I've decided to build a RoR observatory, as is tradition. The site is gently sloping and has great north views, OK south, average easterly and a "personal" street light courtesy of "lovely" neighbour (in bortle 4) to the lower west. Of all the available locations I have available this is the best compromise - so many trees elsewhere. I intend to make the base structure from C15019 purlins, top hat battens and colorbond. The roof trusses I intend to make from 40x40 gal SHS welded, with top hat and colorbond. The rails to be more C15019. A suspended floor of form ply on more C15019. I am keeping it below 10 square meters and 2.4m tall to skip the council hoo-har. Being in South East Queensland means generally it needs to be very wind proof.
I wont bother making the east and west walls fold down. From the west the wall & roof can block the "street light" and to the east there's a big tree that I'm not allowed to cut down (booo!)
Running 240v & ethernet should be no problem.
Any and all suggestions or criticism sought most graciously, better to realise now than later
Looks promising to me.
One query, you do realise that 2.400 x 4.200 = 10.08 ?
Very nit-picking, but, I understand that councils can be that way sometimes.
Philip
I was going to mention something similar. Check the council regulations and make sure you aren't siting it over a stormwater drain or something along those lines. Local councils have no sense of humour.
Thanks Philip & Warren, I'm zoned rural so the main concern is the "lovely" neighbour making a complaint. I'll make the width 2.38 coz it's easier. Thanks for the spot
Thanks Philip & Warren, I'm zoned rural so the main concern is the "lovely" neighbour making a complaint. I'll make the width 2.38 coz it's easier. Thanks for the spot
I understand. I'm in a very small rural community just out of Bathurst in the Central West of NSW, and am somewhere between Bortle 3~4, with a total of about 7 streetlights to deal with. My main source of irritation comes from the amount of people who drive through the area at night without dimming the (many) spotlights on their vehicles!
I had the thought - needing to make your observatory reasonably wind proof, there might be a specific building code for that. I did find this https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions/201...3101-high-wind
and it mentions wind regions and terrain categories.
Anyway, just a thought. I look forward to seeing how it all progresses. Cheers!
Cheers Warren, very much appreciated. We recently got a 3 car garage built and I was taking all my construction/material cues from that. I figured if I use the same then since the obs is considerably smaller I should be safe.
Not a worry. I've been playing with the idea of building one myself sometime next year if I can get the idea of it past the wife (Yes Dear...) and while I don't have the same weather issues to contend with as you, sharp frosts and infrequent light snow is something I have to plan for. I came across that link in my own researches, thought it may be of use.
I am in Bathurst and built a 3m dome 4 years ago, I didn't tell council for a number of reasons. All my neighbours were fine with it( I saw them first and was on good terms with them all ) one moved and the new one is a dick head lights on a verandah directed at the obs. I'm not sure why but the world is full of dick heads now.
The other reasons were my view of council gained as a working builder over 40 years is all they are interested in is $$$, approval would be given once it was built. the second other reason was I thought it came under a " Complying Deveopment ) https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Asse...ng-development
Cheers Ed. We have similar type of regs here, just laxer - it's QLD . If I keep it under 10sqm and under 2400mm high I don't need to even make an application. Larger than that and I can probably get approval easy but have to pay few fees, get some full engineering drawings done and pay for an inspector, not too hard. I figured since no one spot here is perfect I would put a "small" one in and either go bigger later or put another small one in with other better views.
All ahead slowly :/ My offsider up and went to Holland, little bugger. Holes are dug and got the steel. The pier holes are currently 800 deep, 500 dia top and 800 dia bottom of the hole, bell shaped. I've hit rock and intend to anchor into it with rebar and chemset. I managed to pick up enough 300mm PVC pipe for both piers (permanent) formwork.
Hello John, Sorry to hear your helper has decamped to he other side of the world ��*♂️����.
One suggestion I would make for power and data is by all means run the cables in / around in conduit but make that conduit as big as you can, I used 32mm conduit and struggled with USB cables. The powered ones are really stiff and don't like to bend, a better solution would be to have used 90mm stormwater pipe - for me anyway.
Flexible conduit from Bunnings orange stuff for power has a wire pull thru inside makes it easy to get two power cable thru and think only 25mm, remember to put 600mm underground with power tape on top etc
As someone kindly reminded me although in my case it was impossible to put 600mm underground due to nature of soil, position and underlying limestone, and my house was build in 1992, the standard requiring 600mm depth cam out in 2006, also the 600mmj depth can be circumvent as long as necessary safety cautions are taken and conduit covered in 100mm of concrete
. If I keep it under 10sqm and under 2400mm high I don't need to even make an application. Larger than that and I can probably get approval easy but have to pay few fees, get some full engineering drawings done and pay for an inspector, not too hard. I figured since no one spot here is perfect I would put a "small" one in and either go bigger later or put another small one in with other better views.
