Appreciate you taking the time to make a video like this, I just got the C82 pier and adapter for my EQ6R mount and was a bit discouraged as I've never done concrete work before but was curious how to do the anchors, as a friend has helped me and shown a similar template design I knew that was the way to do the anchors, but double checking north is a must.. as another told me they knew somebody who had done theirs and was roughly 10 degrees off .... ouch..!! There are not many videos out there to help amateurs at the level I am at, again, much appreciated and well made. Thanks for the tips and tricks on how to do this. Knowledge is Power! lbvs
It's always a good rule to have a pier/footing base below frost level for your particular area. If not you risk frost heaving. Frost heaving will move the pier. Another consideration is the deeper you go, to a point, you'll have more consistent ground moisture. Just like frost heaving can move the pier the repeating drying and wetting of the soil can move your pier as well. It's something to think about.
Very good tips! In my area I doubt the frost line is more than a few inches deep as we rarely get below frizzing here and its usually only for a few days at a time. I'm sure this is different for some folks! But thanks for the info, I'm sure it will be help some folks out!
It looks really nice. How do you keep critters out of it? I am assuming there is a gap around the pier, and I did see a gap around the bottom of the observatory on the hill, due to the angle of the slope.
Which direction does the roof slide off in? Looks like to the east if I'm putting your video together right. Is there a rule or general consensus for that?
Yup mine slides to the east. The original reason I did this was that I had huge trees blocking that part of the sky anyhow. Typicly you would want it to slide east or west. That way at least at some point everything should be visible as the earth rotates.
Nice construction! You could make something similar with 1 inch white water pipes. Something you could disassemble and carry about. Just do not glue it together.
I really like the idea of only having a v-channel on one track only to allow for imperfections of alignment over time. Never run across this precaution before.
What an amazing build vlog. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I do have a few question if you don't mind. How tall are the side walls (when the roof is open and what is the height of the pier from top to the observatory floor (where it starts to disappear underneath the observatory). Thanks
Walls are 6' high. I'm 5 10 and can easily walk with the roof closed. There is really no reason to make them any higher unless you are over 6' tall. The lower the wall is the more of the sky that your scope will be able to see. The pier is about 4' above the floor including the top plate. Again the higher the better for sky visibility as long as the room will still close(and in most cases you will not have the scope pointed up on a GEM mount with the room closed).
@@AVTAstro nice one mate. Thank you for answering these questions so quickly and brilliantly. I only asked because I will be looking at a plastic shed option which is a 6x6 (inside) and the walls are also 6 feet tall. My current pier is around 1150mm and when putting the mount and the scope, everything comes to my eye level. Will need to keep things lower than the walls because we get some serious amount of winds here in the UK. The only downside I see is, I'm 6'3" 🤦 but then again I don't plan on walking around the inside with the roof closed so I guess I'll be alright. Also one last question, what's the biggest frac you've been able to use in this observatory?
i'd be interested about humidity build up, as I've heard that wood structures with no insulation tend to store a lot of dew inside. Do you find this happening?
Hi, besides the structure type it really depends a lot on how wet your climate is. During the summer I have never had an issue with moisture at all. Here in the NW we do get almost as much rain as a tropical rainforest so yes during the wet season I have had to run this fan to keep things dry inside: amzn.to/3k1Vz4H
HOA? Who would actually sign some kind of thing that basically limits what you are allowed to do with your own property? Whew. I guess some people have zero choice or something?
LOL, yup its a tough world out there! It may be those people that dont want neighbors with 100 broken down cars and blue tarps evereywhere??? Just a guess...
@AVTAstro...I realize the OP was pretty rude, but defending HOAs to the opposite extreme makes you sound just as rude... P.S. You and I both know that they can be far more heavy handed in their attempts to keep a "clean" neighborhood...I have come across numerous stories, right on this very site, that attest to as much...
Appreciate you taking the time to make a video like this, I just got the C82 pier and adapter for my EQ6R mount and was a bit discouraged as I've never done concrete work before but was curious how to do the anchors, as a friend has helped me and shown a similar template design I knew that was the way to do the anchors, but double checking north is a must.. as another told me they knew somebody who had done theirs and was roughly 10 degrees off .... ouch..!! There are not many videos out there to help amateurs at the level I am at, again, much appreciated and well made. Thanks for the tips and tricks on how to do this. Knowledge is Power! lbvs
Glad it was helpful. Yeah I enjoy sharing the knowledge that I have acquired over the years👍
It's always a good rule to have a pier/footing base below frost level for your particular area. If not you risk frost heaving. Frost heaving will move the pier. Another consideration is the deeper you go, to a point, you'll have more consistent ground moisture. Just like frost heaving can move the pier the repeating drying and wetting of the soil can move your pier as well. It's something to think about.
