Gina's Observatory Build - Abbreviated - Main Construction

[badgerchap]

I'm presuming that's your EQ6 tucked under the black plastic - is it alright out there? I'm just thinking it might get a bit moist. Maybe you should post it to me for safe keeping . Nice work though Gina, as ever. Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

[Gina]

08 October 2011

Some progress today :-

1. More green wood preserver applied to framework timbers and roll off running rails.

2. Some of the floorboards' ends soaked in clear preserver.

3. Some floorboards painted with green preserver on one side and left to dry.

4. Noggins and joists that had been treated put in place.

5. Sorting out timber for edges of warm room roof.

[Gina]

10 October 2011

Been painting timber with preservative - not a small task, there's a lot of it!

So here's today's progress :-

1. Obsy floorboards put in position, up to the pier.

2. More floorboards treated with wood preserver.

3. Last warm room joist screwed down and extra piece screwed on.

4. 4 of 5 noggins fixed between warm room joists.

5. Above noggins finished off with wood preserver.

6. Some more floorboards treated with wood preserver and laid on the joists (not fixed)

Here are today's photos showing floorboards in place and noggins etc. Two photos also show the 40mm plastic waste pipe and bends/elbows that I'm using to provide under floor cable ducting going between the pier and the warm room. The elbows bring the ducting up through the floors.

[Gina]

13 October 2011

1. Wood preserver applied to more floorboards.

2. Last warm room joist noggin screwed in place and painted with preserver.

3. Floor beams fastened to concrete blocks with screws through the SS ties set into the concrete.

4. Cable conduit pipe put in place.

5. Two pieces of polystyrene insulation cut and fitted between joists under warm room floor. The polystyrene fits on top of the noggins - this plus friction holds this in place.

Today's photos :-

[Gina]

14 October 2011

Some good weather today with some sunshine even, so got quite a nice bit done

Progress today :-

1. Finished cutting and fitting the warm room under floor insulation.

2. Applied wood preserver to the rest of the floorboards.

3. Threaded some rope through the cable conduit pipe - no problem, pushed through easily.

4. Cut pieces of wood for the warm room roof edges and discovered a problem - the end roll off member wouldn't quite clear the top warm room roof edge piece..

5. Corrected problem above by lowering the warm room roof by 18mm at the top edge and adjusting the warm room south wall frame to suit.

6. Put rest of floorboards in their places.

Today's photos :-

[Gina]

15 October 2011

A glorious sunrise heralded a nice fine day though it never warmed up as much as expected and stayed cold all day. I was determined that it wouldn't stop me from getting on

I made an early start (before 8am) and got a satisfying amount done today including getting the rubber roofing up on the warm room roof and glued down.

Having lowered the warm room south wall top by 18mm as mentioned yesterday, the window frame sides needed reducing by 12mm and 6mm and the angle of slope changed from 3 degrees to about 2.5. Also the top batten of the frame needed altering to provide enough clearance for the window pane.

So, this starts off the day's progress...

1. Warm room window frame top batten thinned down one end and the spacer at the other reduced by 12mm. Then batten screwed back into place.

2. Placed second piece of OSB on warm room roof and screwed it down.

3. Sorting out the pieces for the warm room roof sides to provide the right form and height for the edge of the roof.

4. Took rubber roofing sheet and put it up on the warm room roof and spread it out. Had to turn it 90 degrees to fit the right way round.

5. Having positioned it to provide the right overlaps all round, the bottom half was rolled up to expose half the OSB.

6. Adhesive applied to OSB with a small long handled roller.

7. Rubber membrane unrolled onto adhesive and smoothed down by hand and using a long handled standard size paint roller I use for painting ceilings.

8. Top half of membrane rolled up down the slope and adhesive applied to the top half of the OSB. Then the sheet unrolled onto adhesive.

9. Adhesive applied to top member of dividing wall which provides the upstand for the warm roof roof and seal between the two roof sections. Then rubber stuck up the side of the wood.

