketchup concept drawings.

It will be located next to the pool so I've attached a pool deck area to improve the look and gain brownie points :)

Kev

[ZeroID]

Good ploy... :thumbsup:
Keep us posted with progress and congrats on getting it underway, you won't regret it.

[DJT]

Nice. Good luck with it. Building my own obsy has to standout as one of the most enjoyable and satisfying DIY experiences thus far. Enjoy.

[Dealy]

Thanks Brent & David.

A few shots of the actual job in progress.

1. Footings all dug out. This is looking south.

2. Pier holes dug. They are deeper than how they appear in the photos. Note the tree roots I had to contend with - what a nightmare. I was only going to have one but a last minute suggestion by my builder mate and a change in size for my warm room meant I could fit the second pier in. It's not in the perfect location as I had already dug the first one out in a fairly central spot. It should work ok but. One for imaging and the other for visual at the same time.:)

3. Sub-floor for the pool deck going in. We are suspending the stirrups in the footing holes, which will be filled with concrete later.

[Dealy]

Another couple of progress shots.

1. Subfloor & concreting complete. Flooring going down. Piers in place.

I was prepared for the worst when I asked for a quote from a local fabrication shop for the piers. I wanted 200mm dia heavy walled pipe and 16mm steel plates top and bottom. They had enough 200 for one only and had to use 150mm for the second pier . That's still more than adequate for a visual set-up so I asked them to go ahead.

The price ..... $100 each - an absolute bargain. The steel would probably cost that alone. They said they needed a job to keep the apprentice working and were happy to help out.

2. Flooring down. Wall frames going up. At this stage I had a realisation of how big it was going to be. I probably should have made it a bit smaller to help keep the costs under control, but too late now.

[strongmanmike]

Looking great Kev and nah...an observatory can never be too big! :lol:

Looking forward to watching this develop :thumbsup:

Mike

[Dealy]

Thanks Mike. Yeah like most things with this hobby bigger is usually better.

Another update. I should give full credit to my good mate Jeff who has also put in many hours of his time and is the one with most of the construction know how. Thanks mate :thumbsup:

1. Outside wall cladding. My wife wanted cedar boards, but at approx $4k just to clad the observatory I had to find a cheaper alternative that would still pass the wife test. After visiting timber sellers and scouring the net I found a liquidation place selling cypress floor boards for about 1/6 that of the cedar. It passed the test but unlike the cedar I had to sand and oil the boards prior to fitting. So after many hours, many sanding discs, much dust, and many days of smelling the oil through the house all the boards were ready. I needed 420 lineal meters in total.

2. Cladding boards going up.

3. View from inside. Internal lining boards are just the 4mm ply bracing builders use these days to keep everything square and plumb. Cheap but will look good with a coat of oil on it.

4. Timber deck under the roll off area almost complete with dog proofing going on the side.

[Dealy]

Another update. Progress has been slow due to spending way to much time at work.

1. Insulation in - ready for cladding. As of today all the cladding is now complete except for the 4 corners. I have to make up cover strips to keep the weather out.

2. Internal lining sheets are up on 3 walls.

3. The warm room walls have been sheeted with ply. This will be stained a darker colour. There will be a bench fitted under the window for the computer etc to sit on.

4. I've started work on the roof. If you look at my original post you will see the shape of the roof. To make to curved rafters I have screwed blocks to the floor to make a 5m radius curve. The solid timber was cut into 15mm thick strips and glued back together in the curved jig.

5. A rafter after removal from the jig. I just have to sand it to make it look pretty. I've made 4 - only 5 to go.

6. Step and door jamb fitted. I will soon start work on the door.

7. Pool deck more or less complete - just need to oil the decking boards. You can just see in this photo the steel beams the roof will roll on, temporarily braced with 'G' clamps.

It's been a long process but I'm starting to get excited about getting the roof on and making it weatherproof.

[rogerg]

Very nice building :thumbsup: I wouldn't have a hope of building something like that myself :lol:

[Dealy]

Never be afraid to dive in and learn from your mistakes Roger.

If you're like me you'll make lots of them, but after a while you'll get quite good at covering them up.:D

[strongmanmike]

Gunna be great when you can setup an imaging run on a warm summer evening......and then jump in the pool! :question: you win! :lol:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Looks great Kev. Professional looking finish too, I have certainly seen decks less professional looking from tradesman.

