Observatory Construction Blog - page 1

After months of research, planning, delays, etc., I actually began to lay out the initial placement at the site. I received the actual permit from the City of Bartlett yesterday, it was touch and go getting that approved. The first two pictures show the site from two directions.

Here you can see the left edge of the Japanese garden (don't worry, you'll be seeing more of the garden). It has been raining or icing for four weeks straight and my backyard is a quagmire. The weather has not only delayed the start of the project, but the continous cloud cover has prevented me from laying out my true north line. I've decided that since there is only 1.5 degrees difference from mag north, I will attempt to use a GPS compass to lay out my north orientation line.

The observatory is 10' by 10' as indicated by the rough lines drawn in the gravel. The post in the center represents the pier placement. The post in the foreground is my initial alignment toward north using the GPS and a laser level.

Next I tied twine from the north post to the south post, maintaining alignment through the center pier post. I wish I can get a five minute view of Polaris so I can do a visual check.

Now waiting for the ground to dry out enough to get the auger and the cement truck in the back yard without bogging down. It's funny how delays from four months ago have magnified. That's the way it goes sometimes, so I'll continue to be patient.

Clear Sky Clock comes through again. It showed a gap in the clouds between 1AM and 5AM. So I got up at 3AM to check my north-south orientation and good thing I did. My GPS line was a good five degrees off from Polaris. That would have really complicated things when I started my wedge alignment. The clouds came rolling back pretty quick too. Here you can see how far off the line was by comparing the location of the 2x4 on the ground.

I laid out a cross line to help in the placement of the anchor bolt template into the wet concrete. All I have to do is slip the lines off, dig the hole, pour the concrete, slip the lines back onto their posts, and place the anchor bolts (with the template) into the concrete and align to the lines. Easy!

The auger truck showed up and, sure enough, it could not angle into the backyard. In the process it tore my sideyard all to hell, mushing the ground into huge ruts. We also cut down a huge holly bush to facilitate the truck's entry but to no avail. Time to back up and punt.