10. Corners of a 75x22mm wood strip rounded off with a rasp and sanded smooth ready to take the rubber membrane. This was then screwed to the south side of the roof to provide a ridge in the membrane to keep rain water away from the wood.

11. Adhesive applied to the sides and top of this strip and the rubber membrane stuck to it.

This was as far as I got today, leaving the fascia to be screwed on and the other sides to do tomorrow (or when weather permits).

Now to the photos, starting with the sunrise as captured by the webcam.

The warm room window frame.

Now on to today's main project - the rubber roofing on the warm room.

Rolled up ready for applying the adhesive.

One extra pic taken from a webcam image. Applying adhesive to the second half of the roof, with the rubber membrane rolled up towards the lower end of the roof. I didn't take DSLR photos once I'd started applying adhesive - I didn't want to stop.

[Gina]

16 October 2011

Overall the weather has been good for most of the day and I've got a reasonable amount done. Not quite as much as I had hoped, but that seems always to be the case I had hoped to have finished the warm room roof and got on to the roll off.

So... today it's been all on the warm room roof.

1. Prepared the pieces for the roof edges and treated the parts that will be visible with the green wood preserver.

2. Glued down the rubber membrane over the sides of the roof and up over top of the dividing wall frame.

3. Screwed the south side edge trim pieces together.

4. Screwed the south side edge assembly onto the roof edge over the rubber.

5. Screwed the north side fascia into position.

6. Cut the drip bar for the bottom of the roof.

7. Screwed drip bar to OSB and side pieces.

8. Glued the rubber onto the drip bar.

9. Trimmed the rubber to just below the edge of the drip bar.

Now to today's photos, starting with a view of the south west corner of the warm room roof just after fastening on the fascia assembly :-

[Gina]

17 October 2011

Mixed weather today but made some progress even if there isn't actually much to see. Well... just a few bits of green painted wood

So... progress today :-

1. Measured up for the next pieces of roll off roof framework.

2. Cut wood for the above and applied wood preserver - ends soaked and sides brushed.

3. Removed temporary pieces from roof framework, cut to length etc. as above.

4. Attached one piece of wood in order to check that everything fitted.

The photos start off with a nice sunrise again (from the webcam) but the sunshine didn't last and we had some rain. Otherwise just a photo of a few bits of green wood Might be more to see tomorrow if weather permits.

[Gina]

18 October 2011

Not the best of conditions for building progress today! Showers and a cold wind plus I had to go out a couple of times. Not a blow-by-blow report today but I have made some progress. Managed to get some roll off framework pieces installed and sorted out an anomaly with my design

One thing has been apparent - the roll off does tend to go off course so I've ordered some skateboard bearings to guide it. These are 22mm diameter so should be fine. Total of just under 6 quid for a set of 8 including postage. There's just a small modification required to make clearance for them. Actually, I think the reason for going off course may be that the 100x22mm side pieces that hold the wheels have warped and I'm thinking of adding some pieces of steel angle I have available, to hold it straight. The angle can also carry the guide bearings.

Now here's today's photos :-

[Gina]

19 October 2011

Been working entirely on the roll off roof framework today.

1. Measured and cut the 4"x2" (100x47mm) central cross beam and soaked the ends in wood preserver.

2. Set central cross beam into place.

3. Fitted the middle angled roof support joists.

4. Attached some bits of wood to guide the roll off assembly (in lieu of rollers which I'll add later), as I got fed up with the roll off wheels coming off the running track almost every time I moved it.

5. Measured up and cut the purlins (cross members between the joists that carry the corrugated roofing) for the north side of the roof. Plus the usual soaking of the ends.

6. Fitted the purlins between the joists and fastened them each end with 4" no.10 wood screw through the joists into the ends.

Today's photos :-

[Gina]

22 October 2011

Shiplap ordered now having sufficient funds. 40 lengths of 4.8m by 136mm coverage per board. Cost just over £360 inc VAT.

