Plastic Pig Obsy

[Fish]

Planning permission was applied for, two pictures had to be created for the Boss to contemplate...

Choice one.

Choice Two.

Permission was granted but any shed construction had to remain looking like a shed and could not have rails for the roof to run on.

Surprised that she did not object to a dome I then started to seriously consider what I wanted and what exactly ticked all my box's. After what seemed like months of reading Dome or roll off threads I came to the conclusion that for me at this moment a Roll off roof is what I want .

During the many hours of reading and searching Google I saw loads of Ideas one was by a S.G.L. member Dave T , and thanks to him for the original idea. 

I decided that a Keter shed would be purchased and erected to establish if a roll off roof was possible without rails. If I failed then I would have to go with a Dome .

During the many discussions with the boss the term plastic pig was used to describe the shed (used to be a Reliant Robin Owner ... forever scarred  ) and the name stuck.

After three attempts of varying Ideas the one that I thought would not work actually works the best and was the last one I tested.

Here is the roof lifted -

This is one of the lifters/rollers , the track still requires some work . It will have another length of aluminium angle on the top just in case in very cold weather the plastic goes brittle, the plastic runner is electrical mini-trunking . -

Here the roof is half open -

And here fully open -

[oldpink]

very nice solution

[Fish]

No idea how that happened so here is part two....

This is the lifter bracket when open -

While I had the roof operational I decided to choose the location of my pier as the shed is not an exact square, as it was the centre was the best option and I had plenty of room to get around .

Next I have to clear the space in the garden where it will go, plants have to be moved and apparently I have to wait for the correct time, will update later in the year when the area is cleared.

[emadmoussa]

Very nice. Out of curiosity, wouldn't a plastic shed lose integrity the more it's exposed to direct sunlight?

[Fish]

The guy who I got the Idea from has had his for three years and still looks like new, I have keter plastic storage boxes at home and at my caravan and they are four to five years old and do not seem any worse for standing in the sun. However time will tell.

[Chris]

Thats Brilliant, very neat! I also didn't want big rails extending miles off my shed and going down into the ground so I opted for triangular brackets stuck to the front which was a bit of a compromise. I wouldn't ever of thought of something like this.

Chris

[JamesF]

That's very neat.  I've seen something similar where the roof isn't supported by the tops of the walls at all, but pivots on two counterweighted arms so it effectively rotates down to one side of the shed.

James

[Gina]

Very clever   Top marks for ingenuity

[r3i]

Well done, a very innovative idea - I'd patent it quickly if I were you

[Baffa]

Looks excellent! I'm in the very (did I say Very?!) early stages of building an obsy and this looks like a great idea. I have too considered a plastic shed since my obsy location might have to be moved in the future. I imagine moving a plastic shed is easier than a wood one.

Anyway, this is a great idea! 

[Fish]

Thanks for the comments, the rails now have a top. The rails comprise of two lengths of 25mm aluminium angle bolted together to form a "C" section and the runner is a length of electrical mini-trunking. To improve the smoothness of opening I added two Teflon pads . The rails are now fixed to nylon pads which are bolted to the wall which is better than relying on screws. quite happy with the operation now just got to make two new longer shafts for the bearings .  Here are a couple of pictures which I hope explain better than me .

Baffa this plastic shed from Keter will strip back down to move very easily, I have to pull this to bits at the end of summer to move it to its final position. The boss wont let me have the garden space yet because plants have to be moved after flowering etc.... things I know nothing about

[tekkydave]

Nice job. Is it a 6x6 shed?

[psjshep]

Nicely done

[Fish]

Nice job. Is it a 6x6 shed?

Yes it is classed as 6x6 but its longer than it is wider the dimensions are on this link http://www.screwfix.com/p/keter-apex-shed-plastic-6-x-6-x-7-nominal/80298

[tekkydave]

Yes it is classed as 6x6 but its longer than it is wider the dimensions are on this link http://www.screwfix.com/p/keter-apex-shed-plastic-6-x-6-x-7-nominal/80298

Thanks. It might be a bit large for the space I have available.

