Metal shed sliding roof observatory.

[Turbocoo]

Hi all 

Just put together a fairly inexpensive observatory using a metal shed. 

I pondered on the roll off, hinged etc but came up with using heavy duty drawer runners to open the roof and it works a treat. 

The roof on these are really lightweight so runners can easily cope. 

I've insulated the inside with double sided foil bubble roll, armour cable power line etc. 

Currently have a wonderful Orion heavy duty tripod in base, loaded with the equally wonderful 130pds on a astroeq driven eq3-2 mount. Will be upgrading the mount eventually, but it works well for now 

Thought about a concrete based pier but with limited free time I went ahead. That tripod is a gem,despite grabbing room in the 6x6 shed. 

Folks, for the money, this is highly recommended 

Any questions please ask 

Advise... I'd appreciate. 

Cost 

Shed... £210

Base...£100(concrete, treated wood, damp proof etc) 

Insulation.. £30

Runners £30 

[M40]

I am loving this, what a great idea using drawer runners. 👍

This may be better off in the DIY observatories section as you may get a few more replies, you could pm a mod and ask them to move it for you. 

And as if by magic..... ta daaaa 🤣

Edited June 8, 2021 by M40

[Swoop1]

Nice little obsy Turbocoo.

What do you use to keep the roof closed/ secure?

[Stuart1971]

Looks superb, 👍🏼👍🏼 how do you cover the join between the two roof sections to keep water out when shut….?

Edited June 8, 2021 by Stuart1971

[carastro]

How do you open and close it.  Push from inside to open, and push from outside to close? 

Carole 

[Turbocoo]

1 hour ago, Stuart1971 said:

Looks superb, 👍🏼👍🏼 how do you cover the join between the two roof sections to keep water out when shut….

Thanks, the apex is simply hinged on one side of the roof and can be opened and closed 

[Turbocoo]

1 hour ago, carastro said:

How do you open and close it.  Push from inside to open, and push from outside to close? 

Carole 

Thanks Carole 

It can be opened and closed from the inside or outside. 

[mackiedlm]

I really like the look of that. Can you give details of how you laid the base - - what depth, hardcore under, rebar ???. Also where did you source those runners/

thanks

David.

[adyj1]

Looks good. Where did you get the shed from? 

[Turbocoo]

4 hours ago, mackiedlm said:

I really like the look of that. Can you give details of how you laid the base - - what depth, hardcore under, rebar ???. Also where did you source those runners/

thanks

David.

Thanks David 

80mm hardcore 80mm concrete approximately 

Added thick DPC and a 6x6 steel mesh as rebar. 

Slab is 2mx2m

[Turbocoo]

3 hours ago, adyj1 said:

Looks good. Where did you get the shed from? 

Hi

Purchased locally direct from the manufacturer, Yardmaster. Their factory is 30 miles from me. 

They supply argos etc. 

Best 

[adyj1]

4 hours ago, Turbocoo said:

Hi

Purchased locally direct from the manufacturer, Yardmaster. Their factory is 30 miles from me. 

They supply argos etc. 

Best 

Thanks

I assume it is the 8' x 6' ? ARGOS: Arrow Tall Metal Green Garden Shed - 8 x 6ft

Did you get the have to fabricate the 'flap' the over the apex, or is that part of the shed? 

More details about the runners would also be appreciated ☺

Looks a cracking result! 

[Kimboman]

Nice job and well engineered

[CCD-Freak]

I had one of those sheds and I was planning to do something like your project until a Texas thunderstorm changed my plans. 

It was ripped off the wooden deck and blown over a 6' fence before being deposited in the front yard.

 

[adyj1]

On 09/06/2021 at 01:35, adyj1 said:

Thanks

I assume it is the 8' x 6' ? ARGOS: Arrow Tall Metal Green Garden Shed - 8 x 6ft

Did you get the have to fabricate the 'flap' the over the apex, or is that part of the shed? 

More details about the runners would also be appreciated ☺

Looks a cracking result! 

Actually, I think the one I found in my post is bigger than the one that @Turbocoo has.

This 6' x 4' looks a slightly smaller one: ARGOS: Yardmaster Metal Garden Shed - 6 x 4ft

Ady

Edited June 29, 2021 by adyj1
OP's shed is 6x6

[Merlin66]

My TSO (Tin Shed Observatory) was based on that 8x6 Argos Shed. I made it a roll of roof and it housed my 12” Meade SCT for a while.

It moved with us when we transferred to Brussels and was used with the C9.25 and spectrograph for a couple of years.

when the time came to return to Australia, I decided to take the TSO II with me, it worked so well, why leave it behind??

