Astrokev's ROR - The Build

[Gina]

If you use good quality cladding you won't need anything inside it other than vapour barrier.  That is how I built my observatory and it's fine.  I think it's something like 4 or 5 years old now and showing no problems.  150mm x 22mm redwood shiplap cladding is what I used.

[yesyes]

I would agree with Gina here. It sounds a lot of effort for potentially very little gain. Better spend the money on better cladding than on OSB and save yourself a lot of work.

[Astrokev]

6 hours ago, yesyes said:

I would agree with Gina here. It sounds a lot of effort for potentially very little gain. Better spend the money on better cladding than on OSB and save yourself a lot of work.

Thanks Chris and Gina, I really appreciate your input on this.  I guess I'm still pondering. As I see it, whether I add OSB or not, if the cladding doesn't shrink then the end result is the same, except that I have a more secure building by using OSB ? 

Whereas, if the cladding does shrink, if I've used OSB then everything is fine, but if I don't use OSB then I have a problem that is really difficult to rectify. Vapour membrane would stop water getting in, but I don't really want this to be the defence from a security viewpoint.

Regarding getting good quality cladding, I'm not convinced this is simple and guaranteed, and may be more of a lottery. My garden cabin has double T&G timber "logs" over 2 inches thick (much thicker than shiplap), cost a fortune, and has been absolutely fine for over 5 years. Last week I noticed a few of the timbers had pulled apart and I can see fresh air through the gap. I can only think this is due to the prolonged heatwave.

So, although adding OSB would add a bit more cost and time, in the grand scheme of things this isn't a problem for the added reassurance it would give, together with the extra security. I've been building the obsy for a year now, off and on, so a few extra days/weeks and a bit more work are not really a problem.

But.... I'll think some more on this and price up the added cost of using OSB.

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by Astrokev

[nightvision]

! Yikes sorry I mentioned it, seems you have enough on your plate with this impressive build.  If you go ahead you could just float the osb edges and put some supporting wood behind the seams, the structure looks solid enough.

Edited July 9, 2018 by nightvision

[Astrokev]

4 minutes ago, nightvision said:

!

Hi Tony.

I note you initially agreed with Gina and Chris before editing your comment. This seemed to contradict your own comment of a few days ago - "It can be quite alarming seeing seasonal daylight appear between cladding boards or via knot holes! " and it was indeed you who suggested adding boarding underneath the cladding ? 

[Astrokev]

9 minutes ago, nightvision said:

! Yikes sorry I mentioned it, seems you have enough on your plate with this impressive build.  If you go ahead you could just float the osb edges and put some supporting wood behind the seams, the structure looks solid enough.

Haha. 

It's absolutely fine Tony! I really appreciate the views of others; it's good to have discussion on this. I'm probably over-thinking it! My build ain't perfect but I'm pretty happy with it so far, and I guess I just don't want to botch it up at the final hurdle ?

[nightvision]

That's the thing; when the designer and builder is the same person the whole project becomes organic/dynamic, it happens so often... my wife just calls it 'over-engineering again'.  I call it 'optimisation that delivers results and motivational energy' (how noble). ?  oh yes and more work and more expenditure...?   Good luck with your obsy trials and tribulations..

[Astrokev]

Observatory build is having to take a backseat at the moment as I'm busy on other important stuff. The fun will hopefully resume next week ? .

[Astrokev]

Still some important other things I need to work on this week, but will have time to continue work on the obsy in the free time I have.

Just ordered some insect mesh to cover the ventilation holes I made in the upstand between the warm and scope rooms. I'd noticed a few wasps taking an unhealthy interest so need to get that sorted.

Following the recent forum discussions, and some serious head scratching, I've done a bit of a U turn and decided to go straight for cladding and not bother with skinning the building with OSB first. I may regret this down the road, but I have to come off of the fence and make a decision. So this is the next big job. The problem now is deciding which supplier. I'm currently tempted with a supplier in Devon who offers free delivery and comes highly recommended. Recommendation is worth more than a supplier sales pitch! Need to think some more on this and then calculate how much I need.

I've seen another vendor up north that supplies 3 year old larch. This has a higher guarantee that it won't warp or split but comes with a heftier price tag and is probably more than I want to spend.

I just hope the weather cools down a bit soon. I'm sure the problem I'm having with my garden cabin are heat related. The temp has been over 31'C for the last few days. The cabin has been standing for 8 years now and has never shown any sign of warping until the last few weeks. It uses 28mm double T&G "logs", a few of which have warped quite badly so I can now see clear daylight between them!

