Astrokev

23 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I'm genuinely surprised by how big a difference that makes.  Makes it quite clear what was happening when the observatory looked so bright this morning.

James

Absolutely.

I couldn't resist having a play in Photoshop though. My daughter is trying to convince me to go with the Olive! Maybe with wall insulation to stop the interior getting too hot, then all I have to worry about is the wood warping?

EDIT - Although, with a dark grey rubber roof, the walls are likely to contribute relatively little in comparison. When I put the rubber on the "warm room" in full sun it was too hot to stand on it in bare feet.

13 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Just remember, the darker the colour you apply, the greater the potential to get hotter under the sun, lengthening cooldown times etc., as well as the deleterious effects on the paintwork itself, reducing its 'lifespan' and could cause warping of the timbers....

But then again this is the UK....

Good point Julian.

This got me thinking, and I decided to do a simple experiment. After a bit of searching I found my old thermocouple and thought it would be interesting to check the difference in temp of the different colours. So, after leaving the samples propped against the observatory in full sun for a short time, here're the results. Although somewhat predictable, the difference is quite striking!

The Stone colour was c. 10deg C hotter than ambient, with the Olive a whopping 13.5deg C hotter.  It would be interesting, and possibly a bit scary, to conduct the experiment on a hot day!

This has finalised my decision. Whilst I'm definitely tempted with painting the walls Olive, I'm afraid it's gonna have to be Stone (with Olive accents!). Just need to sand the walls down and clean my brush...

3 hours ago, Alan White said:

Looking great whatever the colour Kev, you are doing great.
I like the greens myself.

Thanks Alan. Can't wait 'til it's finished now.

Having breakfast this morning.... This shot nicely shows just how bright the observatory is!!

I literally had spots before my eyes after looking out the window. Where did I leave my sunglasses....  ?

EDIT - it was a late breakfast today ?

1 hour ago, Swoop1 said:

Kev, I am currently ensconced in Stoke Mandeville Hospital recovering from 7 broken ribs acquired during a stupid mountain biking session last Tuesday evening. This has give me the time to binge read both yours and JamesF's threads. Time very well spent?

A cracking build. Gives me some food for thought.

Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

Hope you're on good pain relief. Oramorph is good stuff if you can get it prescribed. Wishing you a swift recovery, but sounds like a long haul. 

Thanks for the kind comments. Hopefully you'll be out of hospital way before the build us finished!

That sounds good. It looks steeper in the pic - it's probably just the contrast against the pathetic shallow roof line of my shed ?  I made mine shallow to keep below 2.5m total height limit. 

1 hour ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

And what does the BOSS say ??

Sadly, I am the Boss, that's the problem, although my adult children were very keen to tell me their opinions. These went along the lines of - "it would look nice with plants growing in front of it".

Say no more - very diplomatic!

Very impressed James. Welding is something I've never tried. That's quite a steep slope on the roof - shouldn't have any problems there with accumulated snow in Winter !

So, after much head scratching at my local B&Q I chose a few colours for testing -

From L to R - Willow, Natural Stone, Pale Jasmine (current colour), Olive Garden. These are propped up against my garden cabin for comparison. As you can see the cabin is in need of a fresh paintjob, but it's clear I painted it in Stone and Willow, and we were very happy with the result. That said, having now sampled the Olive green, I think I prefer that over Willow.

So, at the moment I'm leaning towards Stone for the walls, and Olive for the accents.  However, I'm tempted to try Olive as the main wall colour...….

7 hours ago, Bizibilder said:

I used "Willow" which seems to blend in quite well.

That does look really nice Roger. I followed your project with interest.

2 hours ago, Kev M said:

I think it looks quite nice....very well painted as well

 

 

Thanks Kev.  No, I'm afraid it has to go!

A great lesson to all of the importance of trying a small test area first. I shouldn't have been so hasty.

9 hours ago, Davey-T said:

Here you go Kev 

 

Dave

Perfect!  Thanks Dave!

9 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

well at least it will have more protection.....

Indeed!

Well, I've painted the walls. Hmmm...… problem is I don't like it ?.

I painted it yesterday in the late afternoon half-light. Now that I see it in full daylight, it's much whiter than I expected.

I think I'm going to revisit the paint-shop and see whether I should re-paint with a shade that will blend into the garden better. Maybe I should go for a grey-green and stone colour?

This is a real pain as the walls will need a light sanding to provide a key before repainting - time, time, time..... Maybe I should've painted a test area first, instead of painting the whole thing. Oh well, done now - just need to make a decision and move on.

Watch this space.

Looking good James!

At long last, and after many weeks of trying to get hold of some,  I managed to find a length of hardwood door sill today. Hooray!

I can now finish the door frame and start thinking about how to build a door!

Cladding of the final wall was completed today. Just need to give it a couple of coats of preserver tomorrow, then I can paint the 4 walls in tasteful off-white wood treatment. ?

Edited - added a pic from a new angle (my son took this sneakily while I was beavering away) which better shows the observatory in the context of the garden.

Looking good Alex. I'm back home now. Tarps are removed and the observatory is drying out!

Should finish the final bit of cladding tomorrow ?

Well I'm down here in deepest Cornwall, only to hear that the tarp covering my build has ripped to shreds in the strong winds the other day. And it's been chucking it down for the last day and a half. 

Oh well, not much I can do. I guess it'll dry out!

Coming together Alex.

All wrapped up safe for the next few days whilst I'm in Cornwall.

Managed to get a coat of preserver on before doing battle with the tarp's though, which was good ?.

13 hours ago, Dave said:

Almost there then Kev?

It would be nice to think so! One step closer at least.

1 hour ago, Gina said:

The roads shouldn't be so cluttered up with Grockles now the children have gone back to school.

Grockles?

A couple of in-progress shots.

3 walls are now complete. I ran out of nails before finishing the wall facing the shed and am still waiting for my order to be delivered. I'm pretty busy this week, driving my daughter back to Uni in Cornwall, but if time allows I hope to put a couple of coats of preserver on the finished walls and paint with a water-repellent top-coat (not sure what colour yet). This will allow me to take the tarps down so I can finish the rolling roof.

5 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Set yourself a target for completion, & tell SWMBO to kick you along..... 

My latest target is to get the observatory fully operational in time for the winter season. Barring unforeseen disasters, this should be easily achievable (he says, possibly foolishly!).