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DaveS's Obsy Build Thread


DaveS

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Yes, I'll be running the power and ethernet in at a high level from poles. I couldn't decide exactly where I wanted the power to come up, plus there was the matter of preventing ingress of critters.

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Hi Folks,

If critters are a problem use Peanut Butter and the Victor wooden mouse traps (£1.20 each) = No more mouse bowling in clogs in the loft! We’ve had ray and mice problem for years but the peanut butter always gets em.

Clear skies :)

Murray

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15 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Hi Folks,

If critters are a problem use Peanut Butter and the Victor wooden mouse traps (£1.20 each) = No more mouse bowling in clogs in the loft! We’ve had ray and mice problem for years but the peanut butter always gets em.

Clear skies :)

Murray

They appear quite partial to small cubes of Mars bar too, so it's even on-topic :D

James

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48 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Hi Folks,

If critters are a problem use Peanut Butter and the Victor wooden mouse traps (£1.20 each) = No more mouse bowling in clogs in the loft! We’ve had ray and mice problem for years but the peanut butter always gets em.

Clear skies :)

Murray

If you have had ray problems, nibbling cables is the least of your worries. Best call a plumber!

(Sorry, couldn't resist😉 )

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I had to take my floor up recently to cut the cable conduit so I could rethread my string through the pipes (won't go into detail as to why, but suffice to say I just messed up. A valuable lesson learned).

Anyway - while I was stood on the ground in the hole in my floor with saw-in-hand, I was amused to see a mouse on the ground only 18" away, sitting pretty and bold as brass, watching me saw through the pipe!  The learning from this was that the holes in my anti-rodent mesh around the perimeter of my obsy are not small enough.  Redesign needed I think!

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A couple of photos without the tree. First from the small platform looking west to north west

IMG_20200204_120712.thumb.jpg.4dee8e3e8839294d62011a53790afbaa.jpg

And a panorama from the observatory platform, looking from south around to north-west.

PANO_20200204_120813.thumb.jpg.464326dd8fe33ee0e9bf6b62a1692f55.jpg

 

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I'll add that I'm not being a total thug in taking down the tree, as the area freed up will be planted as a small orchard of dwarf / semi-dwarf fruit trees, plus a fruit-cage of soft fruit an a couple of fan-trained cherries. Hopefully I'll also be able to grow veg in the same general area.

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That looks to improve things with the tree/s gone.

I would never consider you a ‘thug’ for removing a tree for a valid reason, planting things back in it’s place that are better suited in height to your garden and needs is very admirable. Bonus will be lots of fruit if you can beat the birds to it.

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Thanks Alan.

Beating the birds is why I'll be setting up a fruit cage for the cherries and soft fruit, I was a bit nieve and lost all my blackcurrants, goosgogs and raspberries to the damn blasted pigeons that I'm not allowed to blast with a shotgun. I think the apples and plums should be OK.

Will have to choose rootstocks with care to keep the heights down.

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Care in the rootstock is very much a priority based on your situation.

I was luckier here as I have the ground with a gentle fall from my observing area, oh and I know an arborist well so asked all the questions needed, perhaps I will need a fruit net for the cherry though.

As you say pesky pigeons.......not quite what I call them but being polite 😊

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My garden also slopes down from the observing position, but the logical place for the trees is closer to the top of the slope, but I think anything under 12' or so should be OK, perhaps more if I can put the trees lower. I have a reasonable (But not expert) knowledge of rootstocks, and which ones might work in my situation.

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Took the opportunity yesterday to assemble the sole plate and screw the angle brackets in. Just been out before and after lunch to finish the corner screws, two in each direction, and the top corner pieces. Now given it a good jollop of Creocote while the weather's sunny and not too cold. Still got to screw it down to the stone work base and pack mortar in. Photos when there's been enough progress, probably when I have the first uprights on.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Waiting now on some settled dry weather to screw the sole plate down to the base. I have the anchors and a suitable SDS drill bit, but my SDS is mains powered so need a spell of dry weather to use it. The sole plate is leveled with wooden wedges, once I have the plate screwed down I will force mortar in to give a solid bed before screwing down fully.

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Construction begins, yee-haw!*

Fixed up the four corner posts, each consisting of two uprights screwed together and fixed down to the sole plate with right-angle plates, plus diagonal screws into the sole plate. slightly wobbly as they stand, but should be more rigid when I get the intermediate posts and noggins in. Planning two intermediates per side. The greenhouse is being used as a temporary construction shack.

I will leave the south side open for the moment as I may well want to mount a winch on the long rail bearers (Still to be fixed) to aid in the movement of heavy / fragile technical stuff. Waiting for a bit of dry weather to slap some Creocote on the uprights, Wed looks good. Meanwhile measure up for the spacing of the intermediate posts and noggins. took a delivery today of lighter wood for the roof.

IMG_20200224_154101.thumb.jpg.f3eac972ff7541eb7751628abdf115f1.jpg

 

 

 

 

* 'cos I'm a cowboy builder, yeah!

Edited by DaveS
Added photo from phone.
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I may have made a small mistake with the angle brackets. The one on the north-west pillar pointing right is where I'm planning to put the door. So either remove it and screw the door frame directly to the corner pillar, or else leave it an put in short noggins so the door is a little (Say 6" / 15 cm) away from the corner. I'll think about it overnight. Still have to treat the end grain of four more uprights, the door frames, and the track bearers.

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Thanks James, yes it's been a while, having to fit this in between downpours. I did manage to drill out the 8 pilot holes for the pier while there was a lul in the rain. I'll see what I can do tomorrow with regards to the intermediate uprights.

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1 hour ago, DaveS said:

I may have made a small mistake with the angle brackets. The one on the north-west pillar pointing right is where I'm planning to put the door. So either remove it and screw the door frame directly to the corner pillar, or else leave it an put in short noggins so the door is a little (Say 6" / 15 cm) away from the corner. I'll think about it overnight. Still have to treat the end grain of four more uprights, the door frames, and the track bearers.

Remove the one angle bracket and drive deck screws (or nails) on an angle into the base. It will be fine, especially after the top plates and the studs are all installed. I have built quite a few storage sheds and several garden houses from scratch, and angle plates such as that are never used, even by professional builders. Of course, whenever I build wall frames, each side is usually built complete (with top and bottom plates and wall studs assembled) and then raised up and  attached to the next corresponding wall frame until all four are raised and secured.
See below image of a wall being laid out before nailed.
Just an idea for you. By the way, your backyard observatory is looking great so far.

 

frame wall layout.jpg

Edited by RAR_MI_USA
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