WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Why thank ya, Carol! We like to think we make a good team.
I sometimes think of us as the dwarf guy with the giant with little intelligence from that Mad max 'Beyond Thunderdome' movie.
The wife's alot prettier than the dwarf guy, but he was the brains of the outfit and the giant did his bidding.
I dont mind being her ignorant giant. 
Thanks for telling me about your roof, Karen. I assume Ill get use to it. Id feel much better about it If Scott had built it of course, but then I would only have been able to afford a smaller observatory.
As long as it works im happy and so far so good!
You think like the wife too. She mentioned some lattice and perhaps shrubery (cue Month Pythons "bring us.....a Shrubery!'). The deck sounds sweet too. Were hoping to get this done, relax for a little while, then maybe build a warm room onto the North side which will just be wasted space.
BYO has a photo ( i think thats where I got it) of a guy with his observatory and what appears to be his warm room like totally separate from it, but attached. I like that idea. I dont mind walking around a little corner to come back and forth.
Of course, with my Catsperch chair next to my dob slab, Im about 6 foot away from where the pier will go, I may just put a little desk in there and use that.
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Before you staple up your foil insulation, you should plan on how your going to vent the air gap between your foil & the steel. By venting the gap, you will go a long way in keeping the inside from getting real warm.
Can you explain a little more on this?
We were under the impression that we could just staple or glue the Reflectix stuff to the inside of the rafters and thatd be that.
Is that wrong?
What would you suggest? Please dont say drill a hole up through my pretty new metal roof to vent!  
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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That is starting to look good, I love that cladding. It is starting to look very professional and I am sure Scott would agree. Keep up the good work, and don't keep putting your self down, believe me you are no ones fool..... 
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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astrotrf
sage
Reged: 09/30/07
Posts: 287
Loc: Rodeo, NM
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Quote:
We were under the impression that we could just staple or glue the Reflectix stuff to the inside of the rafters and thatd be that.
Is that wrong?
What would you suggest? Please dont say drill a hole up through my pretty new metal roof to vent!
Let me step in here and say that the roof *should* vent, both at the eave and at the ridge. And they make a plastic insert that fits between the rafters to hold the insulation away from the roof to allow air movement.
Not only will this help keep the place cooler by limiting the transfer of heat from the roof into the building, but it will also mitigate against condensation.
Frankly, unless you plan to climate-control it to hold it at night-time temperature, I wouldn't insulate the building at all. Attic vents at the top of the gable ends would probably be a good idea. (That's one of the mistakes I made with *my* most-definitely-NOT-perfect observatory :-).
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Terry (astrotrf)
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Thank you Geoff and Terry (and everyone else!) for the help.
The mother in law just told me she had one of those portable air conditioners that just vent out of a hole in the wall that allows a tube to drip and is giving it to me.
Its digital I think she said and has a timer and a monitor you set and it checks the air or something like that.
Basically it will go off several times a day when it needs to.
Think that will help?
The idea of cutting a hole in the roof sounds awful. I just got it right!
I also wonder about vents, since none of it is airtight. I have no insulation, and the walls are basically only closed with an outside board hanging over them.
Seems like it would be okay like that but what do I know.
I do want to protect it from condensation/moisture though the best I can.
I thought since theres about a foot or less between the roof boards (rafters) and the osb wood roofing that I could just put up the reflectix and be okay.
I guess im wrong, eh?
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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Spoonsize
Vendor/Clothing
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 2184
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Roof Venting...In this particular case...(one way to do it)......
You can, if you wish, simply staple the reflectix to the bottoms of the rafters, doing everything you can to be sure there are no gaps or cracks. It MIGHT even be helpful, after it is stapled up, to get some extra sticky packing tape and tape the seams. You will get some heat build up between the roof and the refectix, IF you can vent it easily that would be good. If you can't, that would be OK, just not the best.
