And finally..... my obs starts

[MartinB]

Just look at that lovely wedge. Very excited for you Helen. Looks great

[jonifive]

Look at that......like a work of art.

I would be tempted to spray it with Hammerite......even an idiot like me can get a nice finish with it. They do some nice colours too. The main point is that it is tough as old boots and will shrug off any marks or knocks.

The trick is to get the surface nice and clean and dry.

JV

[barkis]

It looks absolutely ace Helen, even without paint.

Ron.

[centroid]

I'm tempted to just rub it down, and wait for the weather to warm up before painting it!

It will rust up very quickly helen, even in your nice dry obsy, if left unpainted.

You could just give it a couple of good coats of 'Red Oxide', to protect it until you get around to painting it.

Dave

[Helen]

Thanks for the advice Dave!

Helen

[Chubster]

Thanks guys!

and the shed is in the workshop in pieces ready for delivery and erection on Monday

The shed will probably be treated with a light colour (warm oak or similar) Ron, but I'm undecided on the pier colour yet Probably black, but maybe blue, or I saw a rather nice copper colour... The pier guy actually gave me a couple of tins of black spray paint - but its too cold to use at the moment. Anyone know of a paint treatment that will work in the cold!! I'm tempted to just rub it down, and wait for the weather to warm up before painting it! I'm assuming that if I use a brush rather than spray then I can paint it in situ (having removed the scope of course!), because having to move it would be very difficult because its so heavy...

Helen

PS perhaps I'll hold an 'open shed' evening once its finished! friends welcome

You can use Hammerite Helen, does give a nice smooth finish, one thing to look out for though is with hammerite you apply the second coat "before" the first coat is DRY. Sounds strange but true! There are other alternatives, why not pop into your local Brewers If you have one near, they will point you in the right direction. As for the shed painting do I feel another SGL Observatory Makeover coming up

Looks really good!

[Helen]

Thanks for the advice Chubster! (Nice to 'see' you about again!)

Helen

[markcol]

Looks like you'll have a really great obs when it's finished Helen! Super pier/wedge combo...

Keep the pics coming.

Best wishes

Mark

[SteelRat]

That looks to be going REALLY well Helen. Great stuff. Thanks for the pics. More please 8)

[Helen]

Further update guys (been having internet connectivity problems over the last couple of weeks )

Shed arrived last Monday..

base going over pier (its too heavy to move easily :shock:)

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build finished

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wall folding as it should

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front view (supports are shorter than they ideally would be, but otherwise Mike would be headbutting the runner when walking on the path :shock:

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The roof came just as marine ply, so it needed a temporary shower cap!

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My father making sure the roof is dry before we start roofing (yes, that IS a hairdryer!!)

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and then working on the roof - my mother would have been horrified if she'd seen the things my just-turned-seventy father got up to on Monday (neither of us had done anything like this before!

(click to enlarge)

and then we started fitted out the inside - here is the warm room, with a window to see the cord wrap!! (bitter experience!)

(click to enlarge)

Next thing is to set up the pier, get the electrics sorted and then add the scope cabling... a few weeks work yet, but great fun!

I did actually set the scope up for a short while last night - so its now an obs not a shed

A Happy Helen!

PS I'm calling it 'The Cwtch Under the Stars' which will probably make no sense to most people, but JV will understand!!

[Viking]

Helen,

Thanks for posting the pictures. I had wondered if you had got lost under all the concrete and rubble :hello1: It is looking the business.

John

[MikeD]

Top job,it looks the bees knees. :hello1:

Mike.

[algol]

fantastic ob there Helen. wish i could get one lol. bit nippy some nights.

oh one question thought to all ob users, i know the moving roof lets you see up and helens ingenious fold down wall lets you see to the south horizon, but what bout the other walls? won't they ruin your view?

[Helen]

Hi Algol,

There is always a trade off - and doing the calculations did my head in! (and I LIKE trigonometry!) You need to consider the height of the scope for viewing, the height of the top of the scope when parked (to avoid the roof taking the top off the scope when it rolls :shock:), the height of the scope at the lowest angle you wish to view (remembering that below about 20 degrees the atmosphere isn't very stable anyway), and the distance of the scope from the walls (the farther away the less intrusion). My walls are 5 foot 6, which is high enough that I can walk around easily when the roof is closed (I'm only little!), but low enough that I can see almost all of my horizon. The end apex walls are more problematic, but for me my north horizon is cluttered by houses so it doesn't really matter, and I've overcome the south problem with the folding wall. Haven't really tested in anger yet though, but from initial testing it looks about right - where's that 'Phew' smiley??