Very good tips! In my area I doubt the frost line is more than a few inches deep as we rarely get below frizzing here and its usually only for a few days at a time. I'm sure this is different for some folks! But thanks for the info, I'm sure it will be help some folks out!
100% here they recommend 36" to get below frost line....ugh
It looks really nice. How do you keep critters out of it? I am assuming there is a gap around the pier, and I did see a gap around the bottom of the observatory on the hill, due to the angle of the slope.
Honestly there is no keeping them out. Thankfully we don't have a rodent issue around here. It's mostly spiders that are an issue.
What are those rails called that you used to slide your roof on?
They are called v-rails.
Which direction does the roof slide off in? Looks like to the east if I'm putting your video together right. Is there a rule or general consensus for that?
Yup mine slides to the east. The original reason I did this was that I had huge trees blocking that part of the sky anyhow. Typicly you would want it to slide east or west. That way at least at some point everything should be visible as the earth rotates.
Nice construction! You could make something similar with 1 inch white water pipes. Something you could disassemble and carry about. Just do not glue it together.
👍
That’s awesome Vlad!
Thanks!
I really like the idea of only having a v-channel on one track only to allow for imperfections of alignment over time. Never run across this precaution before.
Yup, I'm glad I learned this before building my Observatory 👍
What an amazing build vlog. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I do have a few question if you don't mind. How tall are the side walls (when the roof is open and what is the height of the pier from top to the observatory floor (where it starts to disappear underneath the observatory). Thanks
Walls are 6' high. I'm 5 10 and can easily walk with the roof closed. There is really no reason to make them any higher unless you are over 6' tall. The lower the wall is the more of the sky that your scope will be able to see. The pier is about 4' above the floor including the top plate. Again the higher the better for sky visibility as long as the room will still close(and in most cases you will not have the scope pointed up on a GEM mount with the room closed).
@@AVTAstro nice one mate. Thank you for answering these questions so quickly and brilliantly. I only asked because I will be looking at a plastic shed option which is a 6x6 (inside) and the walls are also 6 feet tall. My current pier is around 1150mm and when putting the mount and the scope, everything comes to my eye level. Will need to keep things lower than the walls because we get some serious amount of winds here in the UK. The only downside I see is, I'm 6'3" 🤦 but then again I don't plan on walking around the inside with the roof closed so I guess I'll be alright.
Also one last question, what's the biggest frac you've been able to use in this observatory?
You should label the plywood template and pier when drilling holes so they line up correctly in hole pattern is not perfectly symmetrical
i'd be interested about humidity build up, as I've heard that wood structures with no insulation tend to store a lot of dew inside. Do you find this happening?
Hi, besides the structure type it really depends a lot on how wet your climate is. During the summer I have never had an issue with moisture at all. Here in the NW we do get almost as much rain as a tropical rainforest so yes during the wet season I have had to run this fan to keep things dry inside: amzn.to/3k1Vz4H
What are the dimensions of the shed and cost of materials?
It's only 6x6'. At the time I built it about 3 years ago it cost about $1000. I'm sure with today's lumber prices that will vary a lot.
Damm you sure have clear skies
Well here in the NW we do get them. We also do get months of non-stop rain😂
Good stuff..
Glad you enjoyed it
Looks very mice.
Thanks👍
Отлично !
Thanks!
HOA? Who would actually sign some kind of thing that basically limits what you are allowed to do with your own property? Whew. I guess some people have zero choice or something?
LOL, yup its a tough world out there! It may be those people that dont want neighbors with 100 broken down cars and blue tarps evereywhere??? Just a guess...
@AVTAstro...I realize the OP was pretty rude, but defending HOAs to the opposite extreme makes you sound just as rude...
P.S. You and I both know that they can be far more heavy handed in their attempts to keep a "clean" neighborhood...I have come across numerous stories, right on this very site, that attest to as much...