Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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We're nearing time for plastering, so I'm going to need a different solution for temporary weathering. I'm going to put together a simple peaked roof with scrap lumber and OSB, and then cover it with the same tarp (but it will at least be up out of the plasterers way).
But I'd also like to get the inside painted long before the scope goes in so that the paint has plenty of time to dry/outgas. Since the floor is too close to the temporary roof to install it with the roof on, the decision was made to remove the tarp, put in the floor, and then add the temporary roof.
Here are the scrap-lumber trusses for the temporary roof.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Most of the flooring (3/4" OSB) laid. There are a couple of small triangles at the edges still missing, and the removable sections around the pier won't be completed until the pier goes in. The large rectangular hole is where the stairs comes up (there will be a trap-door, but it will be done in plywood rather than OSB).
It would have been a huge chore to have tried to cut these out here within the walls, and still have all the edges fall on a joist or trimmer. I'm very glad this was all done inside with the joists laid out and a ring on top to mark the edges beforehand. We had to do a bit of trimming on site (thus the jigsaw), but it all went together quite well.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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And a shot from the underside.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Oh man that looks sweet. I can just about smell the fresh wood from here. Love the way you handled the joists with the blocking. Over here some kind of metal unit from Kant-Sag would have been employeed. Probably stronger but not nearly as elegant or good looking.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
127mm F9 Surplus Shed/Crawmach kit scope
Coronado SolarMax 40 on a Celestron 102 Wide Field
Best of ATM
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MMICKELS
Aluminum Knight
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 36050
Loc: Land of Shake and Bake
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Jeff, passivation is when SS is placed in an acid bath. The acid removes all of the exposed iron from the surface. 316ss will actually corrode if there is NOT oxygen present. The screws you have are probably 18-8 SS. You may be able to mitigate some of the corrosion problems associated with dissimilar metals by painting them with some type of insulator. I'm just guessing though.
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Mark
I'm going outside to stand, so if anyone asks I am outstanding.
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Ron --
Why thank you. The herringbone bridging does look the business, doesn't it?
Mark --
Thanks for the extra info. I'm afraid I reached information overload though, so I've just decided to let them rot and see what happens. 
FWIW, I have a '75 Formula Ford race car that I restored a few years ago. The water piping was aluminum, but the formula requires a cast-iron Cortina block and head. About 3/4" to 1" of each end of the aluminum pipes had completely eroded away! (In this case, the medium is also being pumped around, which likely increases the galvanic action.)
-- Jeff
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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MMICKELS
Aluminum Knight
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 36050
Loc: Land of Shake and Bake
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Jeff, the project is looking really good! 
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Mark
I'm going outside to stand, so if anyone asks I am outstanding.
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Well, it's a bit unsightly, but it will allow me to plaster the outside, and my dome should be shipping in the next week or so.
It's been raining cats and dogs here. There are literally puddles of standing water in the field (and it's not like the field is in a low-lying depression). I'm trying to paint the inside, but with all the humidity, I can't get it to completely dry out (and I don't want to seal in the moisture with the paint). I put a heater out there tonight; we'll see what tomorrow brings.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 14043
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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I have to laugh...
That roof looks really funny. 
If all you needed was to keep water out so you could finish the inside, couldn't you just prop up a 2x4 on the inside like a "Tee-pee" for the tarp?
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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Richard B. Drumm
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 1486
Loc: Albemarle Co. Virginia
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Jeff:
Good work, guy! I just hope hurricaine omicron doesn't get ya! 
That rain is why they call it the Emerald Isle!
Keep up the great posts! I look forward to them with great interest.
Rich
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AKA Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum
Orion Atlas 10 (10" Newt on an equatorial mount)
Celestron 15x70 SkyMaster Binocs
Coronado Ha PST
President, Charlottesville Astronomical Society
IOTA member
38° 10' 57"N, 78° 23' 09"W
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Quote:
If all you needed was to keep water out so you could finish the inside, couldn't you just prop up a 2x4 on the inside like a "Tee-pee" for the tarp?