To Vent: Remove the ridge cap and use a "skill" saw to cut two 1/2 to 3/4 inch slots from one end of the roof to the other, one on each side of the peak, about 2 inches down. Just remove the OSB from the slot and replace the ridge cap. IF you used the sticky back foam under the edges of the ridge cap, just leave it off. There is a fabric mesh one can wrap over the peak if you wish that will keep out stray bugs and wind driven precipitation.
Then go to the bottom of the roof on the inside and cut small...3 inch diameter holes in the relectix close to the outside wall, one between each set of rafters.
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Steve Durham
www.margesmonograms.com
(Marge made me do it)
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astrotrf
sage
Reged: 09/30/07
Posts: 287
Loc: Rodeo, NM
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While it is true that your building is not air-tight, warm, moist air will collect in the peak. It's this stuff you're going to want to allow to escape.
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There is a fabric mesh one can wrap over the peak if you wish that will keep out stray bugs and wind driven precipitation.
If you take Steve's advice (and what he describes *is* the correct way to do a roof ridge), definitely use this fabric. As an alternative to the fabric, there is a fibrous material you can buy (probably from the same place that sold you the roof metal; comes in a long roll) that is made to fit the shape of the metal, and is intended to fill the gap between the roof metal and the ridge. I used this in my own observatory.
The intent here, as Steve says, is to keep storm winds from driving water *up* the roof metal, into the ridge gap, and thus into your building. (And, yes, this *will* happen!)
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Terry (astrotrf)
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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How are you getting on. You know I can't sleep without reading my bedtime story about the widowmaker's Observatory...    .....
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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TeleTex
member
Reged: 01/27/08
Posts: 55
Loc: Texas
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How are you getting on. 
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Stan
Meade ETX-60AT-BB (60mm Achromatic Refractor)01-30-08
Meade NG-60 Jupiter (60mm Refractor) 12-25-07
Meade 70AZ-A Land & Sky (70mm Refractor) 02-13-08
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Hey yall.
Sorry I havent posted. Ive been sicker than a dog the last day or two.
I dont know what happened. I woke up fine tuesday, had some coffee, then started the horrible stomach pain, and painful headache. I spent all that day and night lying in bed with a 102.7° temp.
Yesterday was a little better, not much though.
Today im feeling good enough to make some coffee and open my eyes wide enough to look at the monitor here.
Musta been a 48hr bug or something. I didnt eat tomatoes from a fast food joint or anything!
I havent touched the observatory, the sunlight makes my heaed throb for some reason.
While I was lying in bed tuesday though, the wife went out back and dang near finished the south wall! Isnt she great?!
I could hear hammering, and when I peeked out the window, I could see she had put up j channel where the fold down wall meets the non moving wall part and she kept going to the top.
I love that woman.
Im hoping I can feel good enough to work on it some more when she gets home. First, Im trying to finish this coffee without running to the bathroom, then maybe some school.
Ill let yall know. Thanks for the help and sorry to leave yall hanging.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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Hey, don't worry you just get better soon. Knew their must be some thing wrong when you did not post for a couple of days. That wife of yours is definitely a keeper, one in a million. 
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3071
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Ate any tomatoes lately?????
Hubert
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www.smoggybottom.org
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Hey yall.
Nope. Hubert. The only tomatoes I like are the ones called 'Ketchup'.
Well Im feeling about 90% better today.
When the wife got home I finished the East wall siding (forgot to take a shot of that), and we put a door in, built the frame and all!
We bought small pieces of oak weeks ago, and used the thompsons sealer on them and theyve been sitting in the garage eversince.
Today we got the door out thats had about 4 coats of sealer put on it (along with the sealer Catseye suggested for their Catsperch chairs but the name escapes me now) and we used the all-in-one-kit that comes with a hole to bore out a doorknob hole, a lock hole, and everything all in one.
What a great kit! Lowe's had it for I think about 15 dollars, great investement if youre starting a door from scratch and dont have the faintest idea what youre doing. Its idiot proof!
Thanks to the wife we put our little oak boards up for a frame, and kept checking and cutting to fit.
