Carpet, luxury or nuisance?

[teifistar]

Hi,

I'm building a roll off roof observatory. I have been offered a carpet which is large enough to cover the whole of the observatory floor. Is fitting a carpet the right thing to do or will it end up being a nuisance?  What are the general thoughts out there?

Thanks,

Peter.

[xtreemchaos]

hi peter i think it all depens on the area around your obsy is it paved or concreate or is it grass if its grass id say no cos you would be dragging muck in all the time but if paved i think you would be ok..clear skys..charl..

[Tinker1947]

There are up and down sides to every thing, carpets in a Observatory  might be easy on the feet that's the up side, on the down side, it will need hoovering from time to time the hoover generates dust as it sucks up it also blows out, in the winter is will be damp, and depending on what you have to walk on to get in the Observatory this will end up in the carpet.....

[Alien 13]

I would have a carpet just in case i dropped something fragile, besides my dog and cat like a bit of comfort.

Alan

[Garethr]

Peter,

I have carpet in the warm room which helps in the winter but used rubber matting in the scope room.

It's easier to keep clean and will hopefully will save that EP that will get dropped one day.

Gareth.

[damnut]

Sounds like good advice above, have a portable pier, almost left permanently outside, dogs used as a pee post, killed the grass... a couple of sqm of astroturf (easy to clean) saved the day when the diagonal fell off attached to a 23mm axiom!.

[ampleamp]

I wouldn't use carpet as it will inevitably retain damp.

I use some cheap foam tiles - they weren't from this lot but you will get the idea - http://www.softfloor.co.uk/classic.shtml?gclid=CJ25go3xyMYCFSoEwwodOhEODQ

they insulate the floor, are easy to clean, comfortable and they dry out very quickly whatever you bring in with your feet

[Macavity]

I agree with the above - Generic "Rubber" tiles work for me. Sadly there are still some hard-to-find leaks in my (commercially made) observatory. This still caused damp patches / mold UNDER the tiles. But I discovered that, if I left a small gap around the walls, the problem went away. Or it dries up as fast as water gets in? Allows for expansion too - No "hills" as the tiles warm up in the sun.

[Stub Mandrel]

Flooring tiles (Machine Mart) for workshops will keep feet warm, reduce backache and fatigue and are easy to clean.

I suspect the 1interlocking tiles for playrooms that appear at Lidl/Aldi elsewhere at a fraction of the price are essentially the same.

[teifistar]

Hi All, 

Thanks for all the replies. Didn't think of the advantage of carpet in case I drop something. Being as its free I will lay it and if it doesn't work I can easily take it up and replace with something else.

I think the dampness will be the biggest negative factor.

Cheers,

Peter

[steppenwolf]

I have a carpet in my dome and it has never been an issue in 10 years use! I have a concrete base and I laid a sheet of plastic 'damp-proof membrane' down first. The carpet is comfortable to work on (I usually sit on the floor to operate my PC) and offers some protection against equipment drops although I have only put this to the test once and that was with a Bahtinov mask!

Please don't ask what colour my carpet is ...........

[Tinker1947]

I will guess at " Pink ".....

[steppenwolf]

[blush mode on]

I will guess at " Pink ".....

Had to be didn't it

[/blush mode]

[Tinker1947]

it don't look in bad nick even though its Pink, most giveaways are rubbish and there given so the new owner takes it away and the old owner doesn't have to either pay or make a trip to the council tip....

[teifistar]

Well mine will be light blue. 9 13amp plug tops steppenwolf, thats some going, maybe we could start a competition.

Peter

[Tinker1947]

Amatuer Radio if you want to see plugs my London Shack had 36......

[steppenwolf]

9 13amp plug tops steppenwolf, thats some going, maybe we could start a competition.

Hmmmm.....

1. 12v PSU for mount and other accessories

2. 12v PSU for dome controller

3. Desktop PC

4. LCD Monitor

5. 3 Way extension lead

    6. CCD Camera 1

    7. CCD Camera 2

    8. Dehumiidifier

9. Project X

It's amazing how many you need!

[Scott]

Hmmmm.....

1. 12v PSU for mount and other accessories

2. 12v PSU for dome controller

3. Desktop PC

4. LCD Monitor

5. 3 Way extension lead

    6. CCD Camera 1

    7. CCD Camera 2

    8. Dehumiidifier

9. Project X

It's amazing how many you need!

what!! no radio ?

[Pete Presland]

I have been lucky enough to have a few rubber/plastic runner carpets come into my posession in the last couple of years. i have laid the first three in one direction, the next three at a right angle to the first. They are very short pile carpet so very easy to keep dust free.

I would definitely recommend them as give much appreciated insulation to your feet in the winter and are more forgiving to dropped items than concrete!

[laser_jock99]

I have a bunch of old carpet tiles in my obsy (plus an old rug). Carpet tiles are useful since I can easily just remove the required tiles to get at the wiring under the removable floor board servicing the pier. If anything gets dropped I'd like to think damage is less likley too.

The rug keeps my feet a bit warmer in the winter!

Edit- regarding power points, think of how many you might need- then triple that number!

I now have to use no less than three expansion leads......

1) Computer for Pier 1

2) Monitor for Pier 1 computer

3) Laptop Pier 2

4) 12V PSU for Piers 1 & 2

5) Extenision spur to Pier 1 (powers DSLR PSU, hair dryer 1 & USB booster)

6) Extenision spur to Pier 2 (powers DSLR PSU, hair dryer 2 & USB booster)

7) Desk Lamp

8) CD player

9) Tape Deck

10) Amplifier

11) Extension for camera battery charger, radio/clock, electric heater & light box for flat frames.

[Smartbomb]

what!! no radio ?

What, no beer fridge??

[Garethr]

I agree at least tripple.

1. PC

2 monitor

3. Power for focuser

4. Warm room light

5. Warm room heater

6. Radio

7. Beer fridge

8. Hair drier.

9. Mount extension ( mount power,dslr power, cooling fan)

10. Scope room light

11. extension for nexstar SLT scope in garden when on long imaging sequence.

12.second camera power

13.red led light in warm room

14. Battery charger. Laser,torches ect

15. Usb hub

16. Spare at the moment till next toy arrives

Gareth.

[Chris]

I have nice dark blue carpet tiles in the obsy which go well with the light blue walls. No problems at all with them

I'd go for it unless you've been offered deep pile carpet. (replace the word 'deep' with a word that the filter wouldn't allow )  

[Dave_D]

keep in theme and use astroturf

[philj]

Another plus for carpet tiles. I bought a batch of cheap tiles from b&q when I built the observatory 10 years ago. An occassional vacuum is all thats needed, no problems with damp retention. I have a door mat inside and out also, so all visitors have to wipe their feet :-)