Now this shot is of the front of the deck. As you can see there is plenty of room for me to move around. The bearer of the pegola is going to be cut shorter and flush with the post. It is about 4 inches away from the scope, no hazard, but I don't want to knock my head on it.
Now for construction tips. The posts were dyna bolted to the concrete with a stirup. Double bolting is very important here. It helps reduce the stress on a single bolt. The bearers seen just below the facsia dressing are 8 x 2" and are housed (cut into the post) and double bolted with galvanised bolts. The angled piece of timber is a raking brace. This stops the deck from raking (wobbling) and creating a potentional collapse. Every thing is double bolted again.
Now this shot is of the under deck construction. You can see the bearers and the joists (the timber that has the decking nailed to it). Each joist is nailed then triple gripped (metal angles) into place. This provides further strength especially where I have canterlevered the joists over the bearer at the other end. The joists are 4 x2". Overall this construction should be able to take the weight of 4 people easily. It is better to have more strength than not enough.
Now for the last shot. this shot shows the detail of the deck. The dressing on the side covers all the joints and gives a completed look to the deck. It is a 6 x 2" fascia board. Mitred into place. You can also notice that the deck is completely isolated from the pier. Most important that the deck should not touch the pier. Any movement on the deck would translate into the pier. The pier concrete block can also be seen and that too is isolated from the surrounding paving and concrete. This means that there is nothing that will vibrate the pier as I get up and off the deck during long exposures.
Now as for rain. The scope is currently being double tarped of a night time, however there are plans afoot to enclose the entire area with a sliding roof onto the pergola. Failing that, when the scope is fully aligned to my satisfaction I will take the scope off the wedge; leaving the wedge in place and aligned to the pole, and then the scope will be put in its case. This will provide and easy setup as I only need to bolt the scope back onto the wedge and astrophotography can commence as soon as the scope cools down.
The gaps in the decking will allow rain and water to easily pass through and the entire deck is constructed of permapine so that it will not rot quickly.
Now for your comments and questions. Many thanks for following this project.
I'm envious of the whole set up but are you sure you just want to double tarp something that expensive. As well as great neighbours don't you have any light fingered people or those with a vandalistic tendancy?
I would be worried about that setup even where I live.
Thanks for the generous comments guys. Having a building trade does help with envisioning the end result and the know how. I wanted to explain the entire steps as most people in the hobby would find this very daunting, however it is not as hard as you might think. Planning and care when cutting timber is all that is needed. Being handy helps, but carpentry is not meant to be mysterious.
As for my neighbours, yes I am lucky, I have plans to extend the walls of the fence up so that they feel more secure. I had a lot of talks with them about it first and got their approval long before construction started. The extension of the walls will also help with wind reduction as I am now confronted with this menace.
To stop filters and the like hitting the dirt underneath I have purchased carpet strips to go around the deck while observing.
As for the light fingered people. These people do exist in this area, but there are not many. Besides they must jump a 2100 high fence just to get the scope. That is after they walk up my neighbours drive way, which has an enormous Gate. Not easily climbed over. As I am home most of the time (I work from home) if they want to try and steal it while I am home, I am sure that I can give them a warm welcome. Six years in the army and ten years of full contact Karate training that needs to be utilised!!!!!
That being said though I am careful about theft and that is why I built the observatory. I was setting up in the unit car park for 6 months everynight and having to run back to my unit when I left something that I need. This way I can setup without the hassle of theft being an issue.
Well used the observatory for the first time tonight. Couple of things discovered.
For one, I jagged the height of the pier, when the scope is aimed at or near the zenith it is the perfect height when sitting in one of my outdoor chairs. So I can sit down and view the heavens. First time for that. Nice on a Autumn evening to sit there and view away.
Second, that I am going to need a work bench for things such as laptops and boxes.
Third, the alignment needs a little refinement. It tracks perfectly for 5 minutes on drift alignment, then starts to move. Good for limited photography but it needs to be near ten minutes to work well.
Forth, I am going to need a power supply to the pier itself so that I can hook up a dew heater and run the scope. I currently have power coming from under the deck which is powered from the laundry.
And finally the steps need to be made soon.
Other than that if the clouds would just go away for a week or two, so that I can catch up on all the photography and viewing that I have missed out on for the last 4 weeks. That would be good, tonight was clouded out, so I guess that is part of the curse.
Thats looking great Paul , just realized it would have been a effort to get the OTA on the wedge before you put the decking in, i can see easily now the space now around the pier/scope but whats the view like from the western side is the roofline of the house a fair obstruction. Have you tried the smart drive function yet and pec training {may help with the tracking}.
Stuart my roof is to the South or behind me in the square on shot and my neighbours roof is sort of North east. Neither roof line provides an obstruction now. The scope can see 85% of the sky now and I am very happy with that.
As a matter of fact I have not set pec yet, but have got smart drive function on. The star that moved was the one at the zenith and it only moved half a star on the cross hairs in 6 minutes. The one to the east did not move at all in 10 minutes. That I figure should be good for two hours tracking with minimal corrections. however, I will do pec training and this might help a little better.
Very professional effort Paul, wish you were around when I built mine. Yours looks to be very well planned and executed, unlike mine that was somewhat done on the fly as it were. My biggest mistake...not planning for a pier..It is going to be a nightmare to put in now..
Not so Peter, jigsaw and some concrete and some timber and it is all done. If my back is up to it I help. Its not hard, just looks like it is hard. Least that is what I say to my employees when i give them a mission. Missions are good, you learn things from them.
You've touch on something I was going to ask you Paul. Is there enough room on the deck for essentials like laptop/camera gear/ accessories/esky. It looks like a pretty snug fit up there. Maybe you could build a cabinet around the base of the pillar but not touching it, to store things in til you need them.
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