Astrokev

4 minutes ago, LeeRich said:

Looking fabulous Kev. Been waiting for a pic update ? 

Thanks Lee. Yes, a friend mentioned to me last night that they were looking forward to seeing more pics but, to be honest, I haven't done much in the last week worth photographing!

A while since I've posted any images, so thought I'd rectify that tonight.

After a few days of 'orrid weather, today was rather pleasant, allowing me to plod on with the build. Bought a few more bits of timber this morning to make stops for the door. These are cut to length and are drying after being doused with preserver. Not sure when these will go up; there's no great rush, and I'm mainly now trying to crack on with the floor to allow me to get the scope set up within the next few weeks, so I can image comet Wirtanen. Well, that's the plan anyway.

So, to that end, this afternoon I finished putting wire mesh around the edges, to block the gaps between the foundation blocks to keep wildlife out. Then put down weed control membrane. Not sure whether I needed to do this or not, but I've seen other builders use it so I thought why not. If nothing more, it makes the under floor space (that no one will ever see) nice and tidy!

Before packing up, I put a couple of coats of paint on the hole behind the door keep, partly to help keep rain out of the timber, but mainly because I'm geeky like that, and it would niggle me knowing that there was bare wood lurking behind the nice shiny keep!

Just about to order ply boarding for the floor. Quite excited that this will soon be down - hopefully ? .

So, here are a collection of pics. There seems to be an inverse relationship between the inside and outside. As the inside gets neater and tidier, the outside continues to descend into a bombsite.

9 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Of course there is absolutely no need for it, but that's not the point, is it?

James

Absolutely not. I can, so I will ..... ?

13 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I have just remembered that I need to attack a pile of wood with the chainsaw so it can be used on the log-burners, but I think that can wait until next weekend.

James

Mind you don't get too carried away with all that cladding lying around ?

Pheasant plucking ?. Eh, eh!, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.

Crikey, I'm worn out just reading your list, let alone actually doing the work. Do you ever stop?!

Lots of brownie points on offer there, as you say, but doubt if you're going to have time to actually use 'em!

Motorised roof, now there's an idea. My son was trying to persuade me to do that with mine but I've resisted so far. It would be fun to do, but think it'll be quicker to open mine by hand I think!

God speed this weekend. Hope you complete your list ??

That's really annoying!

1 hour ago, Stargazer33 said:

Kev, if you're worried about the anti-thrust plate being an advertisement for valuables inside; could you not paint it to match the door? If you use a thin steel bar then it probably wouldn't even show from a distance.

On the cladding damage, wood filler would hide the hole before you repaint. Or are you intending to 'distress' the whole obsy to camouflage it as in Gina's post!??

Hey Bryan. I've decided to use a timber cover for the gap, and actually bought this this afternoon, 'though your suggestion makes sense. This will serve to cover the gap to reduce water ingress rather than acting as a thief deterrent.

Regarding the damage, this is actually quite small and is on the upper edge of the cladding where it curves in to slot under the piece above it, so would be difficult to effectively repair with filler. I'm not worried about it; there are enough other dents and missing bits due to knot holes etc, - I can round the edges so it should blend in quite well.

27 minutes ago, Gina said:

I didn't have all that equipment when I built my observatory.  And apart from a day's help with the cladding, did it all on my own.  That looks like a fully fledged building site!  ?

Yes, this may redefine the forum DIY title ?

On baby-sitting duty today so nothing done on the obsy. However, I have ordered a couple of drip bars and EPDM weather excluder which should be here this week. Finishing touches to the door  - a bit of modification may be required on the drip bar to make it fit!

On another front, bit of a blow on the cladding next to the door - literally. I foolishly left the heavy-duty lean-to wooden cover (that I've been using to keep rain out of the door opening) against my tool shed once the door went on. This blew over in a strong gust of wind yesterday and gouged a chunk out of the cladding ?. No serious damage done, and I can obviously clean up and repaint the area, but it will leave a small gouged hole. Ah well, worse things happen at sea! Another thing on the endless list of things to do.

