Panza
sage
Reged: 09/26/07
Posts: 222
Loc: Lillehammer, Norway
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Another idea if you can't get rid of all the leaks. Fill the drain with concrete and cut a channel in the concrete that slopes slightly towards the edge of the slab. Then make the hole filled with rocks outside like Karen suggests.
On a side note: There should definitely be a "Observatorybuilders guide to avoiding costly and time consuming mistakes" sticky post in this Forum. It would help a lot of people.
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10" LX200R
Losmandy G-11
Astro-Physics 2" MaxBright Diagonal
Some TV Eyepieces
Canon 1D Mk2 and 5D with lots of lenses.
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Just wanted to give y'all an update. We used the rest of the pourable EPDM sealant all around the interior of the dome. (I better never move this thing - it's stuck down GOOD now!)
I found a puddle of water, from dew, all around the perimter of the outside of the dome, and in front of the door. None of it got inside - it was bone dry all over the interior floor.
I believe I'll still do some things to make the slab less prone to puddling, and to seal the exterior better. (I may also need to reinforce the seal on the door.)
But anyway, progress.
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TeleTex
member
Reged: 01/27/08
Posts: 55
Loc: Texas
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Your making progress!!!!!! Pretty soon your work to viewing pleasure ratio should become greater on the viewing pleasure side and less on the work side.
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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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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Well, after the work on the slab I did, I think nothing I ever do in the dome will seem like real work again! At this point I'm just down to piddly stuff - tuning, tweaking, and the like, I think.
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jsmiller58
sage
Reged: 06/19/06
Posts: 200
Loc: Out there, Way out there
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Scott,
That is great to hear!! If you have any pictures to add (particularly how you sealed up the door - oh goodness, I do worry about my PD-15 door when the rain finally comes), please post them... 
James
Quote:
Well, after the work on the slab I did, I think nothing I ever do in the dome will seem like real work again! At this point I'm just down to piddly stuff - tuning, tweaking, and the like, I think.
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- 90mm WO refractor
- 11" Orion SCT
- PlaneWave CDK17 (the "Cosmic Cannon")
- MallinCam Hyper Color Plus
- More eyepieces than I can use, but not one Ethos... Hmmm... How soon till Christmas?
- Atlas EQ-G mount
- Losmandy GM-8 mount
- AP 1200GTO mount
- Pro-Dome-15 Obs
- A wife who doesn't understand my fascination with faint fuzzies, but encourages me anyway
- A 16 year old son who calls me just another nut job with an observatory
- A 14 year old son that still thinks I am cool
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Keith Howlett
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 710
Loc: Northumberland, UK
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Hi Scott,
It sounds like you are sorted now. I occasionally had some floor and door leaks in my dome, here's what I did about them...
DOOR:
I cured my door-foot leak by fixing a bent aluminum strip just inside the door and sealing it to the pad and the foot of the dome wall either side of the opening to make a weatherproof threshold. I also added some draft excluder to the edges of the door. This is very effective at keeping rain out in high winds.
CONCRETE PAD:
I seal the the pad outside the dome evey summer using a clear concrete sealing compound. When I sealed it less frequently I found that some damp patches were creeping through the concrete under the wall seal during prolonged wet spells. The damp patches eventually went green and unstuck the under-wall seal in a few places. I painted the concrete pad inside the dome with a grey concrete sealing paint. It looks okay and if any water gets in it is easy to spot and fix the leak, and it dries quickly.
PUDDLES:
I used an angle grinder to cut a short drainage channel in part of the pad outside the dome that used to hold a large puddle for several days every time it rained.
Cheers,
Keith
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14" f10 RCOS / AP1200
AP 105 Traveler / AP400 QMD
Coronado SM90 Filter
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Hi Keith! I hope I have it all fixed - although I really need to wait for a rainy spell to verify this.
I had the same thoughts about the concrete pad - I think I'll do this. (Actually I tried once - but the compound used wasn't quite right and didn't stick.) It seems like water weeping through the concrete is a likely problem area.
I'm also going to take my angle grinder after the puddle areas.
Great idea about the door too - thanks!
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Keith Howlett
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 710
Loc: Northumberland, UK
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Hi Scott,
My under wall leaks seem to be less frequent now that I've reduced the amount of water seeping into the concrete. I do still get some water under the walls after strong winds - I guess the buffeting sometimes unseats part of the seal?
I'll look forward to hearing about how yours weathers the next wet spell.
Cheers,
Keith
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14" f10 RCOS / AP1200
AP 105 Traveler / AP400 QMD
Coronado SM90 Filter
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Thanks Keith! I'll keep you posted. Hopefully a wet spell in Oklahoma is <<<<<<< than a wet spell in the UK! 
(Although we are 19" over our normal rainfall this year, and last year was worse.)
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Quote:
My under wall leaks seem to be less frequent now that I've reduced the amount of water seeping into the concrete.
Sealing the concrete is next - I hope to do that in the next few days. (It's nice to be out here for an extended period.)
Here's a photo of the pourable pitch pocket filler we used to seal the inside of the dome:
Sorry that this is kind of a poor picture. I'll try to get some better ones. So far though, the seal is holding up pretty well to the weather - no leaks. For instance, I had a nice puddle of water IN FRONT of the door - on the inside, it was dry. We'll get some more rain probably this week.
edit: *bleep* sounded worse than the word I used. 
Edited by Scott K (10/13/08 05:00 PM)
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Spoonsize
Vendor/Clothing
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 2185
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Looks like you could use this "green" stuff outside the door to fill the low spots. Yes?
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Steve Durham
www.margesmonograms.com
(Marge made me do it)
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Hmmm... interesting idea, Steve!
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Scott K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 920
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Update: The pourable sealer seems to be working. We got 0.17" of rain on Wednesday, and it was quite dry inside the dome. I believe some water gets absorbed through the concrete itself, so sealing the slab should fix that up.
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TeleTex
member
Reged: 01/27/08
Posts: 55
Loc: Texas
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That is good news. You will be able to get the tiles back down and start enjoying the observing again.
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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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