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Ah yes, Feynman. Thanks James. His lectures on YouTube are fabulous. I confess I haven't read any of his books. I'll add them to my reading list.

Was it Einstein who said - if you think you understand quantum theory, then you don't understand quantum theory! Apologies if I haven't got this fully correct; I'm rubbish with quotes!

Have you read his book for the masses on quantum mechanics? If that's dumbed down then there's no hope for any of us. I've started it twice and still can't get more than half way through before my brain throws the towel in.

Thanks for that. Don't necessarily disagree with any of what you said, but not sure it answers my question and confusion! ? Maybe I'm thicker than I thought ?

Without wanting to derail my own thread (and at the risk of declaring myself an idiot) - The bit (amongst many other bits!) I currently can't get my head around is - the most distant objects visible are c. 13.5 billion l.y. away, the light having taken 13.5 billion years to reach us. From the red-shift and Hubble constant etc, they reckon the BB occurred 13.5 billion years ago. But, approaching that long ago, the universe was much smaller. So, speed of light being a constant, how come it has taken 13.5 billion years to traverse a comparatively smaller distance? Please can someone put me out of my misery? Theres probably a better forum on SGL to discuss such things..... Meanwhile, back on the subject of my build - the thaw has already set in and the observatory no longer has a white roof. All being well, I may get out there tomorrow ?

Yup, it's spacetime I struggle with.......and the Big Bang and age and size of the universe. You read it and it makes sense, then when you think about it a few days later it turns your brain into mush, and you're left with a gazillion questions. The price we pay for having an enquiringly mind! I'm going to see Brian Cox in a few weeks. Maybe I can ask him ?

After a blanket of snow overnight, I've given in to my better judgement today. Curled up in the warm with a Brian Cox book but struggling to get my head around Einstein's theory of gravity ?

I had 4 layers on my top half and sawing wood helped keep me pretty warm, but when I could no longer feel my toes it was time to pack up ?

A few more sheets completed this afternoon. I was frozen and, to be honest, ran out of enthusiasm after 3 sheets, so retired back into the warm.

I got 6 (actually 5.5 on the label) for the warm room ceiling. The extra 3mm head clearance may make all the difference!

9 (stated above, although this was an added edit, so maybe you didn't see this when you posted ?)

Well, the delivery of ply arrived as expected. I even had a bit of time to cut and install the first sheet. And in case you're wondering following recent discussion, I plumped for 9mm in the end. For only an extra £2 per sheet, it seemed daft not to . I decided to raise the bottom edge by 18mm (supporting it on some 18mm ply while I screwed it in place). The main reason is to make it easier for me to take the floor up, should this be necessary, without having to remove the wall panels, but, as mentioned in a recent post, it also provides a bit of room around the bottom for the foam floor tiles to expand into the gap in Summer. Barring unforeseen events, hoping to get a few more sheets up tomorrow. All panels will be screwed in place, so I can easily take them down when I do the electrics. EDIT - now I'm looking at the picture, I'm wondering whether it might be worth insulating this wall. This is the south facing end of the observatory and gets the full sun all day in summer. Would insulating it help reduce heat penetration? I think it's likely the roof will contribute most of the heat load into the scope room due to the black EPDM, so the effect of insulating the wall may not be that significant in comparison.

Sorry Graeme. Call me thick, but not sure I follow what you mean here. Are you saying you recommend insulating the obsy floor, or just a kitchen ?!

11 sheets of ply ordered and should be here tomorrow - just in time for the impending snowstorm ?. Keeping everything crossed that the weather will be kind enough to stay dry, at least to allow me to get the sheets into my shed. If the delivery is early enough, hopefully I may be able to get a piece or two cut to size, which would be nice.

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? ?. Call me a traditionalist, but I'm going for a standard hinged internal door. (Partly cos I've already got the hinges and the hole in the wall!)

D'oh, I mis-counted. The number I need is 11 sheets. It was 12 originally, but then I played jigsaws with all the left over bits and managed to reduce it by one. The saving will pay for the delivery at least!

Yes, I'm interested in seeing how my obsy deals with summer temps, especially if this year is as warm as last. I haven't installed any means of forced ventilation but, if heat build-up becomes a problem, this is something I will consider retrofitting. My scope room walls and floor are uninsulated though.

What is your logic for insulating under the scope room floor? If you have a raised floor I wouldn't have thought this to be much benefit.

Hmm, interesting ?. This includes 2 sheets to make an internal door, so maybe that's why. In my drawings (Sketchup) there's not a lot of spare. Maybe I should check I haven't drawn things to the wrong dims though!

No work done outside today - too cold to paint. I did calculate how many sheets of ply I need to line both rooms and the warm room ceiling. I reckon 12 full size sheets should do it. More money than I hoped, but then isn't everything linked with this hobby ?. Just need to finalise what gauge to get ?

I think I will be attaching some things on the walls, but will probably use the studding. I'll certainly reconsider before taking the plunge.

I went through 2 heavy duty tarps during my construction. Sadly the wind progressively got the better of them and they leaked like a sieve. Better than no tarp at all though!

Very frustrating when the weather holds you back. Sorting out priorities can be difficult. I reached a stage when everything seemed to be equal priority which I'm sure caused me delay due to indecision!

Yes I was going to do that (been bitten by that one on another project!), but thanks for the reminder Chris

I think I will be attaching some things on the walls, but will probably use the studding. I'll certainly reconsider before taking the plunge.