All we need now is a little weather stripping around the lock side and one of those plates at the bottom, the wife thinks maybe we could use some of that flashing to protect the floor beneath the door.
Surely we can come up with something.
But the doors on, locked and working perfectly! Were both beaming with pride!
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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...and heres where the wife finished where the fold down wall meets the non folding wall section while I laid in bed sick and miserable.
That woman is awesome!  
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28619
Loc: montana
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You two rock! 
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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Spoonsize
Vendor/Clothing
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 2184
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Did anybody decide just exactly what we are going to call this observatory?
"WidowMakers Observatory" just does not do anything..........
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Steve Durham
www.margesmonograms.com
(Marge made me do it)
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THEPLOUGH
Nailed Again
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 3957
Loc: Carlisle, Cumbria, ENGLAND
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Quote:
...and heres where the wife finished where the fold down wall meets the non folding wall section while I laid in bed sick and miserable.
That woman is awesome!
What have I been telling you for weeks.... ....
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Geoff...
Nexstar 8SE -- 9X50 RACI Finder scope... 6.3 F/R.-- 13 & 17mm Hyperion EPs.. 25mm Celestron E- Lux EP.. 2X Celestron X-Cel Barlow----- Celestron solar filter + A few bits and pieces..
Never give up on any one..... MIRACLES happen every day....
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darbs
super member
Reged: 02/12/08
Posts: 101
Loc: Dacula, Georgia
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I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this post. Not only has it been informative, but very entertaining-like an astronomy soap...As the Observatory Grows...
You are a very cool and down to Earth guy. I hope you keep posting about this and other things. You have helped me tremendously. Best of luck with everything you do.
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Darlyne
Orion XT8i, Telrad
AstroTech AT80ED, Rigel quickfinder, Orion Skyview Deluxe
TeleVue 24mm Pan, 2" 2X powermate
Baader Hyperions 5mm, 8mm
Orion 32mm Erfle, 7-21mm zoom
Gary Russel 9mm and 7mm
Howie Glatter laser and tublug/ Telecat
Celestron SkyMaster 15X70
Orion Megaview 30X80
2 furkids
several reptiles
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Good Mornin, yall!
Thank you all very much, and im honored to of been able to help anyone, Darlyne!
Well we got alot done yesterday but it was so dark and late when I got back in I had to wait til today to take some pics. Oh, and the tornado warning forced me to turn off the computer too.
We put our South and North wall finish boards (what do you call them?) up lastnight and to our dissappointment, one from each end decided to split and rip off when I went to sawz-all the triangle to allow them to roll over the angle iron!
Not much I can do about it now, but they were bolted on and are complete.
We also sided all remaining walls all the way to the top where all we need to do now is either J channel the top edge, or cut a piece of siding to fit and make it look complete.
We also bought a piece of 'drip edge' and cut it to fit right under my door, then we took one of those little trim pieces you use to join your carpet at the tile floor and put it over the sharp edge of the drip edge so I dont cut my toe off one day stumbling on it.
Looks pretty neat I think, but we had one of the worse storms lastnight since weve been working on this thing and some water did get it right around the edge of it. I bought a big roll of rubber door trim and well install that today, but interestingly enough our homemade frame worked and stopped the rain! Whodathunkit?
As we went to bed lastnight the wife rolled over and let me know she wanted to sleep late with no disturbances so im just kinda tip-toeing around til she gets up then hopefully we can do more. Its suppose to rain off and on all weekend so who knows.
Heres some shots!
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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You can see the jagged right triangle in the photo above. Doesnt look as bad as it is in the pic though, Ill take that.
Heres a shot of the north wall which was tough trying to cut fits for the Y bracing we had put there.
But thanks to the female intelligence factor, it was eventually conquered.
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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WidowMaker
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 815
Loc: Frankfort, Ky
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Heres the West side all sided up and the door installed within. Each side still needs a little finish at the top but the hardest part is over!
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Sleep is the Cousin of Death
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