Advice needed

[RichardHurst]

Hi Everyone

The one who must be obeyed (Wife) has given me permission to have a permanent shed/Observatory in the garden. Now we are not talking luxurious, I have about 6ftx6ft to play with as our back garden is the size of a postage stamp. The area is all astro turfed so i have to take that into account also and do something that would leave minimal damage if I was then to remove the build if in years to come we move. 

I was thinking of a plastic/metal shed that I could just take the roof off to shoot and place back on afterwards. And either just use the tripod or get a permanent pier fitted. Easiest/quickest option would be If I was to use my current HEQ5 and tripod I could place some slabs down on the floor for the tripod legs to give them stability and add a tripod extension tube thingy to give me the height needed to clear the shed sides. Or I could cut three holes in the shed flooring for the tripod to go straight onto the astro turf so when walking in the shed it wouldn't effect the tripod.

Ideally though a fixed pier would be a better option for a set up and leave solution but I need to absolutely minimise any damage to the astro turf. I could cut a hole in the shed flooring to accommodate it my issue is what needs to happen for the fixing, I could potentially lift the astro turf and dig the foundation and concrete in a base, put the astro turf back down and then bolt a pier on top of it so that would only leave a few bolt holes in the astro turf rather than cutting an area out. Or is there another option to consider? Put a concrete block inside the shed and bolt a pier to that, although how heavy would it be to get it inside in the first place??!

Any ideas or solutions you can come up with would be greatly appreciated, Its something I've always wanted as I'm fed up of dragging everything outside when we have a clear night and having to set it all up and polar align etc and now i have the opportunity to do this its freaking me out. Lol 

Edited November 17, 2020 by Cornelius Varley
formatting corrected for colour

[fifeskies]

Anything left on astroturf for any length of time will leave a crush mark on it so I would avoid heavy slabs. (Even slabs on a shed floor will make the shed bearers mark the astroturf more)

Bolts rising through the turf from below would work , just use spacer nuts so any pier does not actually clamp down onto the turf.

 

Another option might be to make a nice bit of raised deck that could be left behind if you ever move. A 6 x 6 section is easy to make.

Once you have that to build onto it makes things a bit easier. 

 

I assume you know about the lightweight plastic skypods , these appear second hand now and then. They sit easily on a small bit of decking

    

 

 

There are good ideas in the DIY observatory thread for adapting lightweight plastic or wood sheds for this kind of use, take a look at those to be inspired

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by fifeskies

[vlaiv]

Maybe best solution would be roll away obsy?

This is basically just a cover for your peer, mount and scope - it looks like this:

When it is closed - it is small, simple shed:

It can be made really nice looking - like a tool shed for garden tools.

You could even do a smart thing and install "lift up" table inside - like those Ikea folding stuff - so your obsy could double as warm room - you just lift up table to place your computer (if you image), route cables and close the door - it should provide you with some protection and warmth.