I bet though the deck gets extended around the pool edge at some point soon.

I like the idea of a curved roof too. A good design concept. That will give you plenty of clearance too for larger scopes.

With regard to the roof, just maybe plan for a rail to support a rack and pinion drive system. You may decide at some point to automate the roof and planning this now will help with later modifications.

I look forward to looking at the finished structure.:thumbsup:

[Dealy]

Mike I was thinking of your post last night when I was floating in the pool staring up at the stars - Bewwtiful :thumbsup:

My kids bought a bar fridge for the observatory for father's day so it's all starting to come together.

Paul you are right on both counts. My wife is already asking me extending the deck around the pool.

And concerning the roll-off - the first thing I bought for the observatory while in the planning stage was an electric gate opener for the roof. I had to work out clearances etc. So it should simply be a matter of unlocking the roof stays and pressing a button to open her up.

Thanks for the comments,
Kev

[strongmanmike]

:lol: Eeeexcellent....

[Dealy]

Another few days work:

1. Rafters completed and ready for installation

2. Rafters in place. There is still another one to go on the overhang on each end.

3. View from the pool deck end

4. View of the wheels. They run in an aluminium 'C' channel.

Today my mate Jeff and I fitted some noggings between the rafters and hung a beam off the rafters for the automatic opener rack.

We then fitted the auto gate opener and gave the button it's first press. Yeehaa. See here [URL="http://youtu.be/-FaILPS31VA"]

A few bugs still to iron out. When the roof sheeting goes on it will stiffen the roof and take out all the flex. I will then adjust all the wheels to make sure it's tracking correctly.

Overall I'm very happy with the outcome so far.

I have to work next weekend and will be camping the one after so progress will be slow for a while :(

Kev

[h0ughy]

how cool is that roof!!!! excellent

[strongmanmike]

Sheesh! What about the pool and deck?? :eyepop:

Aussies most luxurious observatory nominee :D

[wasyoungonce]

Kev

how did you make the curved roof rafters? They look like one piece...?

Brendan

[AndrewJ]

Look at the ends of the beams in the last piccy.
Laminated from ( what looks like ) 7 thin pieces each.
Very nice look.

Andrew

[niko]

beautiful!!! well done

[wasyoungonce]

Yeah saw this but with laminations there would be a loss of load bearing. Kinda like the idea of the curved roof...keeping it lightweight.

But sadly ...there is no hammock for those balmy nights!:shrug:

[Dealy]

Thanks for the comments.

Brendan, yep they are made from 7 laminations glued together. For each rafter I ripped a 140 x 45 x 4200 length of treated pine into 15mm strips and glued 7 together in a jig - see photo.

So they end up 105 x 45 in section. The bottom chord ties them together and prevents spreading. There is still more bracing and noggings to fit plus the roof sheeting, so when complete will be more than adequate for the job.

The other photos show the hanging beam and rack for the opening mechanism.

A hammock ........mmmm........ I could put one in between the posts on the pool deck. That's actually quite a good idea.

[wasyoungonce]

Thanks Kev...pics explain it all. I wouldn't have thought of a form jig....sadly I sometimes suffer from a lack of imagination.

[batema]

Beautiful. Lots of wonderful nights ahead of you.

[Dealy]

Thanks Mark. Yeah I'm keen to get it weatherproof.

It's very frustrating at the moment - only about 2 days work to finish the roof but I am always at work or too tired after work to do anything.

Hopefully up and running by Christmas.

[Jen]

Looks awesome Kev I'm in between deciding between going for a dome or a roll off roof also, my husband thinks the same as your wife he doesn't want an ugly looking tin shed in the middle of the lawn :rolleyes: but the cool factor of having a dome they do look kinda small and you have to have room for a beer fridge for sure :D

I like the look of this for an observatory hehehe :help:

173502

[Jen]

Keep the pics coming I'm really watching this thread closely to see how this comes out :) how long and how high is it :question: good luck it looks great :thumbsup: lots of inside pics too please :)

[Dealy]

G'day Jen,

I am still wondering if I made the right decision re dome or roll-off. There are advantages both ways. The deciding factor for me was I wanted a decent sized warm room that would comfortably hold several people and is was just a bit easier to do with a roll-off.