The TSO III worked for some years with the C11/ spectrograph before being sold locally where it is now up and running as TSO IV.

 

[powerlord]

that looks awesome. just the sort of thing I was thinking about. the only difference in my mind was making the roof either as a whole or as two parts, open more like a clam - sort of ending up parallel to the sides. that way, I'd not need to space either side for when roof is open.

how do you find condensation and humidity though ? My worry with a steel shed like this would be it would not be possible to really keep it isolated enough from the outside to keep the humidity down (via dehumidifier, etc) - as I'm assuming I need to do that to protect the scopes, cameras, etc when not in use

 

stu

[Turbocoo]

On 12/09/2021 at 15:37, powerlord said:

that looks awesome. just the sort of thing I was thinking about. the only difference in my mind was making the roof either as a whole or as two parts, open more like a clam - sort of ending up parallel to the sides. that way, I'd not need to space either side for when roof is open.

how do you find condensation and humidity though ? My worry with a steel shed like this would be it would not be possible to really keep it isolated enough from the outside to keep the humidity down (via dehumidifier, etc) - as I'm assuming I need to do that to protect the scopes, cameras, etc when not in use

 

stu

Hi Stu 

That was my original idea for opening the roof, ie hinge it, but, you have to remember that metal sheds get their strength once they are built. If you were to hinge the roof you'd need really reinforce the inner walls to support the pivot and although the roof is really light it's still necessary. 

I framed my interior on all vertical and horizontal lines even for the drawer runner method. 

As for condensation it's been really good, I've only noticed it a bit on the roof interior, on a very damp day, but that part I haven't insulated yet. The walls are perfectly drip free 

I've lined the walls with double sided foil bubble and just haven't got around to doing the roof, but I've no reason to worry that the end result should be same as the walls. 

It's also important to mount the shed on a concrete slab that's damp proofed above the running waterline. 

Another thing to mention.. 

... While the foil insulation is great, it's also very good at reflecting EVERYTHING, your cam light, pc light, monitor etc. So.. 

Line your walls with that dull non reflective garden weed material, cheep and effective. 😊

Hope that helps in some way. 

Thanks 

[powerlord]

i didn't mean hinges - more a bearing. so it pulls down like a garage door really. Still need re-enforcing probably.

Im not sure what 'garden weed material' is ? All I can think of is the ground sheet type matting - but that's not insulation ?

stu

[Stuart1971]

This was my hinged roof idea, and it works well, for a total cost of £450 inc the shed…

 

[powerlord]

simple and effective. whats the shed ? I like the fact it looks like substantial timber. Seems very cheap for a decent wooden shed. is it 6x6 ? 6x4 ?

The only benefit of the sliding garage door type to me was that I wouldn't need the clearance to the side fence as when open it would be parallel to the wall. But it would be a lot more engineering faffing.  Maybe I'm over complicating things.

 

[Stuart1971]

3 hours ago, powerlord said:

simple and effective. whats the shed ? I like the fact it looks like substantial timber. Seems very cheap for a decent wooden shed. is it 6x6 ? 6x4 ?

The only benefit of the sliding garage door type to me was that I wouldn't need the clearance to the side fence as when open it would be parallel to the wall. But it would be a lot more engineering faffing.  Maybe I'm over complicating things.

 

It’s a 5x5 discontinued model from B&Q, it’s 20mm T&G wood…👍🏼

[powerlord]

why are they always discontinued...

trying to find an in stock shed is like trying to find hen's teeth at the moment. amazon has some in stock - but they are clearly crappy chinese tinfoil. I reckon I'll just take the plunge and order a yardmaster 8x6. It'll give me time to concrete up a base and get a couple of piers made up locally.

[Turbocoo]

11 hours ago, powerlord said:

i didn't mean hinges - more a bearing. so it pulls down like a garage door really. Still need re-enforcing probably.

Im not sure what 'garden weed material' is ? All I can think of is the ground sheet type matting - but that's not insulation ?

stu

Stu 

The garden weed material is a flat black cloth type used prior to laying garden decorative stones etc. 

Im using double foil insulation on the walls but the "gargen centre" cloth is used to on top of the foil to reduce reflection. 

Thanks 

[Turbocoo]

3 hours ago, powerlord said:

why are they always discontinued...

trying to find an in stock shed is like trying to find hen's teeth at the moment. amazon has some in stock - but they are clearly crappy chinese tinfoil. I reckon I'll just take the plunge and order a yardmaster 8x6. It'll give me time to concrete up a base and get a couple of piers made up locally.

Stu 

Good thinking, because while the weather is still decent, it's ideal to get that cement base with dmp layer ) and pier, which I'd Def do if I were to do it again) down now, regardless of which type shed you want.