Astrokev

Thanks Steve. I've left a small gap; hopefully this will be enough. If not then it won't be much effort to take up the edge tiles and trim a bit more off.

Painted the warm room side of the internal door this afternoon, so that there's no risk of me dripping paint over the rubber flooring in the scope room once I've laid these. Once done, I filled the gap between the pier and the floor boards, which I've had on the list for ages. I have a huge box of foam which was perfect for the job. Then I started the exciting task of laying the rubber tiles. I took up the two small pieces of ply from around the pier to use as a template to cut the hole for the pier. Incredibly, I got this right first time, and the centre tile slipped over the pier without a problem. I've fitted all the tiles apart from the part-tiles around the edge. I'll try and finish these tomorrow.

I took photos to remind me of the layout, but the accurate positions are indicated by the rows of screws. I made the decision early on to not fill any of the screw holes - a design feature ? But more importantly will allow me to take the build apart in the future if needs be. I also drew lines on the boards to mark the stud/ joist midlines, which are just about visible through the paint.

Argh, the beauty of the English language!

Looks great and super progress. Love that window. It's huge! I did the same as you with initially not marking joist positions. A mistake I only made once ?.

Well I guess that wasn't that difficult to guess, was it. But not just trimming a bit off the end - ooh no - something slightly more appealing to the designer in me. Busy painting and fitting the rubber floor tiles today, so the desk will have to wait a bit. Plus, I've got to empty the whole cabin to get it out.

Too windy to do much in the observatory, but I thought I'd dig out the kitchen worktop from the back of the tool shed, in readiness to try and make a warm room desk. This was more difficult than I thought, as the shed is now full of left over insulation, ply panels, studding, cladding, and piles of tools. Had to battle my way to the back and eventually dragged out the worktop, only to find it was horrrndously warped. ? So , plan B. At the back of my other shed, the cabin, I remembered I have an office desk that was a freebie from one of my ex employers. I dug my way through a mountain of garden furniture seating and cushions and measured it up. The desk is too big to fit in the tiny warm room, but I have a cunning plan....for a less windy day!

I'd just rather have my clutter where I'm not going to stand all over it!

Thanks Carole

Just want to get it finished now. I've really enjoyed building it but I'm starting to "hit the wall"! There's so many other jobs and projects I need to pick-up which have been sadly neglected.

All paintwork in the scope room is finished . Time permitting, tomorrow I may lay the rubber flooring. After that, it's onto the warm room - painting the walls, laying the carpet tiles and then playing around with some form of desk (not necessarily in that order!).

Sensible suggestions ?

Thinking about how best to make a desk/bench in the warm room. I've found an old offcut of kitchen worktop in the shed, which I may try. I'm thinking of putting a narrow-ish desk under the window, rather than a desk opposite the door. Not sure yet how to support it. Whether to use diagonal braces like the scope room shelving, vertical props, or to build a narrow cupboard underneath ??

I was undecided too, but am glad I lined it now. Quite costly for relatively small gain (mainly cosmetic), but finishes the interior nicely.

Nice. I was tempted to go two-tone but in the end just used a single colour.

Thanks Alex. I'm using Cuprinol Garden Shades. It's what I used on the outside and it's easy to slap on and seems to resist moisture pretty well - well I guess that's what it's designed to do! I quite like the natural wood, but I wanted to give the walls (especially the top edge) a bit more protection from dew. I've gone for "forget-me-not"! Pleasant shade of blue which compliments the pier pretty well (not that you'd notice in the dark I guess!).

Well after a few days of grotty weather or me being busy doing other things, I finally managed to squeeze a bit of time in the observatory today. Finished the shelving in the scope room and added a lip around the edge to stop things rolling off. Then I mitred the offensive corner by the door and rounded all the corners/edges. Just looking for a suitable small door stop on fleabay to stop the door bashing into the wall. I started painting the inside walls this evening just to test the colour. Reasonably happy with it, so will finish this off the next chance I get.

exactly.

Yep you're right. Apart from installing power (and possibly a warm room desk), I'm hoping to get the rest finished this weekend. Not sure how big to make the desk yet, or indeed how best to make it. It'll probably end up as just a simple large shelf. It's possible I won't actually use it that much and spend most of my time in the scope room, but will be good to have somewhere to dump stuff. I quite like the idea of having a "roving desk" in the scope room - some kind of small desk/trolley on wheels. Need to give this some more thought.

Little bit more action on the shelving today, before rain stopped play again. East & west shelves are up . These are approx. 170mm wide. The south wall can tolerate a wider shelf for bigger items so am planning on making this around 240mm. Following earlier discussions, I'll mitre the corner of the east shelf at the same time as I figure out where to put a door stop. Once all shelves are up, I'll also add some edge trim to stop stuff rolling off in the dark! Anyways, here're a few grainy pics. I got quite accustomed to working in the semi-darkness but was blinded by the light when I went outside again.

I'm sure I can stretch it out a bit more. I mean I don't even have power installed yet! Maybe I should follow Gina's example and start a new thread just for powering it up

The wealth of response regarding that corner has got me thinking and I think you're all probably right. Sharp things in the dark are asking for an unpleasant incident. I'll put my thinking hat on and see what I can do. That's got to be good for another few thread pages ?

You've no chance of beating the length of my thread James; you work far too quickly and efficiently! ? Laying down the challenge there.....

Damn, I've been rumbled! i think it actually says more about me being a slow worker! ? But I'm nearly there.....

Thanks ? . I was going to put some kind of rubber door stop on the end of the shelf but, to be honest, this was to prevent the door handle bashing into the wall and gouging holes in it, or bending the handle. I hadn't considered the risk of personal injury so thanks for that!