Another fine but cold day with a chilling breeze. No major milestones passed today on the actual build - just a number of small, tidying up jobs.

1. Trimmed the excess rubber membrane from the warm room roof.

2. Lifted end floorboard from warm room floor and trimmed it to width.

3. Applied wood preserver to freshly exposed wood on edge of floorboard.

4. Applied wood preserver to various other pieces.

5. Several little jobs.

Didn't take any DSLR photos so I've cropped some of the webcam saved images and uploaded those. (Note for precis - I'm cutting down on the photos in this abridged/abbreviated version but these "action shots" went down well before so I'm including some.)

[Gina]

25 October 2011

Many small jobs today including an abortive attempt to erect a wind break so I'll condense this part... The day started sunny but with a cold wind then turned wet (very) in the afternoon. Webcam shots only today.

[ASIGN_Baz]

Just cruised through all the photos. Marvellous build.

Baz.

[Gina]

Various jobs done including adding barge boards to the roll off roof and other bits of the structure. Guttering and down pipe added to the warm room. (Temporary guttering was unsatisfactory and something was needed to stop rainwater running off roof and into warm room area.)

[Gina]

Just cruised through all the photos. Marvellous build.

Baz.

Thank you very much Baz Compliments from an expert

[Gina]

Adding extra supports to the roof to which to attach plywood.

[Gina]

03 November 2011

Today's Progress Report.

Very mixed weather today. Fine with a light breeze at sunrise and very mild but very soon the heavens opened and we had torrential rain and strong winds. Later it turned to heavy showers and fine intervals. With strong gusts in the showers. We even had a few sunny spells. I made use of the fine periods to get on with the build.

Main job today was covering the second half of the obsy roof with plywood and adding the edge strips. Also de-cluttered the floor during a brief fine period.

So to itemise :-

1. Sorted out timber for raising the rubber membrane at the edge of the roof to stop rain water blowing off over the edge.

2. Cut pieces above to length and rounded the top edges and corners for the rubber membrane to go round before going down the side of the roof.

3. Trimmed the plywood for the remaining half of the obsy roof and took it down to the site.

4. Manoeuvred the plywood up onto the roof and into position. Held in place with clamps until the next fine period.

5. Screwed the plywood onto the framework. (Some more screws to go in later when the weather permits).

6. Edge strips screwed onto edge of both halves of the roof.

7. Replaced rope through cable duct pipe with string and emptied rain water out of pipe!

8. Cleared up and moved various pieces of timber, guttering, screws, tools etc. out of the way until required.

Now to today's photos and webcam images :-

Getting 8x4 sheet of 6mm ply and easing up into position of roof.

[studdedsole]

Hi Gina, I'm really interested in your background particular given your mature years and gender, and I don't mean to appear condescending or insulting in that statement so please think of it more a compliment on your knowledge and ingenuity.

You are a constant source of interesting and wacky projects/ideas and I guess must have a scientific background of sorts although I have an overwhelming vision of you code breaking at Bletchley Park (before your time) or at GCHQ (possible).

It would be really nice to understand something about your background so I and others can link your background to the knowledge you display on the forum.

ps - what happened to the webcam, I used to enjoy the watching the sheep wander around the obs.

Tony

[Gina]

05 November 2011

Today's Progress Report.

Dry weather today so pressed on hard - making up for no progress yesterday Everything still dripping with water from the earlier rain and a heavy dew. Not too cold - just under 11C and just a light breeze.

Did several smaller jobs while I waited for the roof to dry off. Then tackled the obsy roof.

Here's the details :-

1. Fitted ball bearing guide rollers for the roll off. Definite improvement on blocks of wood

2. Fitted 3" (mini) guttering and down pipe on east end of roll off roof and attached standard down pipe to obsy south wall to catch rain water from the roof (mini down-pipe).

