Yet another building project

[Gina]

Cross-posted with James.

[Alan White]

Oh my goodness me Gordon,
I was shocked at the tree down, then scrolled down further.
Share your pain and you have my fullest sympathies on the damage caused.
As you say, luckily the domes are OK.

 

[Rusted]

Deep commiserations Gordon!  I wish you a rapid return to normal. 

Never underestimate the power of wind! Fortunately domes seem not to suffer too much from lift. I still have eight permanent restraints holding down the base ring. Just in case! The dome rotates past them. It gets a bit noisy in there above 20m/s but I have never noticed any lift so far. Lift would be very obvious from the inside.

During one storm, my neighbour's entire, double garage, of heavy, old fashioned, corrugated iron roof rolled itself into a tight cylinder across the corrugations and flew 200 yards over our own roof to embed itself in the field beyond. It had to clear 50' trees to reach its final destination. 

My nearer neighbours now wonder why I point out their flimsy, corrugated tin, carport roofs are rattling in every breeze on their matchstick sized battens. Imagine the damage a thin sheet of metal would do travelling at 30m/second? It hardly bears thinking about!

[Bukko]

33 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Blimey!  I know that happened to Gina's observatory roof years back.  Not fun at all

If you're not aware, according to my brother (who used to be a civil engineer and designed buildings amongst other things) part of the problem may be that in high winds the roof acts like an aerofoil and tears itself off because of the amount of lift generated.  I'm not sure of the solution in this case, but it may help to fix metal straps between the roof and walls at regular intervals and extending down the walls several feet.  Perhaps the supplier may be able to offer some suggestions too.

James

Bit of a shock when it happened - When it was buit, every log was hammered into place tight and there is also a load of screws holding it down inside the joins.

We can't do much for a few days until the wind drops off, then I am hoping my neighbours can turn it over and re-fit it. For sure, the plan is to secure it down better. I did not realise we would suffer from high winds, but this morning, the wind turned to a westerly and gusted pretty high.

Always something to do...

Gordon.

[Bukko]

35 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Oh my goodness me Gordon,
I was shocked at the tree down, then scrolled down further.
Share your pain and you have my fullest sympathies on the damage caused.
As you say, luckily the domes are OK.

 

Thanks Alan,

I know I am not the first to suffer from this, luckily, the scopes are not inside. My internet connection is from there and it was working at 07:00 and stopped arund 07:20 Looking outside it was still dark, but a torch showed me I had a problem, so got the PC's and stuff out pretty quickly.

Hoping they are all OK, the repairs will only cost me some time and a few bottles of my finest single malts for the help.

Yes, the trees are pretty big, the "good news" is the one on the road was directly south of the does, so I have a clearer view now !!

Gordon.

 

[Bukko]

11 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Deep commiserations Gordon!  I wish you a rapid return to normal. 

Never underestimate the power of wind! Fortunately domes seem not to suffer too much from lift. I still have eight permanent restraints holding down the base ring. Just in case! The dome rotates past them. It gets a bit noisy in there above 20m/s but I have never noticed any lift so far. Lift would be very obvious from the inside.

During one storm, my neighbour's entire, double garage, of heavy, old fashioned, corrugated iron roof rolled itself into a tight cylinder across the corrugations and flew 200 yards over our own roof to embed itself in the field beyond. It had to clear 50' trees to reach its final destination. 

My nearer neighbours now wonder why I point out their flimsy, corrugated tin, carport roofs are rattling in every breeze on their matchstick sized battens. Imagine the damage a thin sheet of metal would do travelling at 30m/second? It hardly bears thinking about!

Thank you.

I think the domes have nothing for the wind to get hold of so HOPEFULLY they are OK. Bigger concern would have been the roof flew off and hit them. It is very heavy and as you say, the wind does carry a lot of power. Add the rain and htis would make it worse. So I consider myself quite lucky.

I have been thinking for a while it would be a good idea to double up on the fixings and have some lengths of 2x2 I was planning on screwing into each corner. My son will be down in a few days and it was on the worklist.

Worried about having nothing to do when you retire? I was, but not now.

Gordon

[DaveL59]

in the tropics they run the reinforcing bars in the concrete walls up above the wall top so they can use it to secure down the woodwork for the roofs. But they they have to survive much stronger winds than we generally get, but as James suggested, some long steel plates may well help keep things in place, tho the risk is the structure being able to take the strain over time.

[Bukko]

51 minutes ago, Gina said:

Goodness me - that looks to be some serious damage!  Hope it's not as bad as it looks.  That upside-down apex roof lying on the fence reminds me of when my observatory roof blew off in a storm and landed on the boundary fence.  Damage wasn't too bad.  The fence suffered more than the roof.  Your damage looks a lot worse.

Thanks Gina,

Sorry to hear you suffered a similar fate, I am hoping it looks worse than it is.

The shed was a very good one, as the Mayor asked me to start a club when up and running, then admitted she was only joking.

