Yet Another Observatory Build Thread

[Tinker1947]

Check out the Shiplap at a wood-yard, it has a lip that the next piece fits onto but this can warp and leave a gap, T&G on the other hand has a groove and will generally keep its self sealed......

[r3i]

Check out the Shiplap at a wood-yard, it has a lip that the next piece fits onto but this can warp and leave a gap, T&G on the other hand has a groove and will generally keep its self sealed......

Thanks Tinker - the stuff that I have bought has the tongue and groove rather than just the lip.

[Chris]

Would you be willing to take a pic of the side profile so we can identify what you have please? it sounds more like tongue and groove than shiplap, also how thick is it?

[r3i]

Would you be willing to take a pic of the side profile so we can identify what you have please? it sounds more like tongue and groove than shiplap, also how thick is it?

Chris, it's 12mm T&G - sorry if I confused everyone, I get mixed up between all the different names. I was hoping to start putting it on today but it's far too windy - the vapour membrane would have got torn to shreds before could have got the cladding over the top of it.

[r3i]

It's been a busy few days on the project. I built the fold down flap for the south east wall. I decided to have it folding inwards - it's only about a foot in height and there's plenty of room so it won't crash into anything arounf the pier.

[r3i]

Then it was onto the cladding - yesterday I got the long walls done.

[r3i]

Today I completed the cladding on the other 2 walls.

[VigdisVZ]

Sweet! Man I want a cosy obsy myself! Time to start looking for a cottage up in the darker parts of sweden.

[Gina]

TThat's looking very good and coming on very nicely Nice job

[r3i]

Thanks Carl and Gina.

Been busy again today but didn't manage any pics. Put a coat of paint on the cladding but the colour didn't go down too well with SWMBO - was supposed to be an oak colour but was too orange apparently, so looks like I'll need to get some other colour sooner rather than later.

I've made a start on the rolling roof: I've temporarily fixed some aluminium u-channel into place and put together a base framework for the roof, which will be supported by 8x75mm rubber wheels procured from Screwfix. The first attempts at rolling the structure have shown some binding but I ran out of light to do any serious fault finding so that will be tomorrow's job.

[Chris]

Your flying through this project Mike! Glad to here your using T&G its looking very good. I also have the 75mm Scewfix castors on mine they work a treat:)

[r3i]

Your flying through this project Mike! Glad to here your using T&G its looking very good. I also have the 75mm Scewfix castors on mine they work a treat:)

Thanks Chris - hopefully I'll get the castors rolling smoothly soon.

[r3i]

Another milestone achieved today - the rolling roof now rolls. After tweaking the position of the aluminium channels and tidying up the edging of the rubber on the warm roof, the rolling roof framework moves very smoothly and quietly.

4 turnbuckles have been fitted to secure the rolling roof frame.

[red dwalf]

coming along very nicely, certainly a good size

[Gina]

Looking good

[r3i]

coming along very nicely, certainly a good size

Looking good

Thanks RD & Gina. It does feel very spacious inside - the 4.8m*2.4m design that quite a few folks are adopting does give you plenty of room.

[red dwalf]

i`m doing one at the moment which is 10` long and 8` wide and getting the correct size cladding to fit with little waste was a bit of a chore,

had to look around timber yards for 5.2 meter lengths and then get them to cut them i half for the sides which worked out at 8` 3" pieces.

10` sides was a pain on the back as i wanted complete lengths, the front wasn`t too bad as i had a door and window in there and cut lengths to fit around them.

my progress can be found in "Rob`s obsy build"

[r3i]

i`m doing one at the moment which is 10` long and 8` wide and getting the correct size cladding to fit with little waste was a bit of a chore,

had to look around timber yards for 5.2 meter lengths and then get them to cut them i half for the sides which worked out at 8` 3" pieces.

10` sides was a pain on the back as i wanted complete lengths, the front wasn`t too bad as i had a door and window in there and cut lengths to fit around them.

my progress can be found in "Rob`s obsy build"

I got 5.2m lengths of cladding too, so I've a small pile of offcuts but these will go on the fire if they can't be deployed somewhere on the build. To ensure I got nice square cuts I invested in a compound mitre saw for the project and it has been worth its weight in gold.

There'll be no progress today as like everywhere else in the country it's chucking it down.

[Ryan-y]

Looking great, I'm getting so jealous of all these obsys, maybe one day

[r3i]

Looking great, I'm getting so jealous of all these obsys, maybe one day

Thanks Ryan - having waited a good few years for the opportunity to do this, I know what you mean. Hopefully your turn will come.

[red dwalf]

i know that feeling too, waited a long time for this, then having bought a second hand one i had to wait another 2 years to get to the stage i`m at, work and other commitments keep getting in the way, but hopefully it`ll all be worth it.

[r3i]

Back at the coal face after an extended Christmas break and the ever present wet and windy weather.

The framework for the rolling roof has been completed and cladding added to the side walls and gable ends. As per Olly's suggestion in this post, I've made the rolling section captive to hopefully help prevent the roof from blowing away.

[Astrokev]

Your roof is looking superb Mike (as is the rest of your build). I'm taking lots of notes to help me plan my own build which will hopefully get under way this year. The "captive" roof design also helps give a more weatherproof seal, which I like.

Keep posting those pics and best of luck with the rest of the project.

Kevin

[r3i]

Thanks Kevin, I'll look forward to following your build when you're up and running.

Got the rubber on the rolling roof today, just need to tidy up around the edges hopefully tomorrow.

[ixalon]

It's looking great Mike. I'll probably copy this design for mine when I get an opportunity to build one this summer.

Our new garden runs roughly North-West to South-East, with the house at the North-West end and open fields to the South-East. I'm wondering about aligning one corner to the south and having a fold down flap on the two south-facing sides, so the scope has views down to the horizon across the whole southern sky. I'm a) not sure if it's worth the added complexity and if it can be built precise enough that it doesn't make the roof difficult to close due to a misaligned track.

Has anyone here attempted anything similar?