Mine is 5.4m x 3m overall, with a 1.5m x 3m warm room inside. The warm room is fully enclosed and will have room for some shelving etc. The walls are 2.2m high. I thought about lower walls but, because I'm tall decided on higher piers instead. I will build a removable platform for my wife to stand on :D

The biggest problem I've struck is to come up with a cool name for the observatory. My wife works in day care and keeps throwing suggestions at me like "Twinkle Star Observatory" :sadeyes:

I need something a bit more macho. Anyone have any ideas?
Possibles so far:
The Pool Room
Woodford* Observatory (* the street I live in)
Blue Gum* Observatory (* a regional park nearby)
The Box

:help:

[ZeroID]

Your avatar suggests Cassowary Observatory might be appropriate...

I'm trying to include your beautiful laminated roof beams somehow ..... :question:

[silv]

+1 :thumbsup:

I like your thread. Thanks for sharing.

And I like the name suggestion.

Just imagine:

when the more manly abbreviation "TSO" is established and a newcomer pops a can of beer and asks you and your mates in awe: "So, what does TSO stand for?"

Be brave. Let the joke be on you.

It's such a cool observatory and building project - the surprising name Twinkly Star Observatory just illustrates your natural superiority. :)

[Dealy]

A very belated thanks for your replies Silv & Brent. I still don't know about the name. If all else fails TSO may have to do. :shrug:

I finally managed to get some time off work to continue the build. Power is now connected. The roofing is now on and almost finished - rolls off nicely with the press of a button :D.

Outside just a bit of painting and a couple of trims to fit. Inside there are still 1,000 little jobs to be done including fitting out the warm room.

I couldn't wait any longer so mounted my scopes on the piers the other day, but they're not yet aligned and operational - sorry everyone who lives near Newcastle, I'm the reason we are having all this rain and cloudy weather :(

I will post some more photos when the rain stops.

Getting close now to finally being able to use it :)

Kev

[alan meehan]

:thumbsup:Looking good Kev ,you have done well,we will have to come around for the christening
AL

[Dealy]

Thanks Al, yep you're most welcome.

Had a bit of time to do some aligning last night, and snuck a few looks at the moon and Jupiter while I was at it. Can't wait to throw the camera on - I haven't taken a shot since August.

It was sooo good to be able to park the scope, turn off the power, roll the roof back on and go to bed. No more 30-40 mins of packing up.

[5ash]

Very nice Kevin, makes me a bit jealous with so much space. Makes my Heath Robinson structure a bit sad. Well done , should give you many years of pleasure.
Regards philip

[Dealy]

Thanks Phil.

I was jealous of your setup when I came up and had a look.

Yeah the space will be good. Plenty of room for a few other people in there.

Storage is also an issue for me. I do a fair bit of woodwork in my main shed. Sawdust and astro gear doesn't go well together.

[Dealy]

Getting close to finishing now.

Outside almost there. Still a few corner strips, moulding and painting to do.

Inside also nearly finished. Just have to wire up the piers. Office/warm room finished.

I bought some 2nd hand carpet squares on Gumtree. They make a huge difference for comfort and padding on the floor for when I drop things in the dark.

Scopes are in and operational.

Very happy with the result so far.

[Jen]

:eyepop: I'm so jealous can you make one for me when your done hehe :) it's looking great :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

That looks to have come together very well, comfy and plenty of room too, nice work Kev, even the sky looks good :thumbsup: ..can you send me some? :help:

Mike

[Dealy]

Thanks Jen. It's been a lengthy process but yeah I'm very happy with it.

I have a mate who's a school teacher who is already making plans to have groups of science students come and visit :eyepop:

I should start memorising some facts and figures so I don't look like a dope when they start asking questions (no guarantees I won't still look like a dope though)

Thanks Mike - sorry I'm keeping every bit of clear sky to myself :D

[strongmanmike]

well...I got some last night nah! nah! :P...hopefully some more tonight too :prey: (still that bloody moon though :rolleyes:...thank God for narrowband filters!)

