Progress update

[Marke]

Finally got past playing with the foundations . Timber arrived today and we managed to get the floor down . Did the solar alignment yesterday and fitted the adapter plate , drilling and tapping 20mm steel plate is not fun .

Mark

[CDKPhil]

Nice Job there Mark. :thumbsup:
The pace you are going, it won't be long until you have an observatory up and running.
Have you come up with any ideas or plans for the walls and roof?

Cheers
Phil

[Marke]

Phil I managed to get 3 wall frames up today , saving the hard one till last :) I have to cut the solid door to size and frame it in the last peice so that will be this weekends task . I ended up with 1900mm high walls , I mounted the scope today and checked clearance with my limited horizons . I allowed for 1.5m clearance all round the pier and that's looking plenty. The roof will be easier than I thought as it will be pretty low pitch and I decided to go with 60mm gate C wheels and track . All the timber is sitting in a big pile now laughing at me but I am getting thru it :D. Have to order the colourbond now I know the exact lengths for the walls .

[lacad01]

Lookin good - will be great to see next stages :thumbsup:

[Marke]

Well I got the insulation (Insulshed 50 ) today as well as wheels and tracks.
I am using 60mm gate wheels rated at 200kg each and they look really substantial as well as low profile . These are a C groove and the tracks are easy to get and are pre drilled along the outer edges so you can just screw them down easily . If anyone want pics I can post them here later.

[Jeffkop]

Coming along nicely by the sound of it marke ... Looking fwd to the photos

[2stroke]

Thats dam nice Mark, thats what my long term goal is to do. Can you get some close ups of your pier by any chance? Lol a few trips to the scrap metal yard, the plasma cutter along with the mig will be keeping me busy. Whats the go with the crush rock under the floor, is that just temp before you raise of the ground?

[Marke]

Jay check my earlier posts for closeup of pier and foundations . I put gravel
down for drainage and stop the grass growing I had no need to put down concrete unless you really want to .

[Marke]

Didnt get as much done as I had hoped this weekend but did take most of today to build a door jam and cut and hang the solid core door . I am sure it would have been easier if I actually knew what I was doing but in the end
it opens and closes if a little rough around the edges :thumbsup:

[CDKPhil]

Hi Mark
It looks like you are making good progress.

Are you going to use the colour bond on the walls and the roof?

I don't know if you have thought about putting a vapour barrier in the roof?
This would be a good idea to stop condensation dripping onto your setup.


Cheers
Phil

[Marke]

Phil yes I am using colourbond on out side and roof . I will be using the Insulshed 50 for walls and roof as it is both an insulator and vapour barrier in one so no drips :)
http://shedblog.com.au/buy-insulshed-shed-insulation-by-air-cell

[CDKPhil]

Thanks for the link.
That looks like a great product. You will have to let me know how well it performs.

Cheers

[Marke]

Any suggestions for doing the door threshold , I dont want the exposed yellow tongue getting wet and swelling over time ?

Mark

[multiweb]

That looks great Mark. You're on a roll! :thumbsup:

[CDKPhil]

Maybe you could use some aluminium checker plate. It comes in various thicknesses. Fold it down over the edge of the yellow tongue. Plus it would be a good non slip step.

cheers

[Marke]

Thanks Phil I was actually thinking something along those lines , I will look around for some and see .

[Marke]

Got a bit more done last few days , rails are on and roll support now onto the interesting part - roof .

[Deeno]

Looks very professional

[Jeffkop]

I see the Easter weather has been as kind to you as me Marke ... looking great ... hope the roof and its mechanics go smoothly first shot and yer on the turn for home with a breeze in yer sail !!!

[Marke]

Thanks guys and yes Jeff we have been lucky with weather over the Easter who would have guessed that :) . Once the roof frame is up then the worst is over - I think :question:

[CDKPhil]

That is coming along nicely Mark.
I see you have found some checker plate for the step.
It looks from the photos you will have plenty of room.
I think you will be finished before I even get my decking material on.:)

Cheers
Phil

[Marke]

Yep its coming together bit by bit :) I got the rollers and part of the roof
frame up and it rolls smooth as which was a relief. I will put some pics up on weekend , I can highly recommend the c-groove gate wheels and track its nice low profile and easy to fit. Colourbond should come this week and I am looking forward to that going on sometime or other :)

[strongmanmike]

This is looking very awesome Mark, good luck with the finishing touches :thumbsup:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Its a great product. Face the gold side towards the inside. You may want to spray paint it matt black to cut down on reflections as well.

During hot days I found my observatory was not that hot inside with this material under the roof and behind the colorbond walls.

It also tends to be another barrier for bugs.

Greg.

[Marke]

Thanks Mike :thumbsup:
Greg I will be lining the inside with 9mm ply and painted a dark color (my wife loves painting :) ) :) but will put the gold side in wards all the same for better thermal control , it will be exposed on the roof tho .

