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Garden Observatory

Started by Fay, Mar 22, 2008, 14:05:35

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Fay

It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

mickw

Fay are you getting ideas  ;)
Growing Old is mandatory - Growing Up is optional

Fay

I do keep looking at a certain space up the garden. That item semed quite involved, a lot of work but quite cheap, bit of a deep hole for the pier.

Obviously it would be nice not to have to put everything up & then away. I was not sure of the image, where it showed inside the shed, as it would be for imaging, looked a bit claustrophobic. Ok if you have space for a large shed also nice to be able to look at the sky without being too enclosed, but you can't have everything.

If you have a dome, you would have to have the dome on auto, that is very expensive. I think you would have to sort out condensation as well.  Also, I would have to have a lot of co-operation with it all, which I think would be a battle!
Oh well, will probably have to struggle on.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

mickw

Quotewhere it showed inside the shed, as it would be for imaging, looked a bit claustrophobic
It's not like you're going to live in it - You can judge how much room you actually need next time you lay out your kit.  Just mark out an oblong round everything (including chair) using sticks or something, best not to include the full size of your paste table, just the space you're using.
Argos also do larger sheds  :D
QuoteI think you would have to sort out condensation as well
He did that with ceiling tiles.

Come on Fay, get positive  :twisted:


Growing Old is mandatory - Growing Up is optional

Ian

you'll have to come round and see my compost bin sometime, Fay.

Fay

Is it Groundhog Day, Ian?



If I could just say, I will have that flower bed & put up an observatory, dig all the holes, do electrical connections, put in my pier etc etc myself  I would definitely have one.
I would love all my stuff in one place, shut it all down if it rains, open up on a good evening all polar aligned, but it would not be that simple. I can but dream.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

JohnP

Fay - Can't John (as in your hubby) do it for you...?

Ian

That's not a problem, I can show him my compost bin too. I'm easy.

It recently underwent an upgrade. Now the lid is attached to the drum with silver gaffer tape. I'd have used black, but I didn't have any to hand.

Fay

John, I'm still working on it!

Ian, I'll be round
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Rocket Pooch

Here's a thought, build one at high elms we can all use.....

Fay, just to let you know my shed is 7'6 x 7'11 anything smaller and you can't really fit in it, well not with all the kit anyway.


Fay

That is interesting Chris. I have been looking at various shed measurements, also looking at shed observatory sites where they put it up for you & put the pier in. Although you have to put your own base in.

I would like to have a close look at yours & study it more closely. I was thinking that you have to have room to move & be able to get a chair & table, at least in there. Depends, in the end, how much space  & cash you have available.
I was even looking at the domes, but the cheaper one has an aperture suitable for 8" scopes, 0.5 m diameter. Thing is the dual plate has to be considered, which I think, is 16" long.   
I will measure the flower bed that I am thinking of & check that the sky view is suitable, if it is not, then there is no other place that I could have.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Rocket Pooch


Tony G

Don't worry about the flowers, I heard that Ian pretty handy with the flower arranging, ;) if not Fay could bring them around and he could use them in 'the Compost bin'.
(I still think there must be a better chat up line) :roll:

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Tony G

"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Fay

That looks good, Tony..........but,

I was reading a site on which this chap tells about his dome. There was so much humidity that he put these moisture soaking aids, all along the base  of the dome, but they were not enough.
He has to run a de-humidifier all the time & collects loads of water over a couple of days. He had so much moisture that it got inside all his telescopes & he had to put them in an oven at 40 deg to dry them out, scary!

I think that wood is the only thing that you would not get this problem with. Correct me if I'm wrong.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Ian

sounds more like he had a particular problem with his observatory rather than domes or metal sheds in general. Wooden sheds are usually poorly sealed. Not a fault, just a way they are, but metal sheds can be tightly sealed. It may also be that this particular observatory has a poor or non-existent moisture barrier in the floor.

Condensation can be reduced by ventilation and stopping the moisture getting in in the first place. Sounds like a contradiction, but it's not really. Seal the top and the bottom, stop rain and ground water getting in, but ventilate the sides to get a decent air flow through the building. Dehumidifiers are not really a permanent solution. I don't think I'd want to bake any of my kit in an oven either, wouldn't want any of the optical cement in any of it melting.

Fay

http://www.newforestobservatory.com/index.php/observatory

Our garden shed is very dry, it has ventilation at both ends. I have heard it a few times, regarding fibreglass & metal buildings. You are right it is not the answer to run a de humidifier all the time.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Tony G

Fay,
The gentleman you spoke about with the moisture problem (was he an old man?????? :lipsrsealed:) made a few mistakes. First he should not build an observatory in a stream, Second he shouldn,t leave the heater on constantly, it should be regulated and third it would help if there was some form of insulation or vapour barrier on the inside lining of the shed/observatory.
A de-humidifier would be no good in an external housing, because it would absorb the moisture within the shed (condensation) as well as absorbing the moisture externally (due to any gaps and joints), and with this countries climate, I would say you would be emptying it more frequently than every two days.
You could always fix foiled backed plasterboard internally with a gap between the board and the outside skin of the shed plus a couple of vents to stop any stale air inside, like airbricks under your ground floor flooring, and then fix some tube heating as in the link you started this thread with, and I know where you can get some of these, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more. ;) ;).
Well that my opinion anyway.