Neo --
No, the new roof is so I can plaster the *outside*. (What you'd know as stucco over there, but we call it sand & cement plastering -- or rendering -- over here.) The previous tarp needed to be wrapped around the top, so it wouldn't allow me to plaster that part.
I got most of the expanded metal on today, but it was completely dark by the time we gave up trying to finish it, so pictures will have to wait. We're supposed to have another break from the rain tomorrow, so hopefully I can finish it then....
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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I spray-painted the ground floor walls and ceiling a light blue. This was a grueling task from which I emerged blue myself. The floor is also entirely blue, even though I didn't paint any of it!
I'm not terribly happy with the color, but it's not going to change now. 
You can also make out in both pictures the 3/8" x 3" plywood rail rebated into the studs to keep them from twisting.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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I'll have to get some colorful posters or something in there to break up the blue-ness.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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(OK, perhaps this whole "jam jar" thing has gone too far. I promise to cease and desist. Really.)
Anyway, a bit of "rib-lath" went up over the sarking felt. This is your basic expanded metal but with angled ribs that hold it out from the substrate about 1/4" so that the plaster can get a good "key" behind the metal. It's a pain in the rear to put on though -- what I thought was a half-day job took 2 of us a day and a half, and we didn't even get the vestibule covered. 
You can also see one of the 3/4" plastic pipes around the mid-section. There is one more at the top that's pretty hard to see, and one more still to go on at the bottom. These will act as "grounds" enabling the plasterers to screed the plaster to get a nice, even curve around the cylinder. After screeding, the plastic pipes will come off, and the holes they leave will be filled in by hand.
The plasterers will be out next Tuesday or Wednesday (weather permitting).
--------------------
Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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More like a grain silo now - or water tank. Why do these projects take so much longer to complete than planned? 
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
127mm F9 Surplus Shed/Crawmach kit scope
Coronado SolarMax 40 on a Celestron 102 Wide Field
Best of ATM
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JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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Hello Jeff. Your installation will be virtually identical to mine (from the floor of the Dome up). I have the 10 foot "ProDome" with the same trap door and pier arrangment (my pier is nowhere as solid as yours). This may have come up already earlier (if so I didn't catch it) but how are you treating the floor. I covered the floor of my dome with black rubber roofing. About 1/8 inch thick, it waterproofs the floor and provides a good landing pad for eyepieces and 300d cameras. Around the trap door and pier enclosure I ran a small caulk bead dam. Reason I bring this up is over time the wind can hit a Pro/Homedome just right and the water comes in. They have large gaps around the shutter front and rear. If the rain would read the rain manual and fall straight down it would be no problem. However, a good wind will find the holes. Sorry if you have already covered this.
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Jerry
TOA 150, FS-152, 14" LX200R, AP-1200
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Quote:
Hello Jeff. Your installation will be virtually identical to mine (from the floor of the Dome up). I have the 10 foot "ProDome" with the same trap door and pier arrangment (my pier is nowhere as solid as yours). This may have come up already earlier (if so I didn't catch it) but how are you treating the floor. I covered the floor of my dome with black rubber roofing. About 1/8 inch thick, it waterproofs the floor and provides a good landing pad for eyepieces and 300d cameras. Around the trap door and pier enclosure I ran a small caulk bead dam. Reason I bring this up is over time the wind can hit a Pro/Homedome just right and the water comes in. They have large gaps around the shutter front and rear. If the rain would read the rain manual and fall straight down it would be no problem. However, a good wind will find the holes. Sorry if you have already covered this.
Jerry --
No, I haven't gone into the floor covering yet. The subfloor is OSB, which is supposedly "exterior grade", but I don't think it'd weather that well with standing water on it very often. My plan had been some interior/exterior carpet (basically the stuff you find on minature golf courses). But I wonder if I need a bit more water-proofing?
