Columbia Observatory
The Columbia Observatory is dedicated to the memory of those flying aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia who perished upon reentry on February 1, 2003.  May God bless them for their courage.
 

 

 

Here are the stakes which lay out the positions for the  concrete piers for deck support and for the central pier for the scopes.

 
This is after the pilot holes were dug for the piers.

 

 

 Here the holes are being dug for the piers.  The soil here is a mix of sand and gravel with some pretty heavy boulders mixed in so the Bobcat really helped.  The deck support piers were dug to a depth of 36 inches, the central pier for the scope went down more than 48 inches and was 18 inches in diameter.  We laid a vinyl tarp down before digging and dug the holes through it with the idea that it may prevent some moisture from rising up from the ground and into the observatory.
 
Here is the deck structure, it was built so that it was isolated from the central pier.
. Here the structure is going up.  We used 3/8" plywood to sheath the sides.  The walls are about 6' 4" high.
Here is a detail of the roof support rail.  It is two 2x4's separated by spacers with 3 v-groove casters on each rail.  The v-groove casters ride on an inverted angle iron rail to move the roof.

Here is a closer look at the roof rail and caster assembly.
Here is a look at the completed observatory with the roof on.  The windows are mainly for appearance, I covered them with plywood on the inside to keep out stray light.
  This is Randy and Dave the contractor next to the observatory, ready for business.
Here is a look at the MI-250 holding my STF 7" Mak Cass and the Takahashi Sky 90.  All are riding on a Laseur Astropier.
This is after painting.  The observatory was laid out with the front facing north and the roof rolling to the east.  As you can see the trees may some day create a problem, already the Norway Maple to the south has pretty well limited my southern exposure but it is such a nice tree that I won't remove it.  On the positive side it does block the moon on many nights.  For more info regarding construction details contact me by email.