Construction on the Astro_Shed started in July 2022 with the excavation of the hole for the telescope pier. Conditions were extremely dry that summer and so the proposed depth of 36 inches was never reached. I called it quits at 20 inches. The lack of frost in Texas allowed this. 3 bags of concrete (240 lbs) were poured into the hole and a J-bolt was added to the center.
I made the decision to construct the shed on 12×12 patio blocks. Again, the lack of frost enabled this decision. This also would allow me to remove the shed in the future if I needed to.
Simple treated decking was used for the floor. This allowed for plenty of air flow through the observatory which is a must in the Texas heat.
Walls were constructed of 2×4 framing on 16-inch centers and T11 siding. All of the structure was fastened together with deck screws which I felt provided a much sturdier frame, important for the tropical storms and hurricanes that the Texas Coast is subject to. The sill boards were fastened down to the 4×4 runners with lag screws.
The 4×4’s for the roll-off roof support gantry must be absolutely straight with the crown of the grain pointing up. I made the mistake of not ensuring this and I had to replace one of the horizontal beams after 2 years as the roof would not roll easily anymore.
The roof slides on garage door rails. The roof was sheathed, tar papered and shingled. This made for a relatively heavy roof, about 500 pounds by my estimate. HOA rules did not allow me to use metal sheathing as I would have preferred. The roof sheathing does have a foil liner on the underside which does reduce some of the solar heating.
The pier for the telescope was created by glueing and stacking cinder blocks. Each block was drilled to accept a bolt as I did not want to just rely on the adhesive to prevent my significant investment from toppling over. The pier has proven so far to be reliable and provides a sufficiently stiff foundation for good guiding.
First light from the observatory was October 2022. So far it has survived hurricane force winds without any damage. The Texas heat and humidity have so far not been a problem. The biggest challenge has been to keep the wasps/mud Dobers out of the shed.
Astro-Shed 