If it is unrepairable, I will get a much smaller and cheaper shed to replace it. I really only need somewhere to store some bits and manage the power and signal cables...

I had to cut up the tree blocking the road as the first priority after getting the computers safe, of course.

Oh, well.

Gordon.

[RFrancis]

I hope you have insurance. Maybe your house insurance?

Richard

[Bukko]

16 hours ago, RFrancis said:

I hope you have insurance. Maybe your house insurance?

Richard

Hi Richard,

The vagaries of French house insurance...

I do have a VERY expensive house insurance, costing around 100 euros a MONTH. But since taking out the insurance, I needed to keep them up to speed with everything built. My mistake was thinking of UK insurance policies. I have loads of value insured but they expected an inventory. The schedule says NO to outbuildings, which was true at the time I opended the policy.

So when I asked, I have a problem. The building was not itemised and it was bolted down. They see this as more permanent so should have been itemised. As it is not, sorry they say, but no deal. If it was not secured, it would be covered. I guess everything downwind of over a tonne of materials that would be airbourne would also be covered too...

I am in the process of finding analternative insurance company

There is a Brit that lives near me and close to Chateau Buzet is a roofer and has been around helping (well, he builds the roof and I help him...) replace it. There are some substantial internal 9x2" planks of wood adding strength and the overhang is halved too. Gone is the pretty pitched roof and replaced with a pent style. I am waiting for the EPDM to arrive and we will finish the roof when it gets here.

I am still cutting up the trees that fell, I wish I had got a much bigger chainsaw than the one I got. It does OK until it hits some dirt caught up in the trunk, then the chain is blunted. 

It would be OK if I didn't also have mount problems with both the ME2 and the NEQ6. And I have not even got to integrating the Scopedome drivers into The SkyX yet... And one of the Lenovo pc's I bought for dome/mount/camera control has already packed up. Looks like a mobo issue. As Win10 pro licence is linked to the mobo, I see a waste of money.

And people complain when they retire they have nothing to do... haha

Gordon.

[Rusted]

The DeWalt 54V 9A rechargeable chainsaw is ridiculously powerful without the motor racket.
I used it to clear huge birch stumps left by the lazy tree feller.
Which meant cutting into very dirty wood and gritty soil on a bank. Like butter!
It needs the same respect for safety as any powerful, motor saw.
But doesn't exhaust you with the weight, constant noise and endless restarting.
 

Edited January 12, 2020 by Rusted
Additional info.

[Bukko]

Just now, Rusted said:

The DeWalt rechargeable chainsaw is ridiculously powerful without the motor racket.
I used it to clear huge birch stumps left by the lazy tree feller.
Which meant cutting into very dirty wood and gritty soil on a bank. Like butter!
It needs the same respect for safety as any powerful, motor saw.
But doesn't exhaust you with the weight, constant noise and endless restarting.
 

Mine is a Stihl, only small with a 40cm blade. The stumps are probably 60cm in diameter and so far since before Xmas I have cut up about 4 tonnes of wood. (not including the branches..)

It starts no problem and eats through the trunk unti lit finds mud and stones embedded. TCT tips would have been great. I also have a Bosch mains powered chainsaw, it is OK but not as powerful as the Stihl. I did think about getting a bigger one, but didn't think I needed it, as I did not forsee losing so many big trees at once. Also the bigger chainsaws would carry so much more energy and I would then need to seriously upgrade the protective clothing so a couple of hundred more on the chainsaw would have to include a couple of hundred more on protective clothing too.

For what it's worth, I did try and burn some of the branches but it was so difficult to light fresh wood that I gave up and  take it all to the recycling centre. The idea of buring it as an easy option was because I was simply getting overloaded with work to do, in addition to the scope/mount/dome issues I was having...

Gordon.

[Rusted]

Some chainsaw suppliers will sharpen any saw chain for you.
Only takes a couple of minutes with the right machine.
Handy for saws with odd-sized chains or discontinued models.
Small, narrow chains don't have the stamina and soon blunt.
I spent years sawing and splitting logs for home firewood.
Until I started valuing my own labour and limited free time.
It's a mug's game.
 

[JamesF]

I try to run a file over my chains properly every time I take the saw out and then just give it a quick clean up every time I refuel.  I also keep a couple of older chains that I put on if the wood has nails, bits of fencing wire in (not uncommon around here) or anything else that chainsaws aren't really intended for.  It's only a 14" Stihl, but after a couple of hours waving it around you know you've been working hard.

I have an older Stihl saw too, probably about 24", but it's very heavy and being older it doesn't have a chain brake or anything like that, so I tend not to use it.

The tree surgeons we had in the other week came with an entire collection of chainsaws including some tiny little electric ones probably less than a foot in length.  Absolutely fantastic for heavy duty pruning, they were.

