Gina's Observatory

[Gina]

Posted by: @stub-mandrel

One, rarely mentioned, benefit of an ROR over a dome is that it doesn't stand out on Google maps and attract the wrong sort of attention...

Yes, that was one reason I went for that sort.  The other was cost.

 

[Gina]

This is an elevation plan for the block and pier.

[Gina]

Posted by: @AstroOlly

@gina

I do like the design of yours Gina, and think it will suit the space that I have..

Oh good.  I hope you may get some ideas from my build.  Some of it is conventional, some isn't.  My apex roof seems to be a different orientation from many.  That is to do with the way I seal the join between ROR and warm room roof.

 

[Gina]

Here is a diagram showing how the ROR seals onto the warm room roof when closed and rainwater flows from the west side of the ROR onto the warm room roof and thence into the guttering.  The east side of the ROR has its own guttering.  The rubber roofing is carried from the roofs round the beams to form a seal.  This isextremely effective and I have had no horizontal rain penetrate into the scope room.

[Gina]

Digging the block hole out by hand as the ground was too wet for machinery.

[Gina]

Digging out the site.

http://ginad.uk/ObservatoryBuild/Digging-Out-01.jpg

[Gina]

Sorry, the last two pics were in th wrong order.

[Gina]

Block hole dug out,

[Gina]

Once the block hole had been dug I dug 6 holes 2ft square and a foot deep into which concrete was poured to provide foundations for the shed part of the observatory.  I don't seem to have photos of this.  ON top of these blocks are 3 large wooden beams - second hand barn roof beams 7"x3".  The fittings were removed and then they were given several coats of real creosote.

The beams were laid on the blocks and checked for level with adjustment a necessary.

[Gina]

[Gina]

[Gina]

[Gina]

Canine inspection ? 

 

[Gina]

Please bear with me as I try to learn to use this forum software.  Sometimes I can post several images in a post and sometimes only the one.  It could be that I have my images hosted in different places.

[Gina]

Now we come to preparing the hole for the block and pier with shuttering and containment for the pier concrete.

http://ginad.uk/ObservatoryBuild/BlockHoleWithRebarAndShuttering.jpg

[Gina]

These next photos show the shuttering and board that forms the top of the block and other preparations for pouring the block and pier.  Note that these were poured in one go to avoid a weakness between the two.

The threaded rods and rebar were held together with established spacing and the template block removed.

Tied with string at the bottom.

The modified (bottomless) large plastic flower pots were taped together with duct tape and fixed in the hole with wooden blocks,

Then th board was fitted in the right position on the shuttering and fastened temporarily with wood screws.

This shows a cardboard tube titted to the top pot to provide the containment for the concrete for the pier.

That concluded the preparation prior to pouring the concrete which follows on the next day.

[Gina]

Pouring the concrete for the block and pier.  This turned out to be an all day job and fair wore me out!!!

https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_07_2011/post-25795-133877627621.jpg

Top's a bit rough but it doesn't really matter.

That concludes pouring the block and pier.

[silentrunning]

This is awesome Gina, love watching this thing take shape. 

 

[AstronomyUkraine]

Looking good. Ingenious use of the flowerpots. I don't have anything so fancy, just a square concrete pad facing north. ? 

[Gina]

Now for the "unboxing" ie. removing the shuttering etc.

I had to clear cement out of the threads of the 4 threaded rods that protrude above the top of the concrete. And here I can give advice to those building a concrete pier... use something to protect the top inch or so of the threads from cement/concrete, because however careful you are, you are bound to get some on the threads. Several nuts or nuts and washers, masking tape or whatever or even a thick grease. Then you won't have to clear the threads afterwards. So it's a case of "do as I say not as I did"! <blush>

[Gina]

I found that despite my efforts to provide strong supports for the rods, a couple of them moved off station when I poked the concrete into every corner. Fortunately, I quite expected this and hadn't yet drilled the holes for them in the bottom steel plate of my pier adapter.

Here is a view of the top of the pier showing the rods out of position.

I took a piece of cardboard and "persuaded" it to fit the rods with a hammer!  Then I used this as a template to drill the pier plate.

[AstronomyUkraine]

Posted by: @Gina

Fortunately, I quite expected this and hadn't yet drilled the holes for them in the bottom steel plate of my pier adapter.

Maybe you could have drilled the holes in the plate first, and used it to keep the rods in place? ? 

[Gina]

Cardboard tube removed from pier.  What looks like a crack in the concrete isn't - it's just where there was a flaw in the cardboard tube.

[Gina]

Pier plate drilled and placed on the studs.

Here a full view ot the pier and plate.  It looks a bit off upright but that can be corrected with the mount.  It doesn't affect imaging.  There's still the flower pots to remove.

[Gina]

Bottom pier adapter plate now fastened to pier rods. Painted with white Hammerite to match the NEQ6 I was using at that time.

A couple of photos :-

Second plate plus home made NEQ6 adapter added.