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At last - the Obsy is finally taking shape

fondofchips

By fondofchips
in DIY Observatories

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Some of you may have been following my Obsy project via my personal gallery, I did not want to start a new topic until the Obsy was in the final stages of construction.

Original plans & questions were asked here: - http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/182818-obsy-plans-what-do-you-think-to-this-idea/

Base consruction pictures here, constructed between April & November 2013: - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2477-my-obsy-build/

Now I've added pictures of the Obsy under construction to my gallery here: - http://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2984-obsy-shed-build/

The Obsy is 12ft x 8ft with 8 x 8 viewing area & 8ft x 4ft warm room.

The roof is one finger operation, I must admit I was a bit sceptical but it does move with one finger, even if someone is stood on the roof!

The Obsy should be finished by the middle of next week with installation Thursday/Friday weather permitting.

So I will be posting more pictures when the Obsy is here as the light will be better outside for photographs & when the obsy is complete.

It does seem like a marathon......

It was going to take me 8 months to save up for it, then I had an unexpected car MOT suspension repair in August - back one month.

I finally ordered it in November.

Not enough time before Christmas to finish it.

Then the workshop roof where the obsy is being made was damaged by the storms & work had to stop again.  The plan was to have it up & running to observe Comet Ison but that deadline passed weeks ago.

Still excited though so please excuse anything I've missed out, I'm sure you will let me know.

A Big THANK YOU to all the members on here who have shared their obsy builds with everyone on SGL.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

Apologies in advance for any extra cloud that my obsy construction may cause......

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malc-c

malc-c

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It looked really small until I saw the person standing next to it. That's quite a big workshop then... ;)

I also wanted to be ready for ISON. In a way I'm glad it hasn't made it round the sun... :evil:

But I bet you wish it was up and running for the supernova  :grin:

Sorry Chris, just me being a :evil:

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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I did ask for some extras to be built-in: -

External warm room windows

Window between warm room & viewing room.

Conduit for mains cable & PC cables, seperated to avoid any chance of signal interference.

Laptop shelf on 3 corners of the viewing room.

Vents all round, top & bottom.

Design had to be bird & vermin proof - no rats underneath & nowhere birds could nest.

Roof runners had to prevent the roof blowing off in high winds.

4" boarding round the viewing room for installing white & red LED rope lights.

Worktop supports for PC desk in warm room.

I'm not intending doing any Astrophotography yet, but wanted the obsy to be Astrophotography ready.

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malc-c

malc-c

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Thats a great looking obsy. It looks like an interesting roof sliding mechanism, with the roller guides being horizontal. That will help the roof from taking off in the wind.

For those who are thinking of building an observatory that has no drop down sides this is a very good idea, and is so neat in the finish too

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Not connected to my build really but an interesting topic over on the East Midlands Stargazers forum: -http://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/6981-observatory-potential-i-wonder/#entry80511

This shed is quite heavy & a bit expensive, but could suit someone who is short of space & wanted to move their obsy when they moved house.  The roof would have to be converted to ROR with runners of course.

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malc-c

malc-c

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IMO those sort of sheds (and the ones from Argos) need extensive modifications to ensure the remain strong enough once the roof (which is an integral part of the structure) becomes detached.  These sort of structures are best modified so that the whole shed runs off on rails.

I always advocate a self build from scratch as it often works out about the same cost as purchasing and modding a decent commercial shed, but you have a far better observatory in the end

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  • 2 weeks later...
fondofchips

fondofchips

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Just when I thought that everything was all running smoothly at last, the unit next door to the shed builders workshop had a fire on Sunday. facepalm.gif

So my shed builder has been trying to make his unit secure & clean up.

Will be really pleased to get the obsy here, I've had enough setbacks on this project.

Will be installed today, & finished on Wednesday.

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Ive read a couple of posts lately talking about vents. Should I be planning for them in my build?

Yes you should include vents.  I will post pictures in my Gallery of the ones in my obsy, if that does not completely stop moisture build up then I will use small computer fans to draw air through the obsy.

Planning to draw warmer air from the warm room, warmed by sun through the warm room windows through the observing area & then expel it outside.

The prevailing wind usually blows in this direction so I will only fit the fans if needed.

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Yes, 2 x 4" square posts concreted in, braced in both directions, the pictures show today's progress, now the rolling roof is on there isn't too much of a rush.

The main thing was to catch a dry spell with not too much wind to get the shed up & the rolling roof on & we have achieved that today.

Should be complete by the weekend.

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Right, some thoughts and decisions made on the obsy build, (so far) before I forget them.  Just my opinions of course.

