Is this a fair price?

[emadmoussa]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321100686919?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I'm not sure though - seems a bit flimsy to me. Or am I just imagining.

[nightfisher]

I would suggest a ground up build then your spreading the cost as it progress`s, you might also build one for similar money and it will be solid 

[Neil27]

Seems a great price, but yes they are using 'minimalistic' framing, 38mm or in old money 1 1/2 inch framing isn't overly secure, I would increase that to the suggested 3" x 2" framing as suggested.

Also unlike IKI observing roll offs there is no facility to drop down the side to allow viewing of the lower skies near the horizon, but that is reflected in the price.

Otherwise it looks OK and makes 'DIY' builds harder to justify other than the sense of doing it yourself.

It is also good to see competition to other observatory builders such as IKI et all.

[red dwalf]

agree, if you have some skills then a self build could be alittle bigger and slightly better built, i.e. i see the door is not braced with diagonal timbers, frame work could be thicker, also the floor joists need to be thick in my opinion i used 4" x 2". so for £700 you should be able to get all the timber and bits you will need.

i can`t say that the £700 the guys are charging is expensive, it certainly isn`t  when you take into count how long it takes to build one, if i paid myself an hourly rate, even a couple of quid, it would have cost me thousands to complete.

[Neil27]

I would suggest a ground up build then your spreading the cost as it progress`s, you might also build one for similar money and it will be solid 

I agree, but for people who don't have the skills or the spare time it is good to see suppliers coming down in price and making it possible to afford a suitable roll off for a reasonable price.

And yes if you build something yourself, we all tend to 'over engineer' these things so it would likely be more solid. Plus the smug grin of having built your own roll off I assume can't be beaten...

[ollypenrice]

The issue with that is the fact that the upper sides don't roll with the roof. If you have bad horizons then it doesn't matter but all mine have rolling upper sides and a flap.

Is the roof captive? It needs to be or it will sail away!

Olly

[Pig]

Looks ok to me Imad, I may do the same to my shed.

I was thinking of only doing half the roof sliding completely thus you can move the other half out of the way dependent on where your pointing. This simple change may help keep some of the wind out

[Gina]

 Looks flimsy to me too but what else can you expect for £700?  That won't buy a decent garden shed - which is virtually all that is, of course.  Unless there's internal fastenings (doubtful), that roof will take off in a fresh breeze I should think.

[JamesF]

I reckon the framing is too skinny, too.  3x2 would make much more sense.

James

[RikM]

I am just in the middle of pricing up for for something very similar. I think that's a very fair price for a basic £300 7'x7' shed and then conversion to roll of roof.

I was quoted £1,800 this morning for a (very nice) 10'x6' Apex comprising a 6'x6' roll-off over a 4'x'6' warm room. 3"x2" frame work, 16mm redwood shiplap and a 5-lever lock door. I would have to provide the rolling mechanism/hardware and base/groundwork. +£200 for delivery and installation. Unfortunately, that's almost double my current budget but I think I can do it myself for about £1,000

[Gina]

One thing about building it yourself is that you can spread the cost.  That is what I did - I bought most of my timber in two lots from our local timber merchant - two lots of just over £300 at that price they delivered it free   Later we took our pickup and collected 10 sheets of 6mm plywood at just over half the price Wickes wanted.  Of course on top of that there was ballast and cement from Wickes plus sundry coach bolts, wood screws and SS nails for the Redwood shiplap cladding.  Oh and membrane to go between cladding and frame, not to mention the rubber roofing - another couple of hundred pounds if I remember correctly.  OTOH mine is quite large with about 2.5m square scope room (8ft x 8ft) and attached 2m square warm room (actually about 7ft x 6ft).  Then there was all the wiring and electrical fittings etc. etc.  It all adds up to one hell of a lot   And it took me many months to build.  But the result is truly delightful

[r3i]

