Shed Choice and Approach

[smudgeball]

Hi

Being another taking the plunge to go for a roll top roof observatory, a couple of questions.

I'm planning to pour a foundation for my metal pier and construct a peg base around it.

With that in mind, is it better to erect the shed first and then modify, i.e. strengthen what you have for the removal of the roof and subsequent DIY for roof runners etc?

OR construct just the walls and approach the roll off roof as you go ? i.e. just the shed walls ?

I will most likely source from a local shed builder and either get them to erect or just drop ship.

 

Thanks

 

Neil

[ollypenrice]

I've always scratch built my roll offs. Normal sheds are not intended to have the roof rolling off so, structurally, they will need quite a re-think to allow for this. Are you sure that modding a normal shed will be easier in the long run?

Olly

[smudgeball]

Thanks Olly

Not committed to anything yet, just steel pier and large whole at the bottom of the garden.

For me the limiting factors are DIY skill level. There's that tipping point where you don't have the skills (or more likely the correct tools) to complete the work.

I've looked at companies that produce these bespoke roll off roof sheds, but some look very flimsy and others are quite frankly way beyond any budget I would have for this project.

It would obviously be great to purchase an off the shelf solution, but then I look at the cost of a "standard" shed and the budget I would have left to modify it and think ???????.

Those are the ideas / issues I have.

 

Neil

[carastro]

Although I have never constructed a ROR shed, I have, jointly with hubby erected a wooden shed.  They tend to rely on the roof to hold everything together.   So I think  at some point you'll have to reinforce the walls to make them stand OK without a roof.  I would think so long as there are two of you doing it (one to hold the walls while you fix them together you should be able to do that OK.  Trouble is the weight of the roof might be too much for an off the shelf shed.  So I would suggest some pretty sturdy uprights in each corner, a) to fix the walls to and b ) to take the weight of the roof.  Possibly even half way down the length of the walls too. 

Despite being female and having no formal training in carpentry I have dabbled in it over the years.  

Carole 

[Macavity]

I did buy a prebuilt Observatory... And indeed, it was quite expensive.
But frankly with the knowledge at that time and "personal limitations" 
I would not have been able to do otherwise.

Some things I have learned though:

Before you start digging enormous HOLEs in the ground think a bit?
I now believe these are a trend started by those in more extreme
climates where "permafrost" layers etc. were more of a problem!

o The main BODY and ROOF have to be rigid and separate entities!
(most standard sheds relay on the two being "connected" re. this)

o In the UK (Wales anyway) over recent years we have had upto a
years worth of RAIN in a month. Water ingress is a real problem!

o Consider carefully the dimension of the base (slabs / concrete)?
Make it LESS than the overall dimension of the "shed"? Raise the
structure on "blocks" or install some kind of "damp-proof" course! 
The ground literally "bubbles" with rising water around here...

o On the same theme, beware the inward opening DOOR! It is
hard to make such things leak-proof and it also takes up space.

o Beware *BUDGET* roof coverings!  The "Felt" on mine lasted
a couple of years before looking like the surface of Mercury! lol

I think that's about ALL my main complaints / grumps!

P.S. On the PLUS side the sheer weight of the roof of my obsy
has (so far) survived GALEs that have destroyed neighbours'
"Sheds" etc! Such seems much the fact of life these days... 

[Helen]

My advice - make your roof as lightweight as possible and use gate wheels and tracks (trust me, worth the extra cost over standard castors!).  My roof is a frame with insulating board (kingspan) between the frames and then just topped with coroline sheets.  See here for details 

Helen

[smudgeball]

Thanks Carole

I guess it's the specialist market for these things that tends to draw a blank with local timber merchants.

Neil

 

[Macavity]

As a real consolation: My biggest FEAR was that I would not be
able to shift a roll-off observatory roof. (Slight "heart trouble").
But this proved unfounded! Well oiled castors in a grease-filled
track (Aluminium U-Channel) seem to solve most problems...  

If I have a remaining concern it is to augment the (significant)
weight of the roof via additional tie-downs during the GALES. 

[brrttpaul]

Only just finished mine and I love it, basically a rectangle built out of blockwork, the roof is anti condensation backed metal cladding, which is nice and light, I was going to buy a motorised winch to pull it back on but its so light theres no need

[Skipper Billy]

Does it HAVE to roll  off - would 'German' hinges do it for you? Easier to make!

https://sites.google.com/view/astro-imaging/micro-observatory

 

[ollypenrice]

If you use plywood sheet for the sides they will triangulate any beams which you screw to them. This means you need no jointing skills whatever. So I start with exterior quality ply, cut by the local woodyard to the right size, and screw my uprights and laterals to these and to each other to make a wall. Once I have four walls I screw these to each other. The skill level hovers around zero!

Normal garden sheds use planks for the sides and these have almost no triangulating power whatever. When you remove the triangulation offered by a roof you need to find a way of replacing it. Using sheet ply does that very well.

Let's be clear, I live in the south of France. My worst enemy is not damp and rot, it is the sun which murders exposed wood pitilessly. For all that, we do know what 'weather' means, here in the Alps!

