BACKYARD OBSERVATORY - FOUR

CALCULATED THE ANGLES AND CUT THE ROOF RAFTERS.

PUT DOWN THE PLYWOOD...

...AND ROLLED IT OPEN.

LET'S SEE THAT AGAIN.

BACKYARD OBSERVATORY - THREE

PUT UP THE FOURTH WALL.

POURED CONCRETE BASES FOR THE OPEN-ROOF SUPPORTS. PUT UP THE COLUMNS AND BEAMS AND BOLTED IT ALL TOGETHER.

WHEN THE ROOF IS OPEN, IT WILL REST ATOP THIS FRAMEWORK.

BOUGHT 20' LENGTHS OF ANGLE IRON AND METAL BASE PLATES. TOOK IT ALL OVER TO JAMES AND HE WELDED THE TRACKS FOR THE ROLLING ROOF.

BACKYARD OBSERVATORY - TWO

(DAY TWO OF FRAMING. THE CONCRETE WORK TOOK ABOUT A WEEK.)

RAISED THE THIRD WALL.

OPENINGS FOR THREE SMALL WINDOWS.

AND THOSE ARE THE ONLY WINDOWS. THE VIEW FROM THIS 'BACKYARD OBSERVATORY' IS UP, NOT OUT.

BACKYARD OBSERVATORY

TO OBSERVE THE NIGHT SKIES, AN ASTRONOMER NEEDS AN ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY.

THE TELESCOPE IS POWERFUL, BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO SEE THRU A SOLID ROOF, SO THE ROOF WILL ROLL AWAY.

A CONCRETE SLAB AND A STACK OF 2X4s. READY TO GO.

BENEATH THIS CONCRETE SLAB IS A MASSIVE FOOTING FOR THE TELESCOPE BASE. WHILE EXCAVATING, I DISCOVERED AN OLD DRIVEWAY BURIED UNDER THE BACKYARD, SO I TIED THE FOOTING TO THAT SUBTERRANEAN SLAB.

THE FIRST WALL GOES UP...

...AND THE SECOND.

ART STUDIO - FINAL PHOTOS

IT'S BEEN A BUSY SUMMER, AND I HAVE NEGLECTED 'SQUARE TO THE WORLD'. MY APOLOGIES.

I'LL BE BLOGGING ABOUT THE LATEST PROJECT TOMORROW. TODAY, HERE ARE THE FINAL PHOTOS FROM THE 'ART STUDIO', WHICH I FINISHED SOMETIME IN JULY.

ART STUDIO - DAY EIGHTEEN

ALL WRAPPED UP.

THREE IN A ROW.

OVER AND UNDER.

ART STUDIO - DAY THIRTEEN

GATHERED A STACK OF BOARDS AND BEGAN CUTTING THEM TO LENGTH. TRIMMED THE ENDS AND SHAPED THEM SO THEY WOULD FIT BEHIND THE FASCIA.

DAYS FOURTEEN THRU SEVENTEEN - MORE CUTTING AND SHAPING. ROLLED OUT THE RAFTERS, AND NAILED DOWN THE PLYWOOD DECKING. PUT UP THE SOFFITS, FITTING THEM BEHIND THE FASCIA. A GREAT EFFECT, BUT SUBTLE.