Astrokev

Well, it's not much progress, but it is progress!

Not screwed finally into position yet as I need to treat the wood with preserver.

Just need to get a door sill (which it seems is more difficult in Bedfordshire than finding unicorn tears at the end of  the rainbow). May end up making my own.

Next job is to sort out the cladding, by quality, and then start painting with preserver. Went for Barrettine's in the end from Wood Finishes Direct, which seems good stuff at a great price.

Looking good James.  About time I resurrected my build I think. Been idle for too long now. It's surprising how quickly you get drawn into other needy things.

I've used the same approach:  28cm diameter air conditioning tube filled with concrete, embedded into a 75cm cube of reinforced concrete. My NEQ6 mount is attached via an Altair Astro pier adapter which is itself fitted to a homemade square of thick aluminium plate bolted to the top of the pier.

I've built an obsy around this (or am building - take a look at my build thread) , but it could easily be used as a stand-alone pier covered with a heavy duty cover (Telegizmo 365 appear good, as mentioned by others).

32 minutes ago, Kev M said:

I would concentrate on getting your plumbing problems sorted first.

We can all see the outside bath and the bedpan ( next to the beer bottles ) that you are having to use.

Sort your priorities out Kev.......?

Haha, LOL. 

Well spotted!  That was our old roll top Victorian bath from a few years back. Took it out when we had the "new" bathroom extension, though I'm tempted to restore and reinstall it!

I've given up hope on getting anyone to sort my showers out. Decided to rip it out myself, assess the damage, then see if I can get someone to fit new. I suspect they may be being put-off At the moment by not knowing what may be lurking behind the tiles ?.

I must check the background in future pics just in case ?

28 minutes ago, Bizibilder said:

I would suggest drilling for the nails- maybe drill 3mm for the 3.5mm size.  The nails will still grip but you won't split the timber and it won't split later either.  Those SS annular ring nails are real devils to remove!!  By the way drilling also helps keep the nails going in straight and you get far fewer "bendy" ones.  You can pre-drill quite a few planks at one go then spend a happy ten minutes annoying the neighbours whilst you bash 'em in with an 'ammer???  (Nails that is not neighbours!!).

Thanks. Yes I was thinking of drilling. Had previous bad experience with shiplap!

I decided on the 2.65mm SS nails in the end. Will try a single nail so the board has some room to expand slightly which will also help reduce risk of splitting (and is cheaper on the nails ?). 

9 minutes ago, Adam J said:

seriously cover that and leave it to rest for a couple of weeks before you put it on or you can end up with all sorts of issues with shrinkage. 

Yeah thanks. I'll certainly leave it for a while. I've still got to do the door lining and a few other bits first. 

Although it's treated, I'll probably treat it again on the reverse side and let that start to dry off before I put it up. 

1 hour ago, smudgeball said:

Have you got enough ?

All worked out in SketchUp and then added a contingency, so I hope so! 

There are a few duff lengths so hopefully can hide these in places that won't get noticed!

Right, just waiting for the nails to arrive ? 

18 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Thinner has less chance of splitting the timber, I think the T nails we use are thinner than that.

Dave

Thanks Dave

OK so my cladding is arriving tomorrow. 20mm x 135mm finished size. Just realised I don't have any nails to put it up. D'oh...

I'm going for 50mm stainless ring shank, but they come in different thicknesses.

Maybe a stupid question, but can anyone who's used them recommend which may be best out of - 2.65mm vs. 3.35mm or doesn't it really matter?

Thanks

3 hours ago, smudgeball said:

I've been trying for almost a year to get some roughcast repaired / replaced on my chimney.

Same thing, had five people up all promissing to send quotes...nothing !!

I understand that coming up to view and price a job may end up in you not getting the work (and is unpaid time spent away from actual paying work) but at least send the quote after you've been ?

I don't get it either ?

 

Neil

...or, have the guts to say they're not interested in the job, rather than leaving those in need expecting a quote they will never receive. 

1 minute ago, JamesF said:

Yup.  I've had their web page open in a tab for at least the last couple of months, waiting for me to be ready to order

James

You know it makes sense...

Well, I've run out of patience (plus I've been in need of some retail therapy) so have ordered the cladding! Delivery Monday.

On another front, I've been struggling to find anyone who stocks wooden door sills. How crazy is that! The only local merchant didn't carry stock but could get them to order. So, left my details for him to confirm pricing etc, and did he get back to me? No chance. Have chased them up today.

