Aoraki's build

[Aoraki]

15th Oct 2011

Day off from building my shed. Just for a change me and Mick had a day building his daughter's Wendy house. Anyone know why they are called Wendy houses?

Mick had already got the base and floor down a previous day so we had a good start and made good progress making, cladding and erecting four wall. It was then Guiness o'clock!

[Aoraki]

16th Oct 2011

Back to my shed this morning and this was today's progress;

Spring latch fitted to locate roof in the closed position, also temporary stops fitted to stop the roof falling of the rear of shed! A (slow) test flight of roof was under taken and the tracks were fixed down in their final position. I was impressed by the smooth action and the little force required to move the roof considering I still haven't fitted the flat track to the central wheels yet and these were binding on the wood.

Little by little.

About half way..

Nearly there...

And final open docking position....

I then turned my attention to the warm room ceiling. All joists fitted and 3/4 of the 6mm ply ceiling fitted.

At this point I fitted two battens for the light fittings to screw to. I also first fixed the lighting circuits. I have allowed for two lights in the warm room and two lights in the scope room, each room will have one red and one white.

And that was that for today, I'm getting there

[Gina]

You certainly are Coming along nicely. That's quite a big roof to roll off! Makes mine seem miniature by comparison.

[malc-c]

This is coming along really fast... and as I said before, such a professional build quality.

Whilst wiring the observatory, make provisions for the kettle, toaster and convector heater... Definite essentials in any modern warm room

On a serious note, what form of insulation are you using in the warm room walls and ceiling. I opted for 30mm for walls and ceiling and 50mm under floor - it maintains around 6c difference (warm at night, cool in the summer) without any heating. As my obsy roof rolls over the warm room there is no risk of thermals when the heating is on - Barmy 23c in the warm room last night whilst it was single figures in the observatory !

If its not a rude question, can you provide any costings on materials, and any suppliers details for the parts used...

[Aoraki]

Hi Malcolm, I do intend to do a costings breakdown but had thought that I would wait until I had completed the project. Is there anything in particular you would like information on?

[malc-c]

Not directly.. just as a reference for others who might contemplate a similar build.

[Aoraki]

I'll make some sort of list over the next week but to be honest there's not much out of the ordinary so far.

[Aoraki]

17th Oct 2011

A little bit of progress today, I got one wall of the warm room insulated and clad with ply. That's it, nothing else to report, I didn't take any photo's as we've all seen insulation and ply haven't we

[malc-c]

Disappointed there were no photos

What form of insulation did you opt for?

[Gina]

I wondered that too.

[Aoraki]

Malc - Gina, insulation is nothing special, it's THIS ONE from B&Q. There is three rolls in a "tube" and each roll is actually two layers which will cover about six square metres. It's only £3 unless you try to buy it on B&Q's "trade card". Anyone care to guess the trade price?

[Gina]

Yikes!! Rockwool??!! Horrible itchy stuff that really needs total body protection, including respirator! I laid it in our loft many years ago and over estimated the amount required, resulting in having 4 double rolls over. I did think of using it for my warm room but decided against it. The very thought of it is making me itch!!

[Aoraki]

Yep it's itchy alright! The R value is very good though, and it's recycled glass bottles. Price on trade card £8,888.88. :)

[malc-c]

Itchy stuff.... without any heating etc the temp difference between my warm room and obsy is typically 6c (warmer in winter, cooler in summer) and that was using 30mm thick styrene blocks. Given the Rockwool has a higher R value you should be really warm and toasty, and may not even need supplemental heating. You'll be surprised how much heat a PC, 5A 13.8v PSU and a human body can generate in a small space - Having said that, I wouldn't be without my convector heater I put in last weekend - £19 from Comet, 750W & 1250W settings (2KW if combined) and thermostatically controlled

[Aoraki]

There will be a heater! Not that I'm nesh you see..

[malc-c]

LOL - what's the point of building a nice office / control room if it's not got a few home comforts

This is the heater I purchased Buy PROLINE CVT02 | CONVECTOR HEATER - Heaters | Comet

Even on the 750w setting with the thermostat down low it was a nice 21c in the room, 9C outside and for less than £20

[Gina]

I bought a similar one for the house a few years ago. Not the same model but similar two heat switches and thermostat and same price. Great VFM IMO

[Aoraki]

Looks a good buy to me Malcolm, will check out 'em out!

[Aoraki]

22nd Oct 2011

I didn't get an early start today as I had to go to work this morning, that put a spanner in the works

So a short day today but managed to get the final board fitted and all the Rockwool installed in the ceiling.

Also insulated and sheeted two more walls in the warm room, fitted back boxes for one single and two double sockets.

And that's that for today. I'll hopefully get the warm room ceiling boarded with the offcuts from boarding the scope room. I wasn't going to board this room but I think it will look much better.

[malc-c]

Looking good... this is such a professionally looking build, I take my hat off to ya !

I have two "modifications" intended for my observatory. One is to replace the door. The other to line the scope room with ply, just to finish it off.

Keep the pictures coming...

[Aoraki]

Thanks Malcolm, "just to finish it off".... that's the main reason I'm boarding the scope room! Your obs looks great as well, what's the reason for the door change, is it cosmetic or security?

[malc-c]

Thanks,

It's two fold. As it stands I like the look, but I really want to put a window in as I tend to use the warm room as a retreat from the kids - (only kidding) seriously its to give natural light when doing stuff in the day time rather than having to have the lights on or door open, and to give it a little more security as the interior door used is a tad on the thin side.

[Aoraki]

23rd Oct 2011

Quite a good day's work today. I got all but a few small pieces of the ply sheeting in the scope and warm rooms completed.

I also finished off the warm room roof, in the end I didn't use the off cuts but bought a couple more sheets of 6mm ply, right decission I belive.

Just a couple off pieces to fit now, then I start the electrical 2nd fix. I really need the doors and windows as I'm fed up with keep taking down and putting back the tarp, but I'm in the hands of Mick the joiner and his merry band of men and they are very busy so I'm on the bottom of the list so to speak

[Freff]

Very nice. You should be very proud of a job well done.

[malc-c]

OMG - That's looking really nice. I now want to line out my scope room with ply now !

One question though.... it looks very tight against the fence, is this going to be an issue with regular maintenance, ie applying preservative ??