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.

ART STUDIO - DAY TEN

FRAMED THE REMAINING WALLS.

DAY ELEVEN - STARTED SHEATHING THE WALLS WITH PLYWOOD.

INTERIOR VIEW:

DAY TWELVE - THE WALLS ARE DONE. THE ROOF IS NEXT.

ART STUDIO - DAY EIGHT

PREPARED FOR THE COMING RAINSTORMS BY SETTING UP 'CAMP'. COVERED THE LUMBER AND PLYWOOD, AND SHELTERED THE CUTTING STATION, SO I COULD WORK IN THE RAIN.

DAY NINE - FRAMED A FEW MORE WALLS. THE TALL TREES SURROUNDING THE SITE BLOCKED SOME OF THE RAIN.

THE SMALL TOOLSHED WILL BE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STUDIO, WITH ITS OWN ACCESS DOORS.

ART STUDIO - DAY SEVEN

REPLACED MY HAMMER HANDLE...

...AND USED IT TO FRAME THE FIRST TWO WALLS.

ART STUDIO - DAY SIX

THIS IS WHY THEY CALL IT A 'LUMBER DROP.'

FILLED THE FLOOR BAYS WITH ROXUL INSULATION, WHICH IS MADE OF ROCK WOOL AND RECYCLED CONCRETE. 

NAILED AND GLUED DOWN THE PLYWOOD. THE 'HORIZONTAL' CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE, AND TOMORROW WE GO 'VERTICAL.'

  

ART STUDIO - DAY FOUR

CONSTRUCTED THE FORM FOR THE EIGHT-SIDED SLAB.

POURED THE CONCRETE.

DAY FIVE - AFTER I LEFT, THE CLIENT'S YOUNG DAUGHTER PUT HER NAME IN THE WET CONCRETE. NOW IT'S CARVED IN STONE.

FRAMED THE FLOOR JOISTS AND RIM JOISTS.

ART STUDIO - DAY ONE

THIS MICRO-STRUCTURE COMBINES A FEW FUNCTIONS IN ONE BUILDING. THE MAIN AREA WILL BE AN ART STUDIO. AN ADJOINING SPACE WILL BE A HOME OFFICE, WITH BUILT-IN BOOKSHELVES AND DESK. AROUND BACK, A SEPARATE DOOR WILL LEAD TO A TOOLSHED.

DAY ONE - GRADED THE SITE AND CALLED IN A DELIVERY OF GRAVEL.

DAY TWO - DUG A TRENCH FROM THE MAIN HOUSE TO THE SITE, FOR THE ELECTRICAL SERVICE AND LANDLINE INTERNET CONNECTION.

DAY THREE - COMPACTED THE GRAVEL AND LEVELED IT OFF. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL YARD WITH TALL TREES SURROUNDING THE SITE OF THE FUTURE ART STUDIO.