In more domestic news, I've been trying to get a plumber / bathroom-fitter to replace 2 showers due water penetrating behind the tiles, and the whole shower needs ripping out and replacing. Not a complex job I wouldn't have thought for a bathroom-fitter. The first local plumber promised me a quote and after chasing him 3 times he eventually produced one for silly money. The second and third appeared really keen and took measurements, details etc, promising me quotes and brochures. This is the last I've heard from them. The fourth hasn't got back to me after ringing him 3 times and leaving voicemail messages.

Tradesmen - it's probably against SGL rules for me to say what I think of them at the moment.

Seems no one wants your money these days.  Right, rant over!  Back to some more astro retail therapy.....

9 minutes ago, Gina said:

F.H. Brundle for wheels and rails.  I used 120mm wheels and matching rail.  Semi-circular section - though others seem to prefer V section.

Yep definitely second FH Brundle. I went for 80mm V groove and they're brilliant.

Thanks Ray. 

I'm insulating the warm room so the membrane will help there. The scope room probably won't be insulated but here the membranes function will be to stop water penetration in the event of the cladding being breached ( which I think is a distinct possibility st some point !). 

23 hours ago, Gina said:

I used a breathable membrane between framework and cladding but I don't really know what it does.  Just took advice on here.

Was your membrane breathable Gina? It looked more like polythene vapour barrier, which is non-permeable. Not saying there's anything wrong with this, but it didn't look breathable. I presume you've had no problems with moisture damaging the cladding ?

Thanks Tony. Very informative and interesting.

This all looks good, but I've not seen anyone build an obsy like this. Some use breather membrane on the outside with cladding straight on top (as I'm planning to do). Some have put a sheathing board beneath the membrane, but with no vented cavity.

At the end of the day, I think it's whatever feels right to you. It's worth remembering also that we're essentially building a glorified shed, and not a place to live in (although I'm sure some would live in their obsy's if they could ?).

7 hours ago, Yawning Angel said:

I was in 2 minds about doing that too. It seems that batons and an air gap is worthwhile if it's insulated, to allow vertical airflow, but that leads to needing insect mesh to protect the void. Argh!

Yes, with membrane behind the cladding I can see the advantage of having an air gap, which would allow some movement of air, thus helping to dry out the inside face of the cladding if water got behind it. That said, I've not seen anyone adopt this approach on SGL. It's also true to say that not many people seem to use a membrane so, in this instance, there's probably less risk of water getting trapped between the timber and a barrier membrane.

Hopefully, the fact that the membrane is breathable will allow water to evaporate through it (I guess that's what it's for!) so I'm not that concerned about water retention. I'd be more concerned if the membrane was not breathable ie. just polythene sheet, which I've seen some people use. All that said, providing the cladding has no gaps then water shouldn't penetrate behind it (I say shouldn't, but it's all about minimising risk, right?  ?!).

The nice BBC lady mentioned thunderstorms in the south east later this week, so best be prepared just in case !

Still too hot to get the cladding, but I think it's getting closer ? .

So, whilst I'm waiting I've been doing other smaller jobs -

The timber merchant didn't have any door-sill timber, so will be picking this up this week to do the door frame.

This morning I trimmed the fixed roof EPDM at the sides and the back (north) end of the roof. Trimming  the sides needed doing for when I make the wrap-around retention mechanism for the ROR.

Also bought some mini guttering to fix at the north end of the fixed roof, except that they'd run out of brackets (I don't seem to be having much luck at the moment with stock availability!). I'm promised these will be in stock on Wednesday.

To finish my pottering  today I attached a thick polythene sheet to the ROR to hopefully keep the rain out (if we ever see rain ever again ? ).

1 hour ago, Kev M said:

Looking good , starting my build this weekend, will have to get some pictures taken ( it will look remarkably like your design, apologies....lol )

Kev

Thanks Kev. 

No need to apologise - most of my designs have been pinched off other people!

good luck with your build. Look forward to seeing some pictures ?

8 hours ago, Yawning Angel said:

Looking very nice, Kev! Are you cladding directly over the top of the membrane, or running batons?

Thanks!

cladding straight into the membrane. 

Waiting for the weather to cool off before I buy the cladding. Not recommended to clad in 30' plus temp!

....and a bit of a rubbish picture from inside the scope room after finishing the membrane at the top of the walls. 

Sounds grand (apart from the landing). A long time since I've had a proper astro holiday ?.

Hope you got some good images?

1 minute ago, JamesF said:

I've had a couple of weeks off from my build too, but now I'm back in the country I shall start again tomorrow I think.

James

Good to hear. I was wondering where you'd gone!