Insulating the Observatory Shed

Posted on: June 29, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

Once the pent shed was erected, I then considered the insulation and the types of products I could use. I went for 50mm polystyrene sheets which measured 8ft x 4ft, again I ordered these from Buildbase as they were a lot cheaper than Travis Perkins, at around £7.50 each inc VAT. I also ordered some

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Celestron FirstScope Telescope Review

Posted on: June 18, 2009 /
Categories: Astronomy Gifts

I found the Celestron FirstScope whilst on my travels around the web, and it looks like a well built mini tabletop telescope. It’s actually a mini Dobsian Reflector Telescope with a 76mm aperture and a focal length of 30cm. The write up says: “The FirstScope is a wonderful keepsake for anyone interested in astronomy. This quality

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Observatory Build – Drilling The Pier Holes

Posted on: June 5, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

Saturday morning I carried on mixing cement and laying the slabs. At about 11am I had a break and went off to my local tool hire shop where I hired the SDS Drill and 110V to 240V converter to make the holes in the concrete for the pier bolts, which cost about £19 for the weekend. I

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Observatory Build – Laying the Slabs

Posted on: June 4, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

It was now the weekend again, and the concrete has been left about a week to set. It was now time to lay the slabs for the base of the shed. All week during the evenings I have also been staining the shed. In the end I managed two coats on all sides of the

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Observatory Build Continues

Posted on: May 26, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

Things are still pressing ahead around normal paid work and looking after my son. But today I had the shed delivered and the slabs, sand and cement from Buildbase. Whilst unloading the van I remembered just how heavy the 600mm concrete slabs really are and how they will break my back when I come to

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Observatory Build – Filling The Hole

Posted on: May 21, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

Today the hole was filled by an AnyMix concrete mixer. I spent a while looking into how to fill the hole, whether to manually mix the concrete myself and hire an electric cement mixer and order in the cement and bags of ballast. But after using some online concrete calculators I discovered I actually needed

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Found a Hedgehog in my Hole!

Posted on: May 20, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

The observatory pier base hole has been empty for a couple of weeks now, waiting for me to get my concrete order set up. Well today I popped out to Travis Perkins for some wood for my concrete frame, and when I came back I found a hedgehog asleep in the 1 metre deep hole.

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Observatory Build – Digging The Hole

Posted on: May 11, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

This is day three and day four of the observatory build. My goal this weekend was to dig the cubic metre hole for the mount base. I had a 2 yard skip delivered on Friday which cost £60. I also borrowed my dad’s wheelbarrow to complete the task. I started at about 9am on Saturday morning,

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Observatory Build – Day 1 and 2

Posted on: May 4, 2009 /
Categories: Observatory Build

This was the first couple of days I actually got started in preparing the observatory base. I have spent a few days browsing websites, talking to astronomy retailers and other observatory owners on the web. I also drew up a loose plan of the observatory and what number of slabs and aggregates I required. I drew

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