Astrokev

23 minutes ago, Merlin66 said:

Blob of BlueTac on the wire???

 

Was just about to say the same as I read James' post ?

9 hours ago, JamesF said:

Is the garden on a slope?  You do at least get to measure the height from the highest point of the adjacent ground as far as I recall.

James

I thought it was average ground level of the surrounding area - but I'd need to check to be sure.  I seem to recall we had this conversation a few months back over somebody's dome build!

A little more progress today. Managed to hang the inner door without too much problem, then spent ages hacking out a slot for the lock. Just need to fit the handles tomorrow and I have two working doors. Woo-hoo! 

Wonderful! It must feel great to be out under the stars again. 

BUT - don't fall into the trap of not finishing the to-do list! Easy thing to let happen now you're operational. 

5 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Lucky devil!  The only thing we were allowed to take home were colds and 'flu.

I'd use a continuous strip of something like good quality, self adhesive draught excluder.

Otherwise you'll be wasting valuable observing time constantly re-dressing the pier gap. 

Yes that's a thought. I have loads of that as well!

Actually, I've just remembered. I have a huge box of foam in the cabin (the stuff that's partially cut into little squares for storing fragile equipment in drawers/boxes - a useful unwanted item from work ?).  I'll probably use some of that; easy to work with and very soft so no risk of transmitting vibration. 

26 minutes ago, wimvb said:

Only after you drop that one little screw down there, you realise how important it was. ?

I'd also avoid rockwool in that gap. It's itchy and generates dust when handled.

Yes I thought that too, but this stuff seems fine. I used it in the warm room and have been handling it without gloves with no adverse reaction at all. 

Great

Didn't have much time today due to regular Monday toddler sitting duty ?, but I did manage a few minutes to screw the cable conduit to the pier and to refit the flooring. The gap around the pier is only about 1cm, so not big enough to lose anything important down there, but I'll still put something in the gap. Not sure whether to use left over rock-wool, or maybe some offcuts from the foam tiles.

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

Ah, see, you can't beat a list

Looks good though.  Getting very near to finishing now.

James

Thankfully, yes. 

All my other projects and jobs have been well on-hold for far too long now (all residing patiently in a list!). 

41 minutes ago, JamesF said:

These days I can't remember everything that needs doing unless I have a list.  And I try to avoid thinking about how long it is.  I can at least console myself with the fact that it's far shorter than the list of other stuff I have to do around the house and garden

James

Yes, I'm the king of listing. I have a list to organise my lists ?

Glorious day today, with not a cloud in the sky. Boring chores all morning in the house, but this afternoon I cut out the door frame for the hinges in the sunshine in a T-shirt and was actually sweating! What's going on with the weather ?.

So, here're a few pics of today's progress. I made the door with smaller studding than the outer door, which meant I could actually lift the thing, which was a bonus!

Once the hinges were on, I offered it up to the frame and checked for fit. Seems pretty good, so next job is to cut out the door liner for the hinges. I've bought the same door furniture as the outer door which is possibly overkill, but provides a second layer of security should anyone get through the outer door.

Inspired by @JamesF here's the list of remaining jobs -

- Fit internal door & architrave

- Fit door furniture

- Paint scope room walls (blue) and warm room walls (? but not blue)

- Lay foam tiles in scope room

- Lay carpet tiles in warm room

- Make & fit shelving

- Make & fit desk / cupboards of some sort

- Fit electrics

- Do anything else I've forgotten

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

It's been a lovely weekend here.  A little breezy yesterday, but whilst I wasn't quite prepared to switch to shorts today it was certainly comfortable enough to be t-shirt weather.  I've pretty much been outdoors from after breakfast until gone sunset both days.  Unfortunately I've not made huge amounts of progress with the observatory (again) because of catching up with other things that need doing.

However, I have made a list of jobs that I need to get done.  Two lists in fact, one for things that can be done now without needing to buy more materials and the other for which I do need further purchases.  On the first list I have:

James

Lists are really useful, but I found can also be quite demoralizing as they serve as a blunt reminder of just how much work there is still to do! Fortunately my list is getting quite short now

A bit more progress made today. Door frame completed - just ready to cut-in the hinges and door lock. With a following wind I hope to at least get some hinges on tomorrow. Famous last words, perhaps!  

Lovely, warm and sunny this afternoon and it was a joy to potter about in the observatory.

I put up the door lining between the warm and scope rooms. Once I'd finished making sawdust I finally sprayed the pier. I could've left it as it was but, if I'm honest, red oxide isn't my favourite finish. It's now a pleasant shade of slate grey

I also started to make the door, which I could do in the garden so as not to contaminate the fresh lick of paint with more sawdust. Both sides are cut from 9mm ply. I didn't have enough studding to make the inner supporting frame, so this is a job for tomorrow. While I'm out buying wood, I may also get some paint for the walls to co-ordinate with the pier. Again, I could leave the walls as they are, but I'd rather give them at least a single coat to help protect them from damp and dew, especially the end grain along the top edges. Once the walls are painted I'll put the foam tiles down, which arrived yesterday.

Starting to come together.

1 hour ago, sloz1664 said:

That looks truly amazing Steve. Anyone have any suggestions for restoring a white dome?

Steve  

Step 1 - paint it green ?

2 hours ago, LeeRich said:

I shall keep this link for future reference. Thanks and well done on a fabulous restoration job ?

The OP said it may not be suitable for white domes

Amazing difference

Foam floor tiles ordered

I need to paint the pier before I lay them though. It's warm enough this week for painting, so hope to do this in the next few days. I also ought to buy, cut and fit the internal door frame, as I'll probably have to fit the tiles around this.

28 minutes ago, Gina said:

The cheaper tiles have been down in my observatory for 7 years and no sign of wear.  Only small problem is the expansion in warm weather - needs half an inch or more gap round the edge in winter to stop them humping up in the summer.

As mentioned in a previous post, I've left a gap under the wall panels to allow me to lift the floor panels in the future should I need to do this.  I can use this "hidden"  area underneath the wall panels as an expansion zone ?

Buying tiles is the next of the seemingly endless purchases I need to make. Haven't finalised which supplier to use yet - one of the many vendors on EB I suspect. Maybe I can do that tonight. Lovely clear night tonight, but the Moon is so close to full that I can't be bothered to set stuff up.

Yep, they look good but bit pricey ?

Was out in the observatory last night, enjoying a wobbly Moon. Idiot me only goes and drops an eyepiece on the ply floor. This suggests a change of priority and maybe I should push the foam tiled floor up the list!

The risks of an operational, but unfinished, observatory ?

Well, I now have a window .

Next job is to make the door between the two rooms...... or, start to design fitting ventilation vents in the warm room...… or, paint the pier..... or put some carpet tiles down in the warm room. The list is thankfully getting a bit smaller at long last  

Good to see you posting again James. I was beginning to think you'd sold your scopes and turned your observatory into a beer shack extension