3. Got up onto the roof and finished screwing down the plywood on the obsy roof.

4. Rounded off any remaining edges from where the rubber membrane was to go.

5. Carried rubber roofing sheet up onto roof and spread it out over the obsy roof.

6. Glued roofing sheet down using special adhesive supplied.

7. Glued sheeting over apex sides and screwed barge boards back on. (Except for one).

[Gina]

06 November 2011

Today's Progress Report.

Fine and sunny, though cold, weather today allowed some good progress on the obsy roof once the worst of the heavy dew had dried off.

1. Screwed final barge board in place.

2. Trimmed the excess sheet off the east end - only needing scissors - very easy stuff to use

3. Fastened rubber sheet into gutter ends using small blocks of wood. That completes the east end of the obsy roof.

4. Re-visited (as a result of using different roofing) the design of the west end obsy roof where the extra width requires rain water run-off to be channelled onto warm room roof. Decided on mini guttering as the easiest method.

5. Cut pieces of guttering to carry water onto the warm room roof and attached end stop pieces.

6. Screwed gutter brackets for open ends onto west side of obsy roof and fastened the short guttering lengths onto roof edge, holding the rubber membrane in position.

7. Cut and chamfered wood piece to extend side down to just clear warm room roof when roll-off closed.

8. Drilled and screwed the above onto the roof.

9. Applied adhesive to woodwork and glued rubber membrane onto it.

10. After trimming off the excess, turned bottom edge of membrane up and behind extension board and secured with clout nails.

11. Same for ends onto underside of main cross beam.

12. Trimmed off rubber membrane from north side level with barge boards.

Several DSLR photos today showing the obsy roof details and the gutter down pipe. Then follows the webcam images showing the progress.

Fitting short lengths of mini guttering and trim onto west end of roof.

Adjusting trim strip to fit round gutter.

Applying adhesive to fasten down rubber sheet

Smoothing down rubber sheet

Turning rubber underneath and securing.

Can I help?

[Gina]

13 November 2011

Now we come to the "Great Day" of the work party Help from Francis (fwm981) and Chris (yesyes) and his friend. So very much appreciated

Fine weather today but with a fresh SE breeze which made a relatively mild temperature feel a lot colder.

Lots of great progress today with the "work party" and lots of webcam images but I also took time to take a small handful of DSLR photos which I'll deal with first. Webcam images to follow later when I've sorted them out.

Here the north and south side walls are finished and the east end frame has been unbolted/unscrewed from the rest and taken out to attach the vapour barrier and shiplap.

Looking into the west end showing the "missing" east wall framework and the latter nearly completed with shiplap on the grass.

Here we see the shiplap and vapour barrier on the south walls.

Some time later, the east wall has been finished and replaced in position. The fold-down flap has also been completed and put in position and can be seen folded down against the east wall. This completes today's work.

And finally, two more shots showing the day's progress - one from the goat shed door, looking down and the other from lower down.

[Gina]

Here is a selection of webcam images up to lunchtime.

[Gina]

After lunch photos.

[Gina]

Finally for the work party day here is a photo of the three of us in the work party.

[Gina]

14 November 2011

Drizzly and foggy all day and cold too. Managed to make progress though.

1. Measured and cut shiplap for the roll off south wall. 5 pieces at the full length. The rest fills the triangle at the top.

2. Measured up and fastened in the two uprights for the warm room end wall. As a result of a suggestion by my helpers yesterday, I've decided to put the door right over to the left end of the wall (as seen from the webcam).

3. Cut and fastened vapour barrier onto the end wall.

As promised yesterday, I took a few DSLR photos of the inside of the building. These show the green vapour barrier on the walls. Also you can see where I've been working out the placing of shiplap on the roll off south wall - pieces of shiplap clamped on to find the height of the top full length. Note that there is some image distortion due to the use of a wide angle lens.

Then follows a photo of the warm room end wall with vapour attached with a selection of webcam images following that.