Hope this helps.

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Tony G

Sorry Ian,

I didn't realise you and Fay had posted until I hit the post button :oops:

But roughly along the lines as what I posted ;)

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Ian

at least we didn't completely contradict each other :)

Thanks for the link Fay, he's got no moisture barrier underneath, unless he missed it out of the description of the works. Just a wooden deck over the ground. Most of the moisture would be coming up from beneath I suspect. There's the possibility that heating the dome could make it worse too, vaporising more of the ground water...

Fay

Oh, it is interesting to hear your's & Tony's opinions. Should he have a thick sheet of plastic incorporated in the cement floor?
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Tony G

Fay,

A sheet of polythene would definitely stop any moisture, but make sure that there is a layer of soft sand laid down prior to the polythene, as people put the sheeting directly onto the hardcore and when they concrete do not realise that the hardcore can rip the sheeting with the weight of concrete and produce a nice hole for the ground water to penetrate. :oops:
Fay, if you do go ahead with this, there are plenty of us here to help, me with advice, and the rest with their muscle and willingness.

Good luck,

Tony G

"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Fay

You are so kind, as usual.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Fay

A couple of very interesting links. The chap at Crayford, that I put the address on earlier had this link on his site. It is where he got his idea from

http://www.linnhe2.free-online.co.uk/observatory/index.html
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Fay

Well, that was such an interesting read! The Linnhe Observatory.

All the work & technical knowhow that you need, scared the wits out of me. Jealous of his view!!
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

JohnP

QuoteJealous of his view!!

yes but not the winds or salt water..... imagine the potential for corrosion...

RobertM


Fay

Never thought about that bit John. There is always a trade off.

I will look at those sites Robert. Have you done anything yet?
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Fay

Robert I really like that last one.

I think it is funny that always the wife or husband is mentioned!!!!
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

RobertM


There is nothing to show other than a few wood shavings where the tree was.  Everything else is either in my head or mad ramplings on scraps of paper.

No doubt your husband thinks that it should be invisible like my wife - my wifes comments range from 'how much !' and 'does it need to be that size' to 'wouldn't under that tree in the corner be better' !  Wonder how she'll react when I ask her to help with the concrete .... I'm thinking the worst at the moment :(



Fay

Ha Ha, that sounds the same as me but the other way around!
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Rocket Pooch

Hi Fellow Geeks,


I researched the issue of damp and condensation a lot before I built the bee hive; however, due to my inability to make anything fit, it is well vented and I never get any damp or condensation on the roof.

But I did isolate the pier from the surrounds and therefore its dry.



Chris

Fay

Chris, you are funny!


Can I assume  it is  called "The Beehive Observatory"?
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Tony G

 :o

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=17326

:o WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Rick

...and just after his scope featured in Astronomy Now, too. I presume he's moving to a place with darker skies and buying a new and bigger dome... ;)

Carole

What about The Society buying this for High Elms?

Carole

Rick

'Ang on a minute... I'll get me barge-pole.  :twisted:

Mike

Quote from: Carolepope on Mar 27, 2008, 14:06:25What about The Society buying this for High Elms?

For what? We will never be allowed to put a dome there. Personally I think due to the bad horizon plus terrible light pollution a permanent observatory at High Elms would be a waste of time and money. Let's face it, we can set up a field observatory in 15 mins.
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. Carl Sagan

Fay

Looks like it has a concrete lower half.
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Carole

Jim said it was his ambition to have a permanent observatory at High Elms, so I assumed this was something that has been discussed at committee meeting.

Carole

Ian

I suspect that's a personal ambition rather than one for the society. Long before my time there was an attempt to build an observatory that failed and there is little appetite to try again.

Realistically, if we wanted an observatory we'd be better off taking on the running of an existing one, but they're a bit thin on the ground.

Tony G

What about Jodrell Bank, with a few adaptions and a lick of paint, who knows!!!!!!

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson

Ian

well it's had the lick of paint. We could point it straight up, then have marble races to see who can be at the bottom last :) Could take days that.

Carole

I have managed to persuade my husband to let me take down a tall pine tree that was a big obstruction along the ecliptic path and am now looking at the gap it has left and wondering whether I could put an observatory there.  It would have the end of an existing shed adjacent and any sliding roof could run along that, although I would need to raise the floor or the shed itself would become an obstruction. I have done a fair bit of DIY over the years and am not incapable of a bit of carpentry, but I think this might have to wait until next year after I have retired and have more time for construction.  But meanwhile I will put my thinking cap on as regards planning, do some measuring up and may pick a few brains.

I have also seen an outdoor shed used as an office which was lined with bubble wrap, I am wondering whether this might cause condensation, or whether this would be OK so long at there was sufficient ventillation.

What do you guys think?

Carole



Fay

Tony, the link scared the hell out of me, the building even more!!!!!!
It is healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton!

Rick

That's a bogglingly big shed!  :o

Mike

In parts of Scandinavia that would be called a House.
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. Carl Sagan

Tony G

You would need a park or field along side this hut to allow the roof to slide off :D

Tony G
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman." - Homer Simpson