  1. Considered a dome type obsy, too cramped for me as I'm 6ft 2" tall, not enough space for accessories, warm room not easy either.  One big enough for me would have needed planning permission.  More expensive than an ROR obsy.  Also too tempting for thieves.
  2. Base construction - only 2 words needed, readymix & concrete mixer, far too much material to mix by hand.  My pier mount has 1.5 tonnes of concrete round it. 1.1metres deep in the centre & a metre square at the top.  Opted for steel pier, instead of concrete, a well done concrete pier is just as good though.
  3. Paths need to be anti-slip where possible.
  4. Settled on a Ian King style ROR obsy with alterations.  Obsy stained with a dark preserver so it doesn't attract attention.  Runner extensions will eventually be disguised by a pergola, the whole thing then just looks like an ordinary shed.
  5. The ROR part of the roof only needs to be the part that covers the viewing area, not the warm room as well, there are a few out there though - makes the roof bigger & heavier than it needs to be.  I have not fitted any guttering, the roof overlaps the shed walls & hopefully the water should stay clear of the obsy walls.  My base is 1ft bigger than the shed in both directions which helps with this.
  6. The viewing area does not need insulation, again some out there that have insulation, just makes ventilation & damp problems worse.  Easier to ventilate the room where the scope is without insulation as the outer wood skin of the shed can breathe.  Any internal boarding/plywood soaks up moisture like rising damp if there isn't a gap between the bottom of the boarding & the floor of the obsy.  (I've had first hand experience of this with a summerhouse I insulated & struggled to keep it dry & mould free afterwards).  Plywood used for this needs to be external plywood.
  7. Just a low power electric tube heater on a timer is enough for both viewing area & warm room - like this one: http://www.toolstati...0/sd3168/p87163
  8. Ventilation, windows in the warm room that catch the sun & vents between the 2 sections should keep the obsy dry, if damp problems persist then I will add low voltage PC style fans to the exit vent in the viewing room.
  9. Not a fan of sliding doors between rooms, so both my doors open outwards, saves on internal space in both viewing & warm room.

Weather has stopped work again, the roof sections need to be dry before the felt is fitted & the inside is damp so the warm room can't be insulated either.

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malc-c

malc-c

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The viewing area does not need insulation, again some out there that have insulation, just makes ventilation & damp problems worse.  Easier to ventilate the room where the scope is without insulation as the outer wood skin of the shed can breathe.  Any internal boarding/plywood soaks up moisture like rising damp if there isn't a gap between the bottom of the boarding & the floor of the obsy.  (I've had first hand experience of this with a summerhouse I insulated & struggled to keep it dry & mould free afterwards).  Plywood used for this needs to be external plywood.

Weather has stopped work again, the roof sections need to be dry before the felt is fitted & the inside is damp so the warm room can't be insulated either.

The main reason I left my scope / viewing area un-insulated is that ideally you need the scope to be as close to the ambient air temperature to reduce cool down and thermals inside the tube.  If the scope room is insulated it will keep the air inside it a few degrees above ambient.

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dmahon

dmahon

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Right, some thoughts and decisions made on the obsy build, (so far) before I forget them.  Just my opinions of course.

2) Forget the concrete mixer. Get readymix delivered (in a minimix truck if necessary). If you can have it delivered to the spot, excellent. If you can't have a couple of friends with wheelbarrows handy when it arrives. It's the same price and much less hard work than mixing it yourself (I had the worst of both worlds, mixed it myself and had to barrow it, as I could only get the "ingredients" dropped off at the front of the house).

6/7/8) A desiccant type dehumidifier, permanently turned on, helps with all of these. It raises the temperature by about 5 degrees.

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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2) Forget the concrete mixer. Get readymix delivered (in a minimix truck if necessary). If you can have it delivered to the spot, excellent. If you can't have a couple of friends with wheelbarrows handy when it arrives. It's the same price and much less hard work than mixing it yourself (I had the worst of both worlds, mixed it myself and had to barrow it, as I could only get the "ingredients" dropped off at the front of the house).

6/7/8) A desiccant type dehumidifier, permanently turned on, helps with all of these. It raises the temperature by about 5 degrees.

I would agree about the readymix concrete, I would do it that way if I laid the base again, I already had a concrete mixer and I suffer with my back, I'm mainly trying to put off anybody mixing concrete on the floor or in a wheelbarrow.

Ventilation is going to be a bit trial & error, shed is not finished yet so I don't know how damp it will get.

More pictures added -

ROR roof runner supports & cross brace have now been fitted at warm room end.

Windows in warm room & in between the warm room & viewing room, not quite finished.

Roof felt has been filted on warm room roof & rubber seal on the ROR roof at that end.

Too wet to roof felt the ROR part of the roof, good progress considering the weather.

http://stargazerslou...y-shed-stage-2/

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Gina

Gina

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The main reason I left my scope / viewing area un-insulated is that ideally you need the scope to be as close to the ambient air temperature to reduce cool down and thermals inside the tube.  If the scope room is insulated it will keep the air inside it a few degrees above ambient.

Same here.

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