Olly

[Adam J]

Many people have said that the way to go is to scratch build your roll off roof shed. I am going to say the same thing. You say you have limited DIY skills, but all you really need is an electric screw driver a tape measure a set square and a chop saw / jig saw and a hammer then you are away. Its actually going to be more of a pain to modify a normal shed and the result will not be so good.

 

[smudgeball]

Plenty of food for thought and thankyou all for your contributions.

I'll have a think.

No doubt I'll post an update on my ventures when I start.

 

Cheers

Neil

[Astrokev]

Agree with majority of posters. Better to make your own - there's lots of designs on the forum to find inspiration, and they don't have to be too difficult if your worried about your DIY skills.

The other advantage of self-build, is you can design in those little tweaks to make it just how you want it.

I'm just starting out on a self build (see my thread) - I've just broken ground this morning, so no going back now!

[smudgeball]

cheers Kev.....I'm following your build

[michaelmorris]

Echoing what others have said, a standard garden sheds relies on a rigid roof for structural stability.  Thus trying to use an unmodified standard shed as a roll off roof observatory just isn't going to work.

IMHO your best bet is to build a simple six pillar pergola with the off-the shelf shed built around four of the uprights at one end of it.  Your roof can then run along the long top rails of the pergola.

 

[astromerlin]

I did one similar to michaelmorris, I used four of those metal pointy spike things for fencing bashed in the ground, stuffed in some 3"x3" fence post and topped off with some heavy duty steel u-track. The shed was of apex design, purchased off the well known website and positioned against two of the uprights. The roof part was laid flat and framed with some old dexion I had laying around topped off with lino currently and fitted with an electric motor for opening and closing. It has stood up to at least three gale force storms and is still currently water tight and solid as a rock.

[Shibby]

Although I agree with what everyone's saying - that building your own shed is probably a better way to go, it is possible to convert the right shed. This is what I'm doing. It's important that the shed is sturdy - mine has thick walls with overlapping corners and substantial roof joists, which I have re-positioned slightly to give me the correct opening. I have added internal corner pillars which help take the weight of the roof, as the runners are fitted to the outside walls. It's still a work in progress, so who knows what problems I will encounter, but it seems OK so far... I'm not posting my build thread until I have made more progress!

PS: I erected it as a normal shed first, then started converting.

[The storm fisherman]

Self build is the way to go especially if your single handed most of the time as fitting the roll off roof is going to be a hell of a lot easier to build and fit , Do not worry too much about about having the requisite building skills,  you will be surprised how much you will learn on the job and there will be always be loads of help here on the forum. As for the health as i can talk from experience is take your time and don't push it, After a serious accident last year i am still finishing my observatory just paint job to go but in the end it is worth it .

[Davey-T]

Have you considered a plastic shed, You can erect it single handed in a weekend and once built modify it at your leisure, do a search in the DIY  obsy section.

Dave

[Ceramus]

My thoughs about an off the peg option would be to go for a smaller roll-off shed (reinforced plastic?) on a sturdy mobile platform rather than roll off roof. Ther are plenty of great examples on this forum. 

[smudgeball]

Hi all

Appologies for my lack of replies.

I assumed I'd get notifications as I was the one starting the thread ?

Anyway, thanks again for all the input. I have one local timber/shed merchant who can potentially manufacture what I'm looking for.

That will come down to cost, but it may be a trade off for getting it done right first time.

I'll be sure to update you on any progress.

Neil

[Adam J]

On 07/07/2017 at 12:00, smudgeball said:

Hi all

Appologies for my lack of replies.

I assumed I'd get notifications as I was the one starting the thread ?

Anyway, thanks again for all the input. I have one local timber/shed merchant who can potentially manufacture what I'm looking for.

That will come down to cost, but it may be a trade off for getting it done right first time.

I'll be sure to update you on any progress.

Neil

Yes I did that they wanted 2.5k, telling me its the cost of the rollers....I just finished building mine from scratch for £800 and the tracks and wheels accounted for only 100 pounds of that... 

[souls33k3r]

28 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Yes I did that they wanted 2.5k, telling me its the cost of the rollers....I just finished building mine from scratch for £800 and the tracks and wheels accounted for only 100 pounds of that... 

£800 for an observatory? What? How did you manage to get that? I am planning on moving houses very soon within the next few months and an observatory is definitely right up there with "Honey, we surely can move but i need my North and East to be clear off any obstructions for my hobby". I'd most certainly like to see what you've done with yours.

Just like Neil, i have zero DIY skills but i do have the basic household tools. Thanks to Argos, i can screw in a few things on my own if needs be but that's the limit of what i can do

[Merlin66]

The cheapest and most used obsrvatory I've built was based on a Canadian 8'x6' steel shed from ARGOS, stiffened with 2" framing.

Total cost around 300 pounds.

Initially held the 12" meade and then the C9.25/ NEQ6pro

Used in the UK, Belgium and finally in Oz.

Cheap, easy to construct, no issues, no drama.