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
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.