We certainly get plenty of horizontal rain here in Ireland. Ireland doesn't have much of a reputation for it, but it's actually *very* windy in the winter. How much water entry are we talking about? Do you get a small puddle here and there, or 1/8" of water over the whole floor?
Thanks,
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Just thinking outloud here, I wonder what the usefulness of putting a "large" fin on the dome so it will weathervane in high winds. Place the most weather resistant face into the wind so all potential leaks are downwind.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
127mm F9 Surplus Shed/Crawmach kit scope
Coronado SolarMax 40 on a Celestron 102 Wide Field
Best of ATM
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JerryWise
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/03
Posts: 9284
Loc: Lexington, SC
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Ron. If ever there was a post that needed a smiley......
There have been times when I was observing in the middle of a cold dark scary night and the wind picked up. If that thing had started coming around by itself you can bet..... "Jerry will have left the building!" 
But Jeff, Ron does make a very good point. If I leave the shutter opening facing South or South West, there will be water on the floor after a storm. When I leave it facing North or North by North East then very little water comes in. I'm sure this will differ by area and certainly by country.
I have two layers of exterior 3/4 plywood on my floor. I then put 3 coats of Thompson Water Seal on this. I then put, with adhesive, a layer of 1/8" rubber roofing material on top. It is very strong and flexible but does not "rub off" on your shoes. If I were to put exterior carpet or Astroturf in the dome it would be on top of this material.
In other projects I have done, the OSB is fine and fairly waterproof. The problem does not come from the OSB but from the seams and joints. Water infiltrates into the cracks and around the screws/nails. The underlying joist will develop soft spots that will then let the edges of the OSB flex. OSB does not like to flex at the edges and will break down allowing water to infiltrate there. If you look at OSB failure on roofs the failure seems to always start with water in a seam.
As to water quantity, it varies. Sometimes we are forecast tremendous storms and days of rain. I go up to the dome and put down sponges and paper towel dams where I know there will be some infiltration. After days of rain and storms I check and there will only be a few drops. Other times we have a light sprinkle and there will be a couple quarts of water with some dripping down the trap door. Bear in mind, my dome is now 7 years old. But yours will be that age one day too.
I just checked with Technical Innovations this week about another ProDome and they (Jerry) said the design has not change since mine was delivered. The new ones should have the same exposure.
In the observatory you make a habit of tripping over stuff. I put down carpet over my rubber roofing but did not glue it. The carpet over the trap door was a pain from day one (stapled it). The edges would ease up and sure enough, trip point. It was also hard to slide an observing chair around on it. It was great to kneel in when aligning but not if it was wet. Best part about carpet (for me) in an observatory was the ease of rolling it up and flinging it out the open shutter. No dragging it down stairs and through narrow trap doors.
Sorry to drag on but "been that, done there" on the ProDome.
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Jerry
TOA 150, FS-152, 14" LX200R, AP-1200
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4491
Loc: Ireland
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Jerry --
Interesting points on the carpet. I also use an observing chair -- I wonder if I'd end up pitching the carpet as well?
I don't think I can get the rubber roof coating here, though. The standard stuff is either torch-on-felt (somewhat rubberized, but *does* rub off on your shoes), and ashfelt, which is much tougher and doesn't rub off, but lacks the "soft landing" factor (it's about the same hardness as asphalt).
I'll have to do some more investigation of what's available over here.
What about vinyl flooring? Anyone ever use that? You can get some that are reasonably thick and spongy, and it's certainly waterproof. (Although it's always struck me as cheesy for some reason.)
Oh, and Ron --
- "Out loud?" Certainly.
- "Thinking?" I'm not so sure....
(But I did get a nice vision of an 8' tall chicken-shaped weather vane on top instead of a fin.) 
-- Jeff.
--------------------
Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
|
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