Telegizmos (or other covers) for a Dob inside a garden building

[newbostonian]

Hello everyone,

I'm building a period style octagonal garden gazebo with a false wall behind the open seated part creating a hidden, enclosed shed-like part ready to house my new 12" Bresser Messier Dobsonian. I'm insulating the pressure-treated timber walls and the one-piece fibreglass octagonal roof, but the building will stand directly on paving (that is itself laid on sand with rubble under that - not cemented in) so that the 'scope can be wheeled out directly along the garden path for observing (I'm going to fit 4" rubber-tyred castors with brakes). I want to avoid it having to bump up and down off of a timber floor. I've got good rubber P profile draughtproofing strip for around the base of the walls and doors. I've been assuming I'll need a Telesgizmos 365 cover even though the 'scope will be inside a building because its castors will be standing on the paving and it might get damp. However, I'm not likely to get any weather in other than the damp coming up from the floor and the telescope covers only just go under the mount base, not entirely under it, so anything more than a good dust cover might not be necessary. I could park it on some good quality DPC builders' membrane. I'll put a vent into the upper division wall and perhaps rechargeable silica gel unit(s) under the mount/tube but I won't be heating out there. 

What do you think - will I need a Telegizmos 365 cover and/or anything else to combat rising damp? Thanks in advance.

[Cosmic Geoff]

I think a dust cover would be sufficient.  I kept one of my scopes in a garage with a roof that leaked, and it was just covered with a black bin bag, but came to no harm.   IIRC the 365 cover is more intended for gear exposed to the weather.

[M40]

At the time, I kept my 200p inside a summer house with more than its fair share of draughts and I never covered it at all and never had any problems. I also kept the telescope dust cap off over night to allow a touch of ventilation to the tube. Cough.....I don't recall seeing pictures in the diy observatory section 😉 sounds like a unique build. All the best.

[newbostonian]

Thank you so much Cosmic Geoff and M40. I thought it might be overkill! The last thing I want to do is to create condensation on the optics by making the 'scope too snug. A dust cover sounds more than adequate. I didn't post in the observatory section because what I'm building isn't going to be an observatory (much as I'd like to have one again) but a heavily disguised storage facility for the telescope. It's hidden partially under trees and I'll be rolling the telescope out for observing to a spot just a few feet in front of it where I have the greatest expanse of sky. I will post some photos when it's built and operational.