Fingers crossed for good weather down your neck of the woods. There's still stuff I need to finish off outside on mine but, being waterproof, I now have the luxury of being able to work inside when I'm not doing other stuff - though it now means I have to trail an extension across the garden since it's pretty dark in there ? 

Great to hear. Busy weekend ahead then ?

This looks quite a project!

Really looking forward to seeing it develop. As Lee says- please post lots of pictures!

Good luck ?

6 hours ago, RayD said:

This is where I got mine, Kev.  If you prefer they also do them in black here, but these ones don't have the rubber strip.

I got this one specifically because it was only 17mm deep

Thanks Ray. I note the height of this is 38mm, excluding the rubber strip. This is really bigger than I'm looking for, but I could probably modify it to fit if I can't find something that fits the edge of the door without encroaching onto the cladding ?.

The depth is attractive though ? to reduce the risk of it hitting the wall when its opened - a good point made by James.

Life's a compromise!

1 hour ago, Moonshane said:

If someone really wants to get in, they would cut a hole in the side more quickly than cut the bolt I'd suspect. Fantastic build.

Thanks Moonshane. Yes, you're probably right there. Although the cladding is 1" thick and held in place with ring-shank nails (and damned difficult to get out as I discovered), nothing is impregnable.

5 hours ago, Yawning Angel said:

Looks amazing!

The plate over the lock is called an ‘anti thrust plate’ if you want to look them up

Thanks Alex, I'll take a look ? 

Thanks @RayD

Checked on fleabay and found a few bars that may be slim enough, but if you do have the supplier of yours that may be helpful (but please don't put yourself out if it's not handy, it's not that important!). I ought to double check how much space I have to play with, which would help.

The shoot bolt idea is a thought.

Another point with a gap-cover. A sturdy metal cover may just serve to advertise that goodies reside within!

As for an alarm hooked up to the house alarm - well, I don't have a house alarm. But I have a dog. Perhaps I could tie a string from the door to his tail at night. That may work ?

3 hours ago, RayD said:

I used a pretty slimline aluminium strip at the bottom of mine.  Been through a few downpours now and not let anything in. I don't have anything at the top, but it is under an overhang, so probably not going to be subject to the same battering as yours.

The gap at 6mm is a reasonable size, and I suspect a good tug with a crowbar would pop that in no time.  I'd go for the metal strip just to prevent that being an easy option.

 

Thanks Ray. The strip you've used looks ideal - is it a proper drip strip or something else that you've repurposed?

The top is less of a problem as there is some cover provided by the roof rails, but I'd just like to reduce likelihood of rain creeping behind the door. I'm not sure whether to use a weatherproof seal around the edges yet so water getting in at the top may end up running down the inside.

Regarding the gap cover, I'm torn. I agree that there's a risk that a determined person could try and jemmy the door open, using the gap to gain purchase. That said, if I put a metal strip to cover the gap, this may in itself present a solid edge that could be used to lever the door with a crowbar. So, it could be "six vs. half-dozen". I'll think the options over and try and come up with a decision. ? 

3 hours ago, JamesF said:

Looks very good

Not sure about a drip bar, myself.  It will limit how far the door will open whereas at the moment you could have it wide open folded back against the wall.  I'd have thought a standard one would work if fixed all the way through the door though?  The gaps behind left by the cladding could probably be filled with some sealant to stop water running down the back.

An alternative might be to use a drip bar for a UPVC door.  They're usually quite small.

James

Thanks James. I need to research more on drip bars. I'll certainly check out ones for UPVC. The problem with size is exactly as you've suggested - the bottom "edge" of the door is about 20mm  from memory; if I can get one that fits that, happy days. But if it is higher ie. encroaches onto the cladding, it will create water traps which wouldn't be ideal. Using sealant is an option I guess but I'd rather avoid that if poss.