[Fish]

_{Quick update.}

_{The roof slide is now complete and it works great. I remove the roof every day to test it as I don't want it to fail in the winter. Decided to keep the original method of securing the roof with plastic screw in plugs, eight in total hold the roof down. I have attached the plugs with chain so they don't get lost in the dark. It takes one minuet to remove the roof..... very pleased with it.}

 

_{The original vents have quite large openings and for some strange reason seem to attract spiders. To combat this I made some vent covers and filter material that you find in air con units, and decided that a extract fan may help air flow .}

_{Here are the bits ready to fit.}

My obsy will not have permanent power so the fan had to be solar powered, the fan is of the type that you install behind fridges in motor homes.

Here is the fan fitted.

Finished vent 

Panel fitted to roof

The fan works well , its just enough air flow and very quiet, even runs slow when cloudy.

Next I have to sort shelving and PC for obsy.

[Fish]

After a summer of testing the roof and waiting for permission to remove plants eventually things can start...We have now had a slight name change , because all summer it has been in the way of the better half, it is now known as The Piggin Observatory . I hope to be able to use it by the end of September , will just have to see how it goes.

This is the location before I started to clear the area.

This is after everything has been moved, base and shuttering ready just need the weather to hold now.

[Fish]

Work starting on the base.

Pier base left overnight.

Then time to fill in the rest.

Piggin Obsy base ready to start re-build.

Away for a week now so the base will have time to dry out.

Found some time to start heater controller.

Purchased four of these from the bay for less than £10

Thats the empty case .

The four circuit boards built into one unit

And the front of the unit.

Probably about two weeks behind where I wanted to be but its looking good for half way through October , hope the good weather continues for a few weeks yet.

[Fish]

The Pig is home .

Now the real work can begin, about two weeks behind where I wanted to be .

Just for the record the cost so far for this is £500 for the shed, £50 for the aluminium angle to construct the runners and brackets, 4 lengths of building bar £20 , two skateboard type bearings £5 and two lengths of electrical mini trunking £5 . That's £580 for the main Obsy , made the pier from scrap obtained from work . Just need the weather to stay fine so that I can get the electrics and pier fitted.

[Earl]

Nice and tidy

[Pete Presland]

very nice build, well thought out and planned. having an observatory is one of the best Astro decision i made!

[Fish]

Some more bits done , with work I only have a few hours each day. The 240v electrics are sorted, need to sort the 12v and wire up the pier ,not sure what to do about that, thinking of a length of mini trunking. The PC is in and still works, its my old games PC with a new install of windows 8 just hope I can find compatable software for my old lxd75 otherwise will have to go back to xp.

[AstroJOE]

I have the same shed which I adapted by hinging either side of the roof to open like a box. Trouble is I have to unscrew and lift off the central sky light every time which is a bit of a hassle. I've had the shed for about 18 months though and never had a leak even in heavy downpours and 12" of snow. I'm really enjoying following this thread I think I might look to adapt mine to a roll off roof system after seeing how you've done it.

Few pics in my gallery of it with Nd without the roof. Your system is better though as it removes the highest sections at the front and rear. I'm feeling inspired, thank you.

James

[Fish]

Hi James, Davey-t gave me the idea of using this shed his build thread is here.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/153097-keter-shed-obsy/

I could not get permission off hwmbo for runners so had to adapt but Dave's looks great.

If you need any other pics or info when or if you decide just pm me.

Last night we had what could only be described as a monsoon , lasted 40 odd minuets and no leaks, I think Dave has had his about 3 years and his is still water tight and looks like new.

[Fish]

Just about managed first light tonight before work, still lots to do but I can now have my. Scopes ready and pointing in a few minuets. I'm a bit worried about my pier height, the moon tonight was only viewable because I could open my door. Looking at sky safari it looks like I can view down to 20 deg is this OK? What is normal for an observatory. For photography I would think it OK but that is a way off yet and I do mainly observe. Do I need to extend my pier now already or do you think it will be OK?

Will post more pictures at the weekend when I have more time.