Brad's Skyshed

[BradH]

I had this build by a local contractor a few years ago. The main reason was to house a LX200 12" and other astro equipment. Its a 10x12 with a metal room and vinyl siding. I have added vents in the floor and on the bottom of the outside wall (with screens behind them to keep out the bugs). Last year I installed a 2400 cubic ft per min. attic fan in the gable of the roof. I have the timer set to come on at 8:00pm and turn off at midnight. With this setup the avg. temp. difference of 2 degrees from the outside to the inside when I go out. Before I installed the fan the difference was as much as 10degrees before I opened up on the hottest day.

The reason Iam bringing this up is to help anyone who would like there roll-off to be cooled down with out having to open the roof. If you work late like I do this is a great way to get it cooled down to the outside temp with out opening the roof. The fan, timer, vents and screen will cost around $100 and it will take a 1 or so to get everything installed.

Before I had the roll-off build it was around 20 nights and 45 minutes of setup time, plus tear down. Last year I logged a little over 50 nights under the star, and 26 nights this year.

So if you have the space to build an observatory do it. They will let you view the night sky a lot more and it only takes a few minutes and you viewing.

Brad

[budguinn]

Nice looking OBS, Brad......and I agree with ease of having one. The fan is a great idea...it looks like the exact same one that I installed in the loft of our barn. I'd redone the hay loft as an art studio for my wife...and it would get hot during the summer. The fan really helps out. I should consider this for my OBS.

bud

[Bob_riggs]

Brad,

Great looking roll off! And, a great idea with the gable vent fan. A few questions, if you don't mind:

• Did you do the design work yourself?
• Did 10 x 12 turn out to be sufficient for your need, or would you go larger if you did it again? Warm room?
• It appears you enclosed the ceiling. Did you add insulation? Has this made an impact on cool down time?
• The automated gable vent fan is a great idea. Where did you find it?
• Can you give us some idea as to costs: material and labor?

Thanks, and CDS!

Bob

[BradH]

Originally Posted by Bob_riggs

Brad,

Great looking roll off! And, a great idea with the gable vent fan. A few questions, if you don't mind:

• Did you do the design work yourself?
• No I downloaded them from Skyshed.com
• Did 10 x 12 turn out to be sufficient for your need, or would you go larger if you did it again? Warm room?
• 10x12 is big enough for my needs. A warm room would have