Mike

[Jen]

I'm just wondering, did you need to get a council permit to do this :question:

[Jen]

Oh I just read your first post properly :rolleyes: that answered my question :)

[Jen]

Hey Kev :) I was just wondering how it's all going with the observatory, I have finally been given the all clear from the hubby on setting up an observatory and I keep coming back to this thread I really love this design, is there anything you would change or do differently :question::question:

[Dealy]

G'day Jen,

I was just thinking about taking a few "Finished" photos and putting them up here.

I fell into the same trap I always do with my renovations and do 90% of the work and not quite finish anything. I'm on 2 weeks annual leave and have now got it to about 97% complete.

I'll put some shots up later today.

To answer the question about if I would do anything differently - no, I don't think so. It's an absolute pleasure to use.

We've had a few nasty storms including one extremely bad one where we had torrential rain and 100km/hr + winds and I've had no problems at all with water ingress or the roof lifting.

My only problem is now being able to use it. With the clouds, wind, moon, work commitments, and family time there isn't much time left. But on those rare magical nights when it all comes together it's just beeyoutiful.

Kev

[Dealy]

Final photos for this rather lengthy project.

All finished except for some tidying up of cables and leads - see pic 5.

Those who have followed the thread would remember I had a bit of trouble deciding on a name for the observatory. My wife who works with children came up with a few girly, kiddy names that were just not acceptable. I decided on "The Pool Room", which I guess may be a bit boring but it suits it. My wife did come up with one very promising name .. see pic 2 in next post ;) ;)

I made up a nice cedar sign with the name(s) engraved front and back. Just need to remember to turn it around when the kids come over - don't want them to feel sick :D

Kev

[Dealy]

2 more photos

[Jen]

:eyepop: omg it looks amazing :thumbsup: im so doing this in my backyard :) I love it well done Kev :thumbsup::thumbsup:
How tall are your piers :question:

[rogerg]

Wow, looks fantastic :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Excellent mate, bloody excellent :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Very smhick looking observatory. I like the curved one piece roof sheeting.

The exterior wood panelling looks good. What is it made of? Your observatory is so neat.

Greg.

[Slawomir]

That is a great looking observatory!

[Dealy]

Thanks everyone for the comments.


Jen the pier for the 10" is just over 1m from the floor. The other one is about 1.2m to the top plate - too high for the 10" but just right for the refractor.


Greg the wall cladding is cypress pine flooring attached vertically with a natural oil finish.

[mswhin63]

Well done Kev, a thing of beauty. :thumbsup:

[Kunama]

Really Excellent ! Great to see such attention to detail.

[Dealy]

Thanks Matt & Malcolm

[g__day]

Just thinking how a voice controlled observatory and well heated Jacuzzi would go together...

[SadisticSarz]

Now theres something you dont see every day a Observatory with its on pool, shaded area fancy fence and well groomed exterior......did you build the dog into that plan too. any way I personally think its an Astronomy Resort very beautiful and also very functional. neat idea:thumbsup:

[Dealy]

My wife has already said when I kick the bucket it's out with the astro gear, in with the spa bath :eyepop:


Thanks Sarz

[apaulo]

Kevin

I really enjoyed following this post, the quality and the detail is an inspiration.
One day I would like to build one and I reckon you have set the yardstick.
Enjoy the clear skies and thanks for the bloody clouds by the way.
Regards Paul

[g__day]

Actually Sara - my observatory is next to a pool too!

[GC - South Aus]

G'day Kev

Absolutely 'Stellar' obsy (pardon the pun!). :thumbsup:

You have given much inspiration to ones with scopes, who have nowhere to call home.:sadeyes:

I am still working on the wife approval hurdle, only 10 years later and still talking about it. :lol:

Enjoy your time in there, with all the hard work you have put in you deserve it.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards

Gav

[Dealy]

Thanks Gav.

It sure is a luxury and I'm very thankful I was able to obtain the necessary approvals ;)

When I think back I wonder just how much time I spent setting up, polar aligning and packing up again afterwards.

To have a permanent set-up, ample storage space, and a nice 'warm room' to sit in makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable.

I have thought maybe I should have spent the money on a better scope and camera, but they will come in time - I hope.

Cheers, Kev