I've been looking for some time for an observatory design that doesn't need external rails and support for the roof and will fit in with the look of our house. Found this one with a very simple but elegant slide off design, looks good and simple to make. I'm off to the council this week to see what their requirements are....
Last edited by acropolite; 09-08-2008 at 03:13 PM.
I don't think you need council permission to put in a "garden shed" , nor do you need to tell anyone (announcing the construction of an observatory might also tell the local villians who will target it if they know it will house expensive stuff like a telescope or 2 or 3 , cameras, telephotos, a computer or 2 , etc.
I know villians will steal telescopes , as I had my Vixen FL104 + GP-DX knocked off (all conveniently - for them - packed up in metal cases , along with my set of LV eyepieces, my old Lumicon coma corrector and my set of 2" Lumicon filters) when someone broke into my garage and took them last year, a load of fishing rods and reels on the walls and under the rafters ($1000s of dollars worth) were not taken , nor my old Tasco and a couple of old GEMs , and my old 10" OTA which was standing in the corner with it's shower caps on, which were ignored.
The villian knew exactly what they were after I reckon and must have followed me home one evening after I'd been photographing the comet.
Took over 12 months - and I was treated like the criminal - to get a settlement from my home contents insurer. I got my settlement for my June Storms damage a lot quicker.
I've since quit that insurer and migrated over to NRMA.
All my expensive astro stuff has since migrated into the house taking over a bedroom , a locked garage is no obstacle to a burgler.
Last edited by Ian Robinson; 04-08-2008 at 03:38 PM.
I expect the roof is that way to keep the weight down. I quite like Bert's (avandonk) idea of using the foam sandwich panels for the roof, that way it would be light and strong as well. I've seen other similar designs, as the roof panels get heavier counterweights can be used for balance.
Regarding burglars, if I go that way it will be alarmed and have webcam monitoring.
Phil - I am leaning towards a similar design. The last thing I want is a traditional round observatory that advertises itself as such. "Hey! Look at me! I'm round, have a slit and keep an expensive telescope inside!". No thanks. I want my observatory to resemble a humble garden shed and be as inconspicuous as it can be.
Foam roof panels would be nice, but a traditional build like this one (Oesper) is probably stronger, and with counterweighted panels, just as easy to operate.
I agree with Ian here - at the end of it all, I'm NOT liking the idea of keeping my scopes out in a shed - once they're seen in the open by neighbours they're talked about...and the word spreads. Garage, house or shed - it doesn't matter. Thieves will go through whatever is required. Then again, if you live your life in constant "protection" mode, it ain't much a of a life. Get good insurance and make sure that you are in full disclosure to your reputable insurance company. Lock the shed and put in an alarm, and I guess that this is all they can ask....
Hi Phil...
I'm currently constructing a wheel-away observatory for my 10"dob..I've set a pier for the mount to sit up higher in...the pier is triangular in shape to allow the inner framework of the observatory to fit snugly and locked to the pier..
I've chosen 25 x 150mm treated pine timber for the walls and framework..glued, screwed, gapsealed, and coated with decking oil inside and out...insulated using packing foam..(check with your local schools if they received any new whiteboards!!!)
It should be finished soon and i'll try to provide a few photo's once it up and running.
Cheers!
Just a thought guys, but why not make the roof a "Roller a Door" type like the garages. This way it takes up peanuts of space outside rolled up, and you can motirise it. Or just slide it easy enough..
Just have it larger than the shack so the water drips outside the shack.
Just a thought guys, but why not make the roof a "Roller a Door" type like the garages. This way it takes up peanuts of space outside rolled up, and you can motirise it. Or just slide it easy enough..
Just have it larger than the shack so the water drips outside the shack.
Theo.
Been thinking of doing that for ages - got my old ., slightly bent - I backed into it not knowing it hadn't gone all the way up not long after I built the double garage - and have been keeping it aside (under the house) for just that .
A single roller door is HEAVY - will be a two man job lifting it when I use it evenually.
Just thought I'd give my opinion on roller door as a roof.
The roller doors are under tension so that as the doors travel down more tension is applied as a balance to gravity (via springs)to keep the door from accelerating down out of control also to keep the roll tightly wound.
When they are mounted horizontally the spring keep pulling more tension on to roll as the door is pulled down and is not counterbalanced by gravity. So as the 'curtain' is pulled shut there is a LOT of force by the time you pull it across as your roof, and if you dont use enough tension at the least tensioned point of travel the door will not roll up.
Oh and by the way I am a garage door installer.
There is a way to install them horizontally using counterwieghts instead of springs but it makes a simple idea very complicated.
Also there are water drainage issues.
I have had a lot of success using sectional garage door tracking systems for observatory rooves that work great, even when automated. I don't know why more people dont use them.
Just thought I'd give my opinion on roller door as a roof.
The roller doors are under tension so that as the doors travel down more tension is applied as a balance to gravity (via springs)to keep the door from accelerating down out of control also to keep the roll tightly wound.
When they are mounted horizontally the spring keep pulling more tension on to roll as the door is pulled down and is not counterbalanced by gravity. So as the 'curtain' is pulled shut there is a LOT of force by the time you pull it across as your roof, and if you dont use enough tension at the least tensioned point of travel the door will not roll up.
Oh and by the way I am a garage door installer.
There is a way to install them horizontally using counterwieghts instead of springs but it makes a simple idea very complicated.
Also there are water drainage issues.
I have had a lot of success using sectional garage door tracking systems for observatory rooves that work great, even when automated. I don't know why more people dont use them.
Brett
Wouldn't there be similar drainage issues with a panel lift door used as observatory roll-off roof ?
re roller door roof - if the roof was not flat , but sloping up (10 degrees) that would put some tension on the door I would think.
The 10 degree roof still would nowhere be enough slope, the door has to be within approx 15 degrees of vertical for the internal counterbalance to work properly.
The rooves I did used the sectional door tracking not the actual panels. I welded up a frame and used colourbond sheeting (I was thinknig of using an old roller door curtain but I had the sheeting already). Sectional panels would be even less watertight than roller curtains!
The springs are internally mounted on roller doors, you cannot see them by looking at the outside of them. Have a look from the end of the door and there is a wheel with a spring hooked on it and the other end of the spring is attached to the shaft which runs the length of the door.
The only roll up doors that do use springs that I know of use counterwights with internal straps eg dmf rapid rolls (think $20k) and old shutter type doors.
I suppose you could put a drip rail on the underside of the the overhanging curtain to stop water travelling on the underside.
The above issue with counterbalance would be the issue.
