Observatory progress

[niko]

I'm going to be out of action after shoulder surgery in a few weeks so am madly trying to get as much done as possible.

The pier went in to 800 x 800 x 800mm of concrete a few weeks ago and this weekend the stump holes were dug and stumps installed.

Couldn't believe that a 3m x 3m shed needed 14 stumps but the layout meant I couldn't avoid it.

Still have to figure out which way the roof should roll to maximise my views and be a bit protected from the prevailing weather direction (south-west) but I'll have a few weeks in a sling to think about that. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

cheers

niko

[ZeroID]

As long as my door is closed I get very little effect from the wind so roof roll off direction is not too critical. My scope stays just fractionally above the wall height at it highest elevation. I'm most exposed in the South direction and have lost two earlier lightweight roofs to it. Not any more ! Lockdowns in place.
I kept my roof profile quite low so as not to cut off my horizon too much in a westerly direction. Even though I don't really have a horizon in that direction, trees .. !! )

Hope your shoulder op goes well and mends fast.

[niko]

Thanks Brent for all the comments.

Do I take it then that your roof rolls away to the west?

Yes, lockdowns will be essential - we've had some fierce winds in central Vic in the last few weeks

cheers

niko

[ZeroID]

East & West, it splits in the middle.
Cyclone Pam is heading our way at present. I'm going to chuck a rope over the top as well this weekend and tie it down.
Just in case !! :rolleyes:

[niko]

All the best Brent!

Made a bit more progress this weekend

[traveller]

Looking good Niko.

[Jen]

Woohoo go Niko :) a new home for your toys awesome :)

[ZeroID]

Just FYI Cyclone Pam was a bit of a fizzer round our way. Hit the coast further down south quite hard but we just got some good well needed rain and some strong winds for a day or so.
Then the Sun came out again...:D

[niko]

...and a little more progress

am now at the stage of deciding how to roll the roof. I had thought double rollers in a lipped C section purlin but I'm not sure there's enough clearance to fix the purlin side on rather than with the lip pointing up as seems normal - I was hoping to avoid rain and crap getting in to the track by lying it on it's side.

Anyone have any views or should I just use rollers on a V track as others have done? I thought the purlin would help in windy condiitons.

cheers

niko

[glend]

Looking good. There are many differing approaches to the roll off mechanism. I understand the desire for a captive channel but you will still need tie downs somewhere. If your channel is sitting on the top plate they can still pull loose the plate. I used metal tie straps to secure the top plate to the studs and the studs have tie downs at the bottom as well. I just used galvanised angle iron as my track. As long as you space them exactly the distance of the castor wheel track then they will never run off the rail so to speak. So I only have the vertical side of the angle iron on the outside to hold the castor in. The roof can't move inward because its held in the track by the angle iron on the other side. Channel is good but I could not find a bearing solution I was happy with at a low cost.

[niko]

thanks for the feedback Glen. I've just priced C purlin and rollers (almost $500!!!) so a V groove track or even a right angle section as you suggest sounds like the plan.

We get a lot of wind up my way so that's made me anxious but as you point out - tie downs / turnbuckles are a clear solution here

cheers

[Hoges]

I used some cheap plastic wheels with a bearing insert and ran them in some appropriately sized alloy channel. It's not captive, if it's windy, I can secure the roof down with some 3/8th bolts while it's open, but I've rarely had to do that. When closed, the roofing iron overlaps a little to keep out the rain (which it does pretty well) and is secured by 4 bolts per section. The only problem I've had structurally over the last 10 years or so are the pine fence palings warping and splitting. I'll fix those up this Easter.

The alloy channel (which is quite small and cheap) has stayed surprisingly clean and the bearings run freely. If I were doing it again, I'd just get some bearings ($5 or so) from the local bearing supplier and use them - say around 40 - 50mm OD with an inside diameter to fit either whatever bolts you have or some threaded rod you could cut to size.

[Paul Haese]

Nick I used the captive approach. I placed two C purlins on their side fixed to the inside walling with a very slight slope to prevent water egress. There are 5 wheels in each track. I don't use hold downs as it is not necessary due to the design. The roof has been through several major storms in the last 6 years with several instances of winds over 115kph. I can put up a few images if you like, so you can see what I mean.

[niko]

I must have missed these last couple of posts. Many thanks for your input.

I've been recovering from shoulder surgery so the project's been on hold over winter - hoping to finish it soon.

Paul, would love to see some photos

cheers

niko

[niko]

I thought a bit of an update was in order.

After successfully getting through shoulder replacement surgery I'm in a position to get the obs finished.

After a few solid weekends pushing ahead I've got the roll-off-roof to roll off and back on again and begun the external cladding.

In this case I needed it to blend in with the house cladding but I hope never to use blue board again - bloody heavy stuff it is.

A few more weekends should see the cladding finished, various gaps plugged and the internal lining sorted...then it's on to first light.

thanks for looking

niko

[Jen]

Woohooo it's so exciting isn't it 😜😜😜 yours is nearly finished and I'm just about to start mine 😎😎

[glend]

Looks great Niko, I am a big fan of post footings for observatories. Very similiar design to mine. That building in the background is that your house? Very modern, love it.

[astronobob]

Good to hear your surgery went well, and your back onto the Obs, Looks good with plenty of room too :thumbsup:

[niko]

thanks Bob - it's been a long slow recovery and I'll be limited with movement forever but after some months it seems it was the right move.

Thanks too Glen - yep that's our house. Local Castlemaine architects - very, very happy with it

Jen - find another builder - you won't know yourself when you have one.

Thanks also to everyone for their advice. I've been reluctant to add up the cost of the build - I suspect a SkyPod might have ended up being cheaper!

cheers

niko

[niko]

Okay - we are up and running!!!

Here's a few pics of the final look (minus the final coat of light grey paint to blend in with the house. I had hoped to use the same Cemintel sheeting as was used for the house - prefinished 9mm concrete sheet but at $170 a sheet it was way beyond the budget. Used blueboard which I've never built with before - a bit of a bugger to put up on your own but cheap enough.

The timber feature sections are again to provide some sympathy to the look of the house (thus adhering to the design overlord's requirements!). The timber is actually kauri floorboards dressed using a thicknesser. Timber I've had for years after my company demolished an old Caulfield brothel to build our offices. Plenty of oil in them I suspect!!

Not entirely happy with the roller set up. I didn't want to splurge on the V groove set up and ended up using rollers I got from Bunnings. In hindsight I should have gone the C purlin route that Paul suggested - perhaps a retro fit down the track.

Still pretty hot inside so I'll put some rigid foam insulation under the roof and I've added some floor vents on one side and a computer fan to the other side up on the wall. I'll monitor temp to see how it goes.

At the end of the day I could spend the rest of my life tinkering with it but it's time to call it done and get on with using it - ain't gunna live forever!

thanks for looking

Niko

[niko]

First light in the obs

Eta Carinae - 12 images at 400secs each - rough and ready processing

[ZeroID]

Congratulations !! Looking good !

[Dealy]

That looks great Niko :thumbsup:

Looks like you have nice dark skies as well.

Enjoy!!

[astronobob]

Ob's is looking real good there Niko - gotta be happy with that :thumbsup:

Nice to have your 1st Image going on aswell, , Nicely done Eta for a quicky by the way , , , hope to see more from you :thumbsup: