Garden Shed for telescope storage - insulating etc?

[iceman]

Hi all

I've spent the last 2 weeks preparing an area in my garden for a garden shed, which will house my telescope, mount, accessories etc. Unfortunately it's not an observatory, just a storage place near where I set up. Will make setting up and tearing down a bit quicker.

So, the base is prepared now, and I picked the shed up on Saturday - now all I need to do is put the shed together which I'll do this weekend.

What else do I need to take into consideration for housing the scope + gear?

Should I insulate it? What with? How?
What about ventilation?
What about flooring?

The shed is a Utility 65 (http://www.spanbilt.com.au/Site/473.asp?a=a&PageCode=COMM%2DL5%2DS&DeptId=11227&ProductId=89093) from Spanbilt. Not huge, but big enough to store what I need.

Thanks for help!

[DobDobDob]

In terms of ventilation I would get an exhaust fan to actually suck the hot air out, it's going to get very hot inside in mid-summer. :P

[Starkler]

Remember the showercaps to keep spiders out of the OTA and security measures to keep the bigger pests out of your shed.

[danielsun]

Yes i agree, you can get the small wirly gigs same as they have on the top of food transport vehicles and police divi vans which use no power,the heat inside self propels them. A roof plumber should be able to help you there.

[JohnG]

If I were you, I would place sarking over the roof area, leaving the centre ridge free to allow air flow, the sarking will direct condensation away and save your gear from the drips of moisture.

Something I learnt from experience. :lol:

Cheers

JohnG

[rmcpb]

Mike,

Mine is on an elevated wood floor with vents, has an insulated roof (roll out insulated sarking) and vents under the eves to allow air circulation. It has large shrubs planted to the north to help with heat in summer.

Works really well is dry because of the elevated floor and the vents allow enough air to move to prevent moisture problems.

Cheers

[ballaratdragons]

Mike, don't insulate the walls too much, just the ceiling. I was going to mention condensation dripping onto your gear but John G beat me to it.

To kill 2 birds with one stone, I am using 10mm thick styrofoam sheet to line my Mini Obs tin roof. Will stop the heat getting through, and stop any condensation dripping down :thumbsup:

And it looks nicer too :lol:

[ballaratdragons]

Oh, and another tip. Buy a large can of Mortein Surface spray and spray the entire floor, walls and ceiling! (even though I hate chemicals). Otherwise you will come out the next morning to find Spiders living in every nook and cranny of your scope and gear! They invade awful fast!!!

[norm]

Hi Mike,

Sarking is definitely a good idea - especially if you get a lot of dew at night.
I was going to say get a couple of batts for insulation and to keep it up there, use some chicken wire, but I think Ballaratdragons idea of styrofoam will look neater - could probably use liquid nails to stick them on the ceiling.

As for the floor, you could lay a slab quite easily, alternative buy some pre-formed slabs (900mm x 900mm). By the time you get a number of these, making the concrete yourself may prove cheaper.

Will there be any power to the shed?

[iceman]

Thanks for the feedback and tips so far guys.

What's "Sarking"? What's it do, where do I get it from and how much is it?
Ken where did you get the styrofoam from? How much was it? Can you post a picture?

Rob, can you post a picture of your vents etc?

Norm, I used 900x450 concrete pavers for the floor (8 of them), so that's done. It's just a matter of assembling the shed this weekend.

A whirlybird for the roof sounds like a good idea.. will check prices.

No power necessary, it's just storage.

Thanks Ken re spiders etc, will do!

[norm]

Hey Mike,

Sarking is like alfoil, only thicker, usually blue on one side and silver on the other. Comes in rolls and varying widths. Not sure of the price, but Bunnings would stock it, under their roofing section.:)

[iceman]

How would I secure it to the ceiling?

[rmcpb]

Mike,

I think you will need something more than just passive venitillation through vents if your shed is sitting directly on concrete, especially if it is not isolated from the ground by plastic sheeting. The concrete will abosrb moisture from the ground then this will evaporate into your shed during the hot days then condense when the temperature drops in the evening. Will need active air movement to battle this.

You have just entered the world of a powered exhaust fan to force air through your shed.

Cheers
Rob.

[GTB_an_Owl]

2 x 1 battens screwed or glued to the underside of the roof - then staple the sarking to the battens Mike

reflective side up for the sarking

wouldn't hurt to then staple/screw foam panels to cover the sarking

to be effective you need that air gap betwwen the roof and the sarking

[GTB_an_Owl]

you could actually do the same thing to the walls Mike

[rmcpb]

Mike,

The vents I use are like the ones mentioned in this site (http://www.heatregisters.com/g/wood-wall-vents-g.htm) except I got them from Bunners and they are plastic with wire mesh in them. I put them in the corners of the floor where I don't actually tread and high up on the walls so the hot air escapes through the top ones and draws cooler air in the bottom ones.

[iceman]

All this is excellent info. Thanks!

[norm]

Mike,
One solution for active ventilation, is the following:

http://www.envirofan.net.au/dual_fans.htm

I didn't buy the product, they wanted something like $240! They're basically just 2 computer fans wired up in parallel, mounted on a plate (eg, aluminium, perspective) then wired up to a 12v regulated power adapter. I built my own due to damp issues under our house and it hasn't missed a beat in 3 yrs running. I have a timer but it runs pretty much from 8am to 8pm. Running costs like $~$3-5 a yr, to make about $40-$50. That said, Jaycar have some nifty solar panel devices and kits and you could probably come up with a solution thay way, given you don't have power to the shed.

Also not a bad idea to lay some plastic under the slabs, moisture will find its way up and also help keep any weeds coming thru.

[ving]

i hinge for the roof? :P

sorry... back to work. tray and make it as water tight as possible i guess...
I probably missed it but you are putting it on concrete arent you?