Observatory Construction Blog - page 5

As Sol sinks slowly into the West, another successful day comes to a close. Weather was nice for a February day. We finished putting the deckboards on the outside deck and installed the joists for the observatory building itself. As usual, this phase took a little longer than we thought, but we want it to be perfect. Although in the picture it looks like the joists are resting on the pier foundation, there is almost two inches separation, maintaining vibration isolation. Everywhere throughout the construction, we are using 16" on-center. We are deliberately overbuilding in anticipation of any load problems we haven't foreseen. So far, so good. Next weekend we'll install the floor and the walls.