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And finally..... my obs starts

Helen

By Helen
in DIY Astronomer

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Helen

Helen

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Things have been a bit slow on the obs project over the last few months...but finally full steam ahead now :D

The landscapers are starting tomorrow to redesign the garden, dig the hole for the pier and lay the slabs for the shed. I know, I know, getting someone to dig the hole is cheating :D But I did clear the bed of shrubs and roots myself (which was really hard work - I can see why shrubs don't blow over!) and Mike was pretty clear that he'd rather pay someone to dig the big hole rather than have me do it (shame, I actually like digging!).

Once that is done, the shed man is coming to measure up. Jan/Feb is a quiet time he says, so lead time is only a week or so. It will be a joint build - he'll do the basics and we'll do all the finishing touches/extras. Size will be 10 1/2 x7 1/2 feet, which will be enough for a 3 1/2 foot warm room :lol:

I've not got the pier sorted out yet though. I had originally planned on using the AzRok, but thinking it over I was afraid I would limit my options, and was also worried about tripping over the cables in the dark! So a traditional steel pipe pier is the way I'll go. As I'm going to chemical bond it to the concrete base I'm assuming I can fit it after the shed has been erected (it will make laying the one-piece with a hole cut out floor much easier!). Looking for local suppliers of pipes later this week.

I promise some photos as it progresses!

Helen

PS thanks to all those who have provided help and encouragement so far - I couldn't have got this far without you :salute:

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centroid

centroid

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Great news Helen, you are 'underway' at last. What a patient lady you have been. :D

As they say, " everything comes to those who wait". You've done the waiting bit, and now its coming. :cheers:

Looking forward to seeing the pictures, as it progresses.

Dave

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barkis

barkis

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Way to go Helen. You will soon be up and running, and it will be a whole new experience.

Once the mount is polar aligned, your startup and shut down times will be minimal, and that sure does make a difference.

I am talking from the experience of my last permanent domed Ob. not the run off I have now. Everything is about in place, nand the only excuse I can offer is my progress has been deliberately slow, and the awful wet weather which has plagued Cumbria for weeks.

I hope your progress goes well, and no hold ups.

Ron.

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anthony

anthony

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That's good news. Fingers crossed for good weather and quick progress.

That is a good size. I found that going from a fork/wedge SCT to GEM left me a bit shy of room to manouevre around the scope to the south due to the pier proximity to the south wall. Consider the space requirements if you were to change to an eq at a later date.

PLooking forwards to the pictures

Anthony

(PS I would have pretended that I dug the hole regardless :D)

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Helen

Helen

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Thanks guys :lol:

They are on site now, and have measured up. We added 6 inches to each dimension just to be on the safe side, so the earlier measurements will be internal not external :D

Its stopped drizzling now, which is good. They've decided too much earth to redistribute it around the garden and so we've had to get a skip. So, in the best property programme tradition, we've been working for an hour and the cost has gone up by £100 already :D

Off to make them tea..... update you later!

Helen

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Stardust

Stardust

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Glad it's under way. you'll be so pleased with it. Last night for example my friend rung at 9 so we nipped out for 30 mins before the clouds came over, but it was the best view of Mars I've seen, so well worth it. Probably wouldn't have gone out if I didn't have the obsy.

Dave

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Helen

Helen

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Progress report: end of day 1.

This was the start of the day

The site - we'd already had some trees removed, and I'd removed some shrubs and relocated the rest of the plants. The cane is for the centre of the pier base (the slabs wer just for testing!).

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That's Paul the landscaper - he's not very big, but boy can he shift stuff!

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Getting the boundary for the slab sorted out.

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Then the digging started... because our garden slopes so much we've had to remove a load of soil. We've already filled one skip and another one is coming tomorrow. So 4 more inches down for the base to be laid (slabs on hard core) and then the 3 x 3 x 1 1/2 (with a 1 foot cube key on the bottom) to be dug tomorrow :shock: We've dug down to allow the shed height to be roughly fence height as its next to the boundary fence.

Its supposed to be drier tomorrow, which will be very welcome :D things got very muddy this afternoon in the rain.

Further update tomorrow....

Helen

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Helen

Helen

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More progress...

start of day 2

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Paul doing more digging

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The hole - in the end we went for 3 foot x3 foot x 18inches with a 1foot cube key at the bottom (the bottom is 5 foot below ground level now!

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Jamie - who also did the digging - giving it a sense of scale (love that hat!)

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and then the concrete went in

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More photos later...

Helen (excited!)

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Helen

Helen

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No, I didn't mix any concrete JV, but I did redistribute about 5 tons of soil around my garden while the boys were mixing concrete :shock: and I'm feeling it today!

Some more piccies..

action shot of Paul finishing off the lumpy concrete... they then added a smooth finish to it

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As you can see it was a long day yesterday (but it was so much easier because it was dry!)

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Covered the concrete up over night...

This morning Paul's been putting in the piping for the cables and has now started laying the rest of the shed base. The pier slab is isolated from the rest of the base - sand in the space at the moment, gravel will be added later.

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On the pier Jv, it will either be round or square, depending on what off-cuts our local supplier has handy! I'm hoping a friend of mine (ex-metalwork teacher) will enjoy working on this project with me and weld the top and bottom plates for me (perhaps he let me have go too :shock:). I need to progress this quickly though as I'd like to have it in place ready for when the shed is completed in a couple of weeks time.

Good fun this - particularly as I'm involved all day, but don't have to do all the hard work!

Helen

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