Helen

[barkis]

That is sure one fine quality looking construction Helen.

It is a very nice structure to gaze at, and it's going to be a quality one to gaze from.

Your astronomy is going to turn a lot more pleasurable for you soon.

Just a little while longer, and official opening ceremony will commence.

Pictures of that too please

You pass on to those guys doing the job, they are very good at what they do.

Ron.

[Andrew*]

That looks just the business - I'm sure you those four walls are going to see much success and you will get much pleasure from it for years to come!

Well done!

Andrew

[centroid]

Well, now that really does look impressive Helen.

From drawings and ideas on a piece of paper, to the real thing!!

I commend you on a project very well thought, researched, and overseen by your good self at every stage of construction. One to be proud of I'm sure.

Just one question to satisfy my curiosity though, why the windows?

Dave

[jonifive]

Thats looking incredible H....I'm quite jealous. Good for you, keep the pics coming.

JV

[Stardust]

Hey that's come on at a great rate of knots and looking very nice too. You'll soon be out in comfort.

I've got windows in mine too Dave, reason being that it makes it look a lot less shed like, that was a stipulation from my wife, Given how prominent it is in the garden, I thought it a fair request. They are covered in solarfilm which makes them mirrored and you can't see in during the day.

Dave

,

[CELESCOPE]

Just caught up on all this Helen ,Woooeeeeee thats some Obs , fantastic work you must be well pleased, i would be , going to be real cosy in there ,

Ah the Cabin under the Stars, a much loved place , you will get lost in there for hours ,and when cloudy , some processing practise, dont forget the intecom,so Hubby can bring you tea and biscuits heheheheh,

Anyway i shall now look foward to the interior design, and your first images ,

Just finished my warm room yesterday after redoing it , 28 inch tv , 3 computers hehehehhe radio, and intercom,

Rog

Great is,nt it

[SteelRat]

That really looks the business Helen 8) Congrats on a job really well done.

Cheers

Matthew(SR)

[Helen]

Thanks guys. Just come back from a long weekend away! More work to be done on fitting out this week, including getting the pier fixings drilled and attached, but pleased with progress so far!

The windows, Dave, are for 3 purposes - to improve the look, let light in during the day, and the one in the warm room allows me to see into the conservatory so that Mike can wave to me when he goes to bed!! (also useful for seeing the television - like we did when fitting out last weekend and keeping an eye on another Wales victory ). All except the warm room one will have solar film (like Stardust Dave), and the warm room with have a small blind!

I'll keep you posted with progress!

Helen

[AndrewLincs]

Thats looking really great Helen.

I've just shown my wife who thinks it looks great and might fit in our garden.

regards

Andrew

[Shibby]

Hi Helen,

I know this is a crazy 9-year bump! However, you recently posted a link to this thread and I noticed that your groundwork is almost exactly the same as what I'm planning. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind?

The conduit for your cables - how have you protected this? Is it below the hardcore, or above it, embedded in the slab mortar? I've been trying to get this straight in my head because the hardcore+mortar will only be so deep and I don't want to end up crushing it.

The isolation of your pier concrete - you mention gravel, is that what you went with? I'm not 100% certain how to do this - do you leave a gap just to the depth of the shuttering, then fill it after the slabs are laid? Presumably it's just the slabs that need isolating, not the earth itself all around the concrete block?

Thanks!

[Helen]

Hi Lewis,

No problem   You can learn from what didn't work for me!  I started with the pipe conduit, but the section between the warm room and the pier didn't really work as there were too many right angles.  So now I just use the part between the house and the warm room and run cables around the inside of the obs.  I think @Tim had a neat idea with his and used something like this in the floor of the  obs http://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-flodrain-channel-drain-galv-grate-black-silver-115mm-x-1010mm/42589

I can't quite remember the isolating material, whether gravel or polystyrene chips.. but the gap was the width and depth of the shuttering and was filled after slab laid.

HTH a bit!

Helen