3 hours ago, Gina said:

My thoughts were to make the observatory just a slightly tatty garden shed albeit with a strange roof.  Goes with the tatty appearance of my property generally ?

Yeah, that's a good approach!....and my observatory is currently smarter than my house due to neglect over the last several months!

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Looking good.
I would put a full length cover of baton or metal over that 6mm gap myself, security screws holding it on.
Don't forget to paint behind that keep and raw edge.
 

Thanks Alan. Yes, painting behind the keep is on the list. It was too cold to do it this afternoon. I've combined my replies on the 6mm issue further down the thread ? 

I'll give thought to the loo idea ?

I have a lockable door. Yay!

Door went on without any problems. Finished fitting the keep so the door now locks - which is more than can be said for my tool shed. Maybe this says something about the risk of burglary in the area I live in - my tool shed of 25 years has never been locked; in fact it doesn't even have a lock, and there's never been any sign of anyone trying to steal anything. Actually, maybe this says more about the quality of my tools than the area crime rate! ?

I'm now pondering. I want to fit a drip bar on the bottom of the door, and on the frame just above the door. Problem is, the space to fix one is quite narrow and I haven't found any commercial bars that will fit as yet. So, as with the rest of the build, maybe I'm just going to have to fabricate something myself, then at least the whole building will be home-made!

The other thing I'm unsure of is whether to fit a baton down the outer edge of the door to cover the gap on the lock side. Difficult to get a true idea of size and scale from the pictures but the gap is 6mm and the lock bolt is fairly visible. I'm wondering whether this may invite someone to "have a go" and either try and prize the lock open at this point, or cut through the bolt. Instead of a full-length wooden baton, I've considered whether to fit a steel plate just over the gap in the centre to cover the lock area. It's very easy to over-think these things sometimes. As always, I'd be interested in views of others.

These points aside, I just need to fit internal stops and the door is finished. Now time to get-on with getting the base and floor sorted.

Typical. The best weather in a week and I'd agreed to visit some relations-in-law.

Nice time had by all, but by the time I got home the best of the day was over. Still, managed to get the door on for what I hoped was the last time, fitted the handle and gave it a first coat of paint. While it was drying I chiselled out a hole in the frame for the keep.

The light was disappearing fast and the paint was still only half-dry; not surprising as the temp had dropped noticeably and was probably only about 5-6 degrees. Then my lovely daughter helpfully suggested I take the door inside the house to finish drying and give it a second coat.  She obviously has never tried to lift the thing. Well, after much limbering-up and flexing of muscles in preparation for taking the bloomin' thing off (again), that's what I ended up doing.

So, here I am typing this update with a sharp hinge inches from my left eye. Door looks good though. Pictures look patchy as the paint darkens as it dries ?.

Hopefully it'll go up, again, for the final, final time tomorrow ?

1 minute ago, JamesF said:

They are indeed pesky.  The little swines nick loads of our raspberries in the early autumn.  And at least one of them has learnt to hang upside down by its back legs from a tree branch so it can raid one of the bird feeders with its front feet.  I must try to get a photo of that some time.

James

That'll be the ninja-squirrel sub-species I think you'll find ?.

Seriously, they're resourceful little critters. I recall TV progs where they studied their inventive and learned behaviour. You have to admire them.

21 hours ago, LeeRich said:

 they all meet at the pc anyhow like you say Adam and at that point a whole load of 240v and paraphernalia are in super close proximity, if ever there was going to be interference it would be where they all meet wouldn't it ? ? 

 

As the starter of this discussion I'm obviously no expert, but I recall @RayDsaying it is the distance in which the data and power cables are running next to each other that is key, not how many cables may come together at a single point?

My design is to now keep them separate as that's easy to do and may avoid problems later on.

Good to hear you found time that you weren't expecting. Bonus!

Those squirrels sound pesky. A good incentive to try and get the cladding up. Looking forward to seeing the next stage James.