Mike's roll-away shed observatory

[MikeODay]

My project during my summer holidays was to build a an outdoor pillar that would securly hold my mount (less vibration issues than a tripod) and give me permanent reference points to make alignment easier and more accurate (better tracking and hence longer exposures).

The project grew (as projects do) to include a 'roll-away' shed so I can cover the sope if I want to leave it out over night or over a along weekend say. And then to include a deck so the shed will roll more easily and I'm not walking and turning the grass into mud when the ground is wet.

The initial design ...

The small platform on the deck at the base of the pier is the rolling platform I intended to mount the shed on.

The pier is shown quite short here although the actual pier is taller so I can better see over the house's roof.

The only feasable location in the back yard was by the boundary fence...

Ground marked out and hole dug...

The intention was for a hole about 450mm square by about 1000mm deep but I hit sandstone at around 650mm. I used a small jack hammer to so go down maybe another 100mm or so and to key in some features to lock the concrete.

The shed I planned to use is the 4x6 Factor by Keter (http://www.keter.com/products/factor-46)

Here is an image of the base of the shed showing the plan for the cut out.

Here is the deck partly completed with the pier poured and pier top plate being cemeted in place...

The deck is around 1.5 x 5.5 meters. Four 140mm x 45 mm bearers in pairs running the length of the deck with 90mm x 45 joists every 1.5m or so. Bearers are supported by galvanised steel sirrups (10 in total) fixed in high strengh concrete.

The pier is a 12in diameter galvanised steel 'duct tube' filled with high strength concrete with reinforcing bars in the hole and in the tube.

The plate is a 12in pier top plate by http://www.pierplates.com

Here is the almost completed project. Deck done except the sides. Pier ready to take some weight (8 days after concrete pour). Shed mounted on the rolling platform. Out door power point mounted on deck with underground conduit to take the lead back to a power point.

I mounted the cut-out in the shed floor on sections of wood so I could fit it back in the hole to keep out small animals.

This is the project all but completed (some finishing off required to the base of the shed and I need to fill the cracks, sand and paint the filler paste I used to top off the concrete in the pillar - it is taking ages to dry).

And finally, here is the mandatory 'first light' image from the new observatory...

I am pleased with how it has turned out and it is fitting home for my Skywatcher 10in f4 scope and AZ EQ 6 mount.

Thank you to everyone on this site who unknowingly have contributed with ideas and lessoned learnt though numerous posts you have made in the past.

Cheers

Mike

[mister_wavey]

great looking setup! Awesome work

[Tinker1947]

Very nicely done.....

[Gina]

Nice neat setup

[T_Tucks]

That is incredibly well made, I'm guessing that there is a little prior experience at play? 

I'm inspired and vastly envious, well done!

[tingting44]

awsome!

[JamesF]

That looks very neat.

James

[Scott]

So good to see this.. It's pretty much exactly what I have planned so I'll be stealing many of your ideas. So far i've got the pier, floor joists and some temporary flooring. You've really given me something to aim for so thanks:) 

[r3i]

A very nicely constructed project - well done

[paul mc c]

Brilliant Mike,i am going to be doing something similar in the summer,tell me what did you use to make the obs movable,i see you didnt use rails.

Paul

[spaceboy]

That's a really neat idea.

[mr jambon]

Great design and excellent image. Have to ask, is the shed on castors?

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[Fish]

Very nice ,another plastic shed joins the obsy club :-)

[MikeODay]

Thank you all for you kind comments.

The base for the shed rolls very easily on 16 castors - http://www.bunnings.com.au/ambassador-50mm-grey-fixed-rubber-castor-_p3940167

I do have a minor problem though...  not sure exactly why but the shed does not roll in a repeatable straight line.

So what I do is roll the shed to close to where I want it and then use a cheap furniture lifter to fine tune the position of the shed in relation to the pillar. You can see the lifter lying on the floor of the shed in one of the images above.  It works a lever and makes the task of realignment easy.

[MikeODay]

That is incredibly well made, I'm guessing that there is a little prior experience at play? 

I'm inspired and vastly envious, well done!

No, first time. 