James

[Bukko]

18 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Some chainsaw suppliers will sharpen any saw chain for you.
Only takes a couple of minutes with the right machine.
Handy for saws with odd-sized chains or discontinued models.
Small, narrow chains don't have the stamina and soon blunt.
I spent years sawing and splitting logs for home firewood.
Until I started valuing my own labour and limited free time.
It's a mug's game.
 

Yes, this is the "little" one. There is a set of three round files that come in a set and each tooth needs to be sharpened.

You are spot on about the small narrow chains not lasting, but when I bought it, it was for cutting Laurel branches, not big trees. If I asked, there is probably a neighbour who has a big saw who would come round and cut them down.

[Bukko]

7 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I try to run a file over my chains properly every time I take the saw out and then just give it a quick clean up every time I refuel.  I also keep a couple of older chains that I put on if the wood has nails, bits of fencing wire in (not uncommon around here) or anything else that chainsaws aren't really intended for.  It's only a 14" Stihl, but after a couple of hours waving it around you know you've been working hard.

I have an older Stihl saw too, probably about 24", but it's very heavy and being older it doesn't have a chain brake or anything like that, so I tend not to use it.

The tree surgeons we had in the other week came with an entire collection of chainsaws including some tiny little electric ones probably less than a foot in length.  Absolutely fantastic for heavy duty pruning, they were.

James

I think aperture fever can also be applied to chainsaws; I was happy with my original electric one until I got a petrol one.. Now I htink I need a bigger one...

Is there no end to this sickness???

Gordon.

[Andrew INT]

I've had my eye on the 3m scopedome for several years now. When the v3 came out, I was determined to take the plunge. Base and pier built in anticipation of the new arrival and then, somewhat out of the blue came Covid, furlough and redundancy.

Thankfully I'm back in work again and looking to relocate from a Bortle 4 to somewhere darker. Fingers crossed my some will become reality at some point.

In the mean time, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Gordon's adventures in France.  I shall make copious notes for future reference!

May I ask why you decided to raise the domes? Was is predominantly to create space of equipment under the flooring or for other reasons (such as ventilation?

Thanks once again for such a terrific thread

Andrew

[Kimboman]

hi great project and very entertaining would like to see it finished

[Bukko]

On 26/10/2021 at 20:17, Andrew INT said:

I've had my eye on the 3m scopedome for several years now. When the v3 came out, I was determined to take the plunge. Base and pier built in anticipation of the new arrival and then, somewhat out of the blue came Covid, furlough and redundancy.

Thankfully I'm back in work again and looking to relocate from a Bortle 4 to somewhere darker. Fingers crossed my some will become reality at some point.

In the mean time, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Gordon's adventures in France.  I shall make copious notes for future reference!

May I ask why you decided to raise the domes? Was is predominantly to create space of equipment under the flooring or for other reasons (such as ventilation?

Thanks once again for such a terrific thread

Andrew

 

Hello Andrew,

I am pleased you have enjoyed my post.

There was several reasons to elevate the domes. I wanted to get further off the ground, to reduce the effects of moisture, etc. rising from it. It also gave me space to house equipment like a UPS, cabling and a computer. There is a small ventilation fan on a changeover switch with a dehumidifier. The fan is below the internal floor, the dehumidifier sits on top.  I also thought it would add some security, as any would-be thief would have to deal with the height. As the whole dome rotates, I could not build any fixed steps and I know from experience, it is a real pain to swap out equipment. I wanted to make them somewhat higher, but was limited by planning consent and I did not have eenough pipe to make the piers any higher. One wall is 50cm high and the other 80cm. The height was simply governed by the size of the bricks.

I have a 12" Newt in one dome and it takes up a surprisingly large amount of space. tracking objects low in the sky leaves me having to crawl under it. I have thought about reducing the internal floor height to make this easier, but right now, it works fine for visual too.

The domes are quite exposed and I suffer from wind. (no sniggering, please) It took the roof off my warm room and to protect the domes, I drilled the concrete base and installed 8 lengths of studbar connected to the fixed ring of each dome.

My original NEQ6 got very tired and worn out. It was replaced a year or more ago with a CEM70.  More recently, we had a lighting strike close by. It damaged a camera and one of the PC's. Both needed replacing. Unexpected upgrades and now I am looking at having to install a decent grounding system....

Heres hoping you get to build your dream system sometime soon.

Gordon.

 

[Bukko]

On 26/10/2021 at 23:53, Kimboman said:

hi great project and very entertaining would like to see it finished

Thanks !

TBH it has not changed much since my last posted pictures. The warm room roof is replaced with a flat sloping version and I finished throwing gravel around the area. Oh, also bedded some paving slabs for a couple of tripod mounted scopes and a group of 4 slabs for a Dob. AND installed external power sockets for the scopes...

I will try and get a decent picture and post, but the weather is not so good right now..

 

Gordon.

[Lumos]

Dear Gordon,

I found this thread as I am 80Km south of you and am planning a 3m Scopedome. How are your domes performing?