Edited July 16, 2018 by Astrokev

[Gina]

The suppliers I used are based in Hemyock, Devon, I forget their name.  It was 7-8years ago that I built my observatory so their standards could have changed but I found them excellent.  Free delivery on orders over a certain amount.

[Astrokev]

19 minutes ago, Gina said:

The suppliers I used are based in Hemyock, Devon, I forget their name.  It was 7-8years ago that I built my observatory so their standards could have changed but I found them excellent.  Free delivery on orders over a certain amount.

Thanks Gina, if you have the name of the company I'd be very grateful. The one I was referring to is Ruby UK based in Beaworthy. RayD found them excellent.

[Astrokev]

25 minutes ago, Gina said:

The suppliers I used are based in Hemyock, Devon, I forget their name.  It was 7-8years ago that I built my observatory so their standards could have changed but I found them excellent.  Free delivery on orders over a certain amount.

Was it possibly Brookridge Timber ?

[Gina]

Yes, it was. 

[Astrokev]

So, I'm now looking for a shiplap supplier, and what a dilemma it's proving to be.

I would prefer to see the actual timber I'm buying so would like to source it locally if possible. I reckon I need around 180m and am looking at ~25 x 150 boards to make it more substantial.

A recommended local timber merchant has some lovely straight and flat Cedar, which is coming in at around £670 !

Redwood is quoted at ~ £590 (and many of the boards were slightly "cupped"). Wow! This is much more than I expected!

I can find cheaper quotes from more distant suppliers, but the risk there is not being able to see what I'm getting, so it may be poor quality.

I'm in a bit of a quandary knowing what to do for the best....

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Even cheaper stuff still has to be of 'merchantable' quality, if its not you can claim redress...

But I know what you mean, I often make furniture, and I much prefer to handle the timber to get a 'feel' of what I'm buying.

[Davey-T]

We've used this on a couple of jobs, more expensive than timber but maintenance free

Dave

http://fasciasolutions.com/cladding/hardieplank-cladding/

[Gina]

If a colour other than white had been available when I built my observatory I would probably have gone for UPVC cladding. 

[JamesF]

"Forbidden - Visitors from your country are not permitted to browse this site."

How unhelpful

James

[Gina]

It's a UK site and I can browse it - wonder why you can't James ?

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Which ISP are you using ??  they sometimes route their traffic through an off shore switching centre.

[wimvb]

13 hours ago, JamesF said:

"Forbidden - Visitors from your country are not permitted to browse this site."

How unhelpful

James

 

10 hours ago, Gina said:

It's a UK site and I can browse it - wonder why you can't James ?

 

2 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

Which ISP are you using ??  they sometimes route their traffic through an off shore switching centre.

A simple message "We do not ship overseas" would have been easier. I wonder how many domestic sales this nifty solution costs them.

[Astrokev]

19 hours ago, Davey-T said:

We've used this on a couple of jobs, more expensive than timber but maintenance free

Dave

http://fasciasolutions.com/cladding/hardieplank-cladding/

Yes this is good stuff. My daughters landlord built a self contained flat on his land and used this. I followed the build closely and was quite impressed. 

[Astrokev]

I've found a shiplap supplier I'm reasonably happy with. Boards seem good quality and are much cheaper than some I've looked at.

The only thing that's stopping me now is the weather. From what I've read on the interweb, it's not generally good practice to put up cladding in hot and dry weather, as this risks warping, cupping and splitting. Well, it was 36'C in my back garden this afternoon, so I reckon this is a tad warm! ?

So, now just waiting for it to cool off a bit before buying the cladding.

For others who've used shiplap, what is the best number of nails (ribbed stainless shank) that you'd recommend I use? Net advice seems to vary between 1 and 2 nails across the width of a 134mm board (finished size).

Any other tips for trouble-free installation? ? 

[Gina]

I think it's one to prevent splitting but can't remember now.

[Astrokev]

Eager to restart the build after a few weeks off - this evening I put up the rest of the breathable membrane. Sorry no pictures ?

Even though I still need to attach the cladding, the change in how the scope room feels when inside is quite dramatic and is re-motivating me to get moving. If the temp stays below 30' over the next week I think I'll get the cladding. Ideally I really need to finish cladding the side walls before I can finish the ROR, as to do the ROR first would hinder easy access to fix cladding to the top of the side walls.

So, cladding it is then!