I read a fair bit through these forums to get ideas and then searched and learnt about building decks, reinforcing and pouring concrete foundations and piers, etc. and then came up with and continuously tweaked the design.  The build was mostly just a one man job although my step father was a great help with laying the decking and my wife helped with some critical items when you need another pair of hands or set of eyes.  Being my first time I erred on the side of caution with most things - the deck in particular is probably massively over engineered and is the most solid structure anywhere on the property, including the house!

[MikeODay]

Some more details for those interested...

I had trouble finding a local supplier of cardboard concrete former tubing so I went with what I could find... galvanised steel lockseam spiral duct tubing

In the end I am happy with the solution. It will remain in place and painted I think it gives a nice finish to the pier.

I placed 5 lengths of 12mm reinforcing bars wired together in the tube and additional bars wried to these at the base of the tube.

The photo above of the pier top plate incudes the adaptor kit I purchased to suit the skywater mount (the supplier "Dan's Pier Top Plates" can apparently supply a large range of adaptors so if I upgrade my mount in the future I should be able to get an adaptor for it. The plate, adaptor kit and bolt kit are very well made and finished off and supprisingly more substantial and heavier than I was expected - all in a good way. They are not cheap but you get what you pay for.

The Keter shed was very easy to assemble and, at least in Australia, there are a large number of distributors so I was able to search for the best price and managed to find an online supplier selling my particular shed at a 15% discount below recommended retail.

The timber is H3 treated pine (treated for insects and outdoor use so long as it is above ground). The decking is 90mm x 19mm hardwood. It is supplied already oiled but I will probably paint it to suit other decks about the house (at least those are the instructions from the boss!).

The base of the shed is a frame made from 90mm x 45mm lengths of treated pine with a sheet of coated ply (1200mm x 1860mm x 19mm) screwed to the frame. Where I cut the ply I painted the bare wood to help protect it from moisture- this is the single largest possible point of failure in the future. The plastic base of the shed has four "strong points" which I used to bolt the floor (and hence the shed) to the base.

[ollypenrice]

Nice, but I'm surprised by the lack of rails. I have three roll offs along these lines but they all run on rails. It isn't just to centre them, it's to stop shed skidding in the wind. A tonge low on the shed rolls under a loop near the mount so that, when closed, there is an automatic anti lift system as well.

Olly

[Davide Simonetti]

That's a terrific design. It's practical and looks great. Well done and happy viewing.

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[toxic]

great stuff mike

[ollypenrice]

Thinking about how to make it roll straight and stay put, I can see that you might not want rails for appearance's sake and because they would constitute a trip. So how about something along these lines; a strong rail runs alongside the deck at a floor level, but with a gap between itself and the deck. Extended arms from the front and rear of the shed, also low down, reach out towards the fence and go over this rail. The arms carry training wheels (with vertical axles) which run in the gap between the rail and the deck. As long as this gap doesn't bind on the wheels they can run against either side of the gap and oblige the shed to move in a straight line.

It would be easier to have full width arms attached to the shed and spanning the deck. These would carry training wheels running against the vertical deck sides but you'd see them on the side away from the fence.

Olly

[toxic]

if you want something to keep it running true the do something like this.

btw your shedservatory looks good 

[MikeODay]

Thanks guys for the good ideas.

My first task is to find a way to tie the shed down in case of high winds - I think I have that figured.  As for rolling the shed... I need to keep the deck free from obstructions and it needs to remain useable as a deck during the day - so no rails.  At the moment the shed does roll off in semi-random directions but it is limited to a maximum off track travel of around 100mm in around 3.5m of travel.  This is so far manageable by simply shifting the shed sideways back onto the correct line when I get back near the pillar.  Having said that the idea of having some sort of track off the side of the deck is interesting and I will look at how I might adapt it to my design.

Cheers

Mike

[ollypenrice]

if you want something to keep it running true the do something like this.

runners.jpg

btw your shedservatory looks good 

Good drawing. This is what I was trying to describe, I think.

Olly

[toxic]

another idea if you havent done the secure part of your shedservatory is to use ratchet straps on the inside it will stop it blowing in the wind and make it very secure for other reasons.

i have used this idea in my awning and it worked a treat and we all know what awnings are like in the wind 

[MikeODay]

Thanks, that's a good idea. 

The thin plastic walls of the shed might be too weak to take very much tension on the straps but I think I can adapt the idea to attach the strong points to the treated pine frame of the shed base instead.

Cheers
Mike