One thing about building it yourself is that you can spread the cost.  That is what I did - I bought most of my timber in two lots from our local timber merchant - two lots of just over £300 at that price they delivered it free   Later we took our pickup and collected 10 sheets of 6mm plywood at just over half the price Wickes wanted.  Of course on top of that there was ballast and cement from Wickes plus sundry coach bolts, wood screws and SS nails for the Redwood shiplap cladding.  Oh and membrane to go between cladding and frame, not to mention the rubber roofing - another couple of hundred pounds if I remember correctly.  OTOH mine is quite large with about 2.5m square scope room (8ft x 8ft) and attached 2m square warm room (actually about 7ft x 6ft).  Then there was all the wiring and electrical fittings etc. etc.  It all adds up to one hell of a lot   And it took me many months to build.  But the result is truly delightful

Agreed, there's a lot more to the cost of an observatory than just the wood.  If you can go down the DIY route, it's highly recommended.  As well as spreading the cost and getting a finished article that meets your requirements, there's a lot of satisfaction to be had by creating your very own 'grand design'.

[Paulus17]

I bought a cheap shed years ago,just as a temporary measure while we moved into the house and the shed literaly fell apart it was that badly made with rubbish materials.

[Zakalwe]

I bought a cheap shed years ago,just as a temporary measure while we moved into the house and the shed literaly fell apart it was that badly made with rubbish materials.

The same here. I spent £300 on a flimsy shed and ended up giving it away.

The shed linked to looks flimsy. As others have said, the door is not sufficient. I'd also be looking very, very closely at how the roof moves and is constructed. No doubt the manufacturer could make it much better, for example they are offering heavier framing. But then the cost gets higher and it might be close to a solid purpose built obsy. 

I bought mine from Ian King. A bit more expensive (mine was an early one and a lot cheaper than the current prices) and it has been fantastic.

[Tinker1947]

Far to flimsy for the money.....

[emadmoussa]

The same here. I spent £300 on a flimsy shed and ended up giving it away.

The shed linked to looks flimsy. As others have said, the door is not sufficient. I'd also be looking very, very closely at how the roof moves and is constructed. No doubt the manufacturer could make it much better, for example they are offering heavier framing. But then the cost gets higher and it might be close to a solid purpose built obsy. 

I bought mine from Ian King. A bit more expensive (mine was an early one and a lot cheaper than the current prices) and it has been fantastic.

This is the other option. I was looking at the ones from Ian King and despite the high price they seem pretty well made. Which version did you get? Did you set up the floor yourself before hand?

[Zakalwe]

This is the other option. I was looking at the ones from Ian King and despite the high price they seem pretty well made. Which version did you get? Did you set up the floor yourself before hand?

I have the 7x7. No warm room (I control it remotely)

Yes, I did the groundwork, and I think that this is probably the most important bit. Get that right and the job is  a LOT easier. I dug a hole a bit under 1m cubed and filled that with readymix and a rebar cage. This formed the pier base, which protrudes through the shed floor and is level with the inside.

The surrounding ground was dug down about 200mm and filled with MOT with was compacted with a whacker plate. About an inch of sharp sand on top and then some patio slabs. I rushed levelling the sand which meant that the base wasn't perfectly level which I knew would cause problems, so I had to redo it. I'm glad I did as the roof can be rolled very easily now.

If you have an existing patio then it'd be easy to just plonk it down on that. And you probably wont need anywhere near such a substantial base if you are visual only.

[dmahon]

Don't forget all the additional costs when you set out. They don't half add up.

I had to pay over £1.2k for Cement / Ballast / Ducting / Cable / JCB / Electrician / Electrics (consumer units + metal clad sockets/switches). Then there's the pier.

Fortunately you can take your time with it. My build was spread over 6 months.

[Zakalwe]

Don't forget all the additional costs when you set out. They don't half add up.

I had to pay over £1.2k for Cement / Ballast / Ducting / Cable / JCB / Electrician / Electrics (consumer units + metal clad sockets/switches). Then there's the pier.

Fortunately you can take your time with it. My build was spread over 6 months.