[Marke]

More progress :thumbsup:
Finally got the roof done today and it rolls off with the push of one hand :D
Now have discovered a few things in the process . The roof ended up a bit
heavier ( over done ) than I had planned do it made the whole frame a bit wobbly side to side due to being top heavy . Tried some temporary bracing and that fixed it. So tomorrow I will put some cross bracing in the frame so with that , the internal ply lining and exterior cladding I think that problem will be solved . Also found the roller frame skewed a little so I squared it up using 4 turnbuckles which double in holding the roof frame in place while I put on the cross members and battens . Seems pretty good now .
A few smaller bits to touch up and then work out something for the fascia but can soon start on the insulation and cladding oh yeah and the weather sealing :thumbsup:

Mark

[CDKPhil]

You certainly aren't wasting any time getting that frame up. At the pace you are going, you will be finished in a week or so.

Are you using the turn buckles to secure the roof when it is closed?

Cheers

[Marke]

Just trying to get it done before we get another run of rain and bad weather :) . I may use the turn buckles , I will replace these cheap ones
with stainless ones tho and see how it goes. One good thing about them is you can tighten the roof against the end seals for better weather proofing.
Now I have to work out what to do about the gap in the eaves between the roofing and the top of frame ? Any suggetions , I was thinking just putting pieces of timber between the roof beams where they are tied down.
Mark

[CDKPhil]

If it was me I would put in fibre cement sheeting and make a proper eave.
That will help keep the spiders out.

How are you going to seal the join between your roof rollers and the top of your wall?
I would consider putting cladding that attaches to the rolling roof under the eaves. Then have it hang down the wall by 50mm or so, causing an overlap.
The cladding would only be attached to the roof and slide along the top of the wall when the roof is moved. This will stop the rain coming in. You could add some aluminium C channel along the outside of the wall and on the inside of the moving cladding.
This would offer a better seal.
I don't know if this is what you mean. I hope it makes sense.

Cheers

[Marke]

Phil I will be putting a piece of weather board sheild along the sides and ends that rolls with the roof as you mentioned . I have made the roof so that I only have about 4cm gap between rollers . On the inside of the weather board I will have brush type door seals that will keep spiders out as I only have about 1-2cm gap to fill but your idea also sounds like a solution too. As for the eaves I will thro a few ideas around and see what I can come up with , was hoping not to go the eaves but I may be able to simplify it for myself :)

[Marke]

Just another update :
Starting to take shape now - at last ! Have lined the inside with 9mm ply ready to paint . Most of the electrics done and the weather shielding on the roll off is up now . Next task is to tackle the roof and other external trim as well as eaves (still not sure what I am doing for that ) and some more painting .

[Jeffkop]

OH YEAH !!! its shaping up well Mark ... looks GREAT .. really roomy and built well. The sunny days of late have given all the observatory builders a boost ... and we needed it. Good luck with the weather for the ROR.

[Marke]

Thanks and fingers crossed some good weather for a change , I was just releived to get the outside done so I can at least do the inside if it rains.
I have heaps of room , a good 1.5m around the pier on 3 sides and 2m on the other where I will put a cubicle for the pc ect.

[CDKPhil]

You are doing a very neat job Mark. It looks really good , very professional.
I hope the weather holds out so you can get the roof on.

Cheers
Phil

[Marke]

Well finally got the roof and eaves finished , now just need to paint all exterior wood and add the steps . I have done most of the electrics now so can get stuck into the inside and add a cubicle for the PC and shelving then more painting . Very happy with the way its turned out considering never built anything major before :thumbsup:

[scagman]

Hi Mark,
It looks really good. Well done for your first major build.

regards

[Marke]

Thanks John cant wait till I can finally start using it .

[Jeffkop]

Looks the goods Marke ... its a good feeling when your that close to starting to load it with all the stuff eh ... such a relief when you have it to habitable stage ... well our weather has really had a lot to do with those anxieties. Looks like rover thinks its a nice new MUCH more spacious kennel. I like the roof design ... one of the best Ive seen actually ... so much so that if I ever decide a ROR is for me I would emulate it. When do you think you will be ready to use it ??? I can tell you .. it seems to just happen without you realising it ... one day I didnt have a functional observatory .. next I did !!!!! YAHOOOOOO
Keep us posted mate.

[Marke]

Jeff I am just hanging out get up and running . Your right about the relief when its at the point that the weather doesn't matter , it was causing a lot of anxiety when you only have weekends to work on it. Roof despite it being quite heavy can be easily pushed along with one hand and quiet too . I have the electrics pretty much done , just have some trim and stuff to do inside and cant really put gear in till its painted so my guess is a few more weeks and hopefully ready for the next new moon . Will post some inside pics when I can .

[CDKPhil]

Well done Mark. You will love not having to put away your gear at the end of the night.
Just close that roof and your done.:thumbsup:

cheers

[Marke]

Your telling me Phil I was really over spending an hr setting up of a night only to have clouds come in a few min later or not setting up at all and seeing it clear up - really was over all that :)