It's a start

[Daniel-K]

after being fed up with the garden flooding and the tripod sinking half way through the night i have decided to ( well the wife gave the nod) start an obs. i have decided to do a 12x8 (hope its big enough). so here i go yesterday i went to a a garden centre and found some 2nd hand flags for £1 each there 1.5ft x 1.5 ft this will do for the base to build on. then off to B&Q managed to pick up 15 bags of ballast and 8 bags of reduced sand for £23. boust some timber to make a small frame around the flagged area and have treated it with creocote (stinks!) im not the best at D.I.Y so my mate Barry a joiner is helping.

Tomorrow to do :

make frame for flagged area

clear area

prep for flags

lay flags

this is what i hope to achive and will be taking pictures

MY PLAN

my plan is to build a bit each month to achive a nice obs before september so i can image nice and comfortably. im building the roll off from scratch so its stronger than a normal bought shed. its going to take a few months before it takes shape but im excited.pics to follow tomorrow

[Gina]

Welcome to the club Daniel Looking forward to the pics and your future plans.

[pritc]

Looking forward to your build Daniel-K

[Daniel-K]

today i woke up and was out prepping the base for half 9

here what i have done this morning, last night i treated the wood with creocote in the garage (bad idea as it STINKS and is now in the house)

1. mark out were to dig
   
2. take layer of grass off
   
3. dig down a few inch'a
   
4. broke up all the big lumps
   
5. moved all the building material from the front of the house to the back
   

could only put 1 picture on the attachemts box wont open for some reason?? so will do it tonight

[pritc]

A good start....

And I see you have a small labourer helping you..

She will be asking for more pocket money.

How deep are your foundations going to be (sand/slabs)??

Wayne

[malc-c]

Welcome to the club my friend

Couple of suggestions, even at this early stage. You have said that you are going to spread the build out over some months... Personally I would suggest that when it comes to doing the frame work and cladding that you either take a week or so off work and do this in one go. Or get yourself a decent large tarp and make provisions for it to be securely fastened down so as to protect the structure. When I was building my Obsy I had an ill fitting tarp and even with three coats of crupinol preserve on the marine ply floor, the top veneer lifted in places where the water had settled.

At this stage you need to make sure your foundation is solid as you can make them (Gina commented that mine were... well lets say they thought I was building a house ). Also incorporate a DPM (damp proof membrane) in the foundation to stop the cold and damp rising up, which could in years to come, rot the wood.

[Bizibilder]

Are you going to use a pier (either bought in or home made)? If so, now is the time to pour the pier base, after digging out a suitable hole - at least a two-foot cube, two square by three deep if you can. Then pour the base and ensure that the two concrete pieces are seperate - to prevent the transmission of vibrations.

Even if you don't want to use a pier immediately you may as well make the base! You never know, you know!

[Daniel-K]

Are you going to use a pier (either bought in or home made)? If so, now is the time to pour the pier base, after digging out a suitable hole - at least a two-foot cube, two square by three deep if you can. Then pour the base and ensure that the two concrete pieces are seperate - to prevent the transmission of vibrations.

Even if you don't want to use a pier immediately you may as well make the base! You never know, you know!

not putting in a pier "yet" but probaly will at a later date

[Gina]

I agree with putting in the pier base now - or if you are thinking of a concrete pier, that too. So... pier base and pier THEN foundations and floor. A raised wooden floor is much much warmer than concrete or flagstones. Better still with insulation under the warm room floor

[Daniel-K]

so after the first day spent about 4 hours prepping got one run of flags down but ran out of paving sand. probaly going to take the flags back up and add more sand tomorrow after work. the first picture is to show the size of the garden it just over 14meter in width and 14 meters in length:eek:.

barry cam around in the afternoon to knock up the square and then help'd me set in the ground.then we added the 15 bags of ballest and flattend it all down.

[Daniel-K]

I agree with putting in the pier base now - or if you are thinking of a concrete pier, that too. So... pier base and pier THEN foundations and floor. A raised wooden floor is much much warmer than concrete or flagstones. Better still with insulation under the warm room floor

putting the flags down first then haveing a raised floor. im just after a nice little obs for my scope not after anything fancy

[malc-c]

not putting in a pier "yet" but probaly will at a later date

Whilst you are doing the ground work it's worth following Biz's advice and lay the foundation block if you intend using a steel fabricated pier later. If you opt for the reinforced concrete pipe as the pier then that needs installing sooner rather than later

[Daniel-K]

heres a pic with the flags put down a few need taking up a leveling but its better taking my picrures on here than the sinking grass:D

[Daniel-K]

are these ok for the roll of roof? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-X-shower-door-rollers-wheels-bearings-runners-SR018W-/110895622440?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Bathroom_Shower_Units_PP&hash=item19d1e4e928#ht_500wt_1282

[fwm891]

These seem intended for a shower door, unless your RoR is very light I doubt they would take the punishment of long term use or being shaken in high winds...

[Daniel-K]

though so i have just bought some nylon ones

[Daniel-K]

just a few pics to show what i have done today with barry (in the pic)

• dug the hole for the pier pipe
  
• hammered the rebar into place
  
• concreted around the base of the pier
  

Whats next:

• fill pier with concrete and set plate in
  
• build base for obsy
  
• build walls for obsy
  
• paint shell
  

hopefully next weekend should have the above done depending on the weather

[Gina]

Looking good Coming along nicely

[Carbon]

I think those rollers are way too light duty for the roof. I've seen people use garage door track and wheels and they seem to do the job.

I used 4" V-groove steel casters riding on an angle iron track for my 9 x 11 roof. Very smooth rolling and not too much effort required to push the heavy, fiberglass shingled roof.

[Daniel-K]

well its not looking good for friday and saturday i have got some wood to build the base of the obsy but the weathers going to stop play this weekend my pier plates should be here tomorrow so all is in place to get cracking....now wheres summer

[Daniel-K]

ok update pier plates arrived today im very pleased with them just small issues one of the bolts came with a damaged thread so no i cant get the nut off the bolt and inside the threaded hole were the pin screws into has been painted to the will have to be cleaned as the pain is stopping it from screwing in. got some rollers for the roof just waiting for some rain-less days now while im off to pour the concrete into the pier. what are the odds of me doing this before work on tuesday

[Daniel-K]

got a gap in the weather this morning to finish of the base should be solid now my question is when i cast my plates in do i need it to be as accurate to north as i can get??

[Daniel-K]

nice weather today so im treating the wood for the base with creosote a smelly job but will give the obs base some good protection.encounters a small problem after receiving the plates i thought i would rest it on top of the pier to give me an idea what it would look like. well....... the plates nearly fell straight down the inside of the pier i thought i had orders 200m tubing for the pier but had ordered 250mm and my plates are 250mm but i have solved the issue but has taken me a few days to figure it out we had a christening yesterday for the baby so funds are short till next week thats when im going to get most of the wood for the shell of the obs and alot of paint and going to pour the concrete as well into the pier and set the plates in. a week behind but i have planned it till september feels like im getting nowhere at the moment but its preparation is the key

[leelee970]

Looks good Daniel, I see you went for the galvanised tubing as I suggested. You'll not regret it (except if you ever have to remove it, lol).

On the note of North just get it close (I used a simple compass out of a Christmas cracker), you’ll make the necessary adjustments on the mount.

I hope the weather get better so you can complete it soon.

[Daniel-K]

sunday is looking good for a chance to get the base knocked up and maybe pre fabricate the sides and store them in the garage if i dont have enough time to put it together which i dont think will with pouring the concrete