Very much this. This is what it cost me to do the groundworks:

Sand and MOT: £120

Premix Concrete: £115

Whacker-plate hire: £45

Wood, odds and sods: £50

2 x Hippo Midi bag £130 (to cart away all the muck and rubble from the hole)

Postcrete (for the uprights): £20

Then there's all the other bits and bobs that you end up buying once you have the obsy up! The pier was about £300. A new PC to go into the Obsy. Cables, USB leads, new USB hub,brackets for LCD monitor, box/cabinet to house the PC and power supply.

The blooming list is endless!

[Gina]

Sure is!!

[emadmoussa]

Ok, supposedly I managed to make a nice floor, but would like to avoid any concrete work, can I just settle with a pier with legs such as the Skywatcher one?

I also noticed that Orion UK sell pedestals with legs and also EQ6 adapters...they seem like a better option than the SW version?

Worth mentioning that my initial goal is a SW AZ EQ6-GT mount. Which I assume uses the same adapters as the normal NEQ6?

[dmahon]

Many people manage fine with a tripod - but if you're going to have a permanent observatory the legs take up too much room and just invite you to trip over them. I'd get a pier.

The fortunate thing about concrete to hold your pier is that the finish of it isn't very important. I presume you're going to cover it up with a wooden floor. You just need to make the surface fairly flat so you can bolt the pier to it - and you can always grind it flat after you've poured it. You'll not even need to bother with shuttering if you aren't concreting it above ground.

My base was the first time I'd ever "done" concrete. It's not that hard (as in difficult) but it is heavy labour.

[red dwalf]

you could use the scope on a mount but the problem is two fold, firstly your always tripping over the legs of the mount and secondly when your walking on the floor the floor gives just alittle which causes movement and the eyepiece or camera will move which is not the best action.

a pier doesn`t have to cost the earth, i got hold of a brown plastic 8 inch brown waste pipe cut off for free, about 6 foot long, very thick walls and very sturdy, 10 bags of ballast and 2 bags of cement, some 12mm threaded rod with washers and nuts for £9 and some 6mm thick steel plate for free for the top of the pier, then i bought a altair astro NEQ6 pier adapter which was the most expensive bit at £90.

also a very kind neighbour with some welding skills made me a threaded rod with a brace attached to it to fasten the steal plate to the top of the pier, works a treat.

the build thread is here is your interested in the build process,

http://www.robslack1.webspace.virginmedia.com/Pier%20Build.htm

[Zakalwe]

Emad, I thought that you had a Skywatcher pillar? if so, just unscrew the wheels and feet off it and bolt it down to three paving slabs. Cut the shed bas to suit. This was my mark 1 pier. i had to abandon it as it wasn't high enough.

(Excuse the cable mess...I was in the middle of sorting them!). You can also see the steel cable and turnbuckles that I used to tension the whole thing up....rock solid after that.

[emadmoussa]

Emad, I thought that you had a Skywatcher pillar? if so, just unscrew the wheels and feet off it and bolt it down to three paving slabs. Cut the shed bas to suit. This was my mark 1 pier. i had to abandon it as it wasn't high enough.

(Excuse the cable mess...I was in the middle of sorting them!). You can also see the steel cable and turnbuckles that I used to tension the whole thing up....rock solid after that.

Thank you - this is really helpful.

Was about to say, it'll be slightly low especially if you're using  a refractor. I've had another look at the Orion pedestal (pillar) and you can always buy one that's 125cm high..Naturally these are made to fit the HEQ5, but Orion makes EQ6 adapters as well. Teleskop Service also sells a similar - if not identical -  product.  I didn't see EQ6 adapters though...the price of the 125cm pillar with legs and EQ6 adapter is nearly the same price of a Skywatcher pillar. I wonder if anybody here uses these pedestals (pillars)?

Excuse me DIY ignorance, how exactly did you bolt the mount into the paving slabs? Did you stack 3 paving slabs like these ones and drilled through?