Building an Observatory

1
Building an Observatory

• The building
• Of Rose Mountain Observatory
• By
• Daniel R. Blais

2
Picking The Site

• If you own plenty of high open space in an
  isolated area than skip on to the next slide.
• The ideal location is a flat piece of land with
  little or no obstruction at a decent elevation.
• Calculate the costs, maintenance of property ease
  of access, taxesect. Ensure it is within your
  budget or your clubs budget. Take all precautions
  as you would for buying any real estate, research
  for liens and other legal binds that may consume
  your time in areas you would rather not get
  involved with.
• Be flexible and have vision. A scrappy piece of
  land can turn into a swan of a location.

3
Breaking Ground

• Be sure to calculate the size of the structure
  and that it will meet the needs for space, and
  comfort for yourself and other potential
  visitors.
• Once staked out, order a 16 X 14 X 20 slab of
  REINFORCED concrete to be poured into a
  sturdy frame over a bed of gravel about 9
  deep. We didnt think the frame the foundation
  pouring folk put up was sturdy enough, but they
  said it was fine, well, it did bow out at the
  sides and this made for a nasty turn of events as
  we had to chisel the foundation back to square
  which is critical for the frame of the structure
  you will be building! Also ask the cement company
  about their types and qualities of reinforced
  concrete. This concrete was made with special
  fibers to enhance the strength of material.
• Note a 16 slab or less will do fine if you are
  in an area that is not rocky with no frost
  heaving's. Ensure slab has proper drainage.

4
Beginning The Dream!

• Once the slab is squared, framing can begin.
• If you are not a skilled carpenter (like me) it
  is best to have this done by professionals who
  have a reputation of quality workmanship.
• It may cost you more to build initially, but it
  will save you much money and embarrassment from
  mistakes or oversights in the long run.
• I chose L L construction whos slogan was
  The Finnishing Touch. Leo and Linda (Pictured
  in top right photo) a young couple recently
  married.
• Leo chose ¾ plywood for the walls with standard
  2X4 framing. He was infatuated with everything
  being perfectly square! I took this as a good
  sign.
• Note The concrete foundation is chiseled square
  along the upper edge. This was done so the
  plywood would not touch the concrete and wick the
  moisture from it thus preventing rot.

5
Take The Time

• Take your time when building the frame or having
  a frame built. If you rush things mistakes are
  made, or builders will overlook quality of work
  for time constraints you place on them! This
  phase took months patience. A good idea would be
  to document it by taking photos.
• Also, in determining wall height think about your
  observable horizon. My walls are less than 6.
  This gives a view just above the tree tops. I
  used a 2X4 with one end held up at varying
  heights against the treetops to determine this
  height.

6

• L L construction wisely chose to build the roof
  frame onto the casters so no crane or A frame was
  needed to hoist a heavy roof onto the walls.
• Note that the roof tracks rest on the casters in
  upper left of photo.

7
Casters And Rails

• Note upper picture shows casters on roll off
  posts. The choice of casters is critical and I
  highly recommend one inch wide casters that use
  Bearings! Stay away from sleeved casters which
  where originally installed (shown upper left
  photo). These cheap sleeved casters made the
  roof a real work out to roll back and almost
  impossible for one man to do. Bottom left photo
  and next slide show the better wheel.
• The steel rails are of 1/8 steel angle the
  length of the buildings roof and placed on the
  roof portion of the structure allowing gravity to
  lend a hand. The roof was built upon this frame
  making it less of a project to complete. I would
  also recommend deeper tracks, than shown, but
  these are suffice and lessen the potential
  friction against the sides of the wheels when
  rolling the roof back onto the posted portion of
  the observatory. Changing out the casters was a
  simple feat, just roll the roof back replace
  casters, roll it the other way and replace
  casters.

8
Rails Attached Under Roof

• Top right photo shows the steel angle iron
  track that is attached to roof assembly. These
  are 1 Heavy duty polyurethane wheels with
  bearings and it is the way to go here, if you
  want to be able to roll the roof back by
  yourself. (Less friction the better). The black
  bar at the bottom right of this photo is a heavy
  duty plastic teflon material that acts as a flap
  to seal and also give way when rolling the roof.
• See The Red Christmas Rope Lights? They wrap
  around the whole inside of the structure and used
  for lighting the observatory at night when the
  need to move around at night in the observatory
  to recheck charts, or change out eyepieces. This
  will save your night vision.
• Bottom right photo shows solid soffits with a
  white teflon trim against the wall, creating a
  decent seal. This will help keep birds and
  insects out. Note The cut away area or caster
  groove. A black flap extends along the front and
  rear of the building to enhance the sealing
  effect to keep creepy critters out.

9
Exterior Finishing Touches

• I chose cedar slats for looks and durability. I
  also chose to paint the observatory with a light
  color and placed a white corrugated roof, to keep
  the observatory from collecting to much heat in
  the summer months. Too much collected heat,
  equates to waiting a longer period of time for
  stabilized air currents at night. This is
  critical for large reflectors.

10
Other Ideas To Note

• (upper left photo) I think its a good idea to
  keep the external casters protected when I am not
  using the observatory. A length of plastic gutter
  material was purchased and cut away on one side
  to allow sliding the whole length over the
  exposed wheels.
• (upper left photo) You may create roof dead bolt
  locks such as shown above (in several spots
  preferably). Also cable harnesses connecting the
  roof to walls through eyebolts is a good idea! If
  you live in a hurricane zone or storm ridden
  area, this is a must! All can be undone when you
  prepare for the nights viewing session, which
  will be done on clear calm nights of course.

11
Little odd and ends..

• Upper Left Photo Note the bulb holder (15 watt
  bulb) hooked onto the rear of the reflector
  mirror this prevents condensation or (acid) dew
  from deteriorating the mirror during temperature
  change condensation. Remember the building is not
  air tight. Note the platform ladder on wheels to
  the right. I bought and assembled this so I could
  sit in comfort while observing the zenith where
  the skies are the clearest. A desk and chair
  along with wastepaper basket and small file
  cabinet is always good to have near at hand.
• When all is ready you have an awesome place to
  enjoy hours at your hobby in observing the most
  magnificent manifestations in nature known to
  man. You can always add and enhance your
  structure as time and money allow. My wife did
  not like the look of this shed without windows,
  so I have commissioned four stained glass windows
  over the winter, and plan to have them installed
  latter this spring. I think these windows will
  add to the beauty of my 2nd home! Three that are
  completed are shown on next slide.

12
Keep Enhancing Your Work Area

• These are three of the four and a half windows
  that I have completed. Mars and a narrow moon
  window are presently being worked on. When the
  snow thaws I will install them.
• Speaking of Snow THAW! ONE MORE POINT!........

13
A final note!

• Always ensure you or your club members are
  prepared to keep up with maintenance and
  accessibility of the observatory. I must really
  love this hobby or maybe I am just crazy as my
  wife believes! Either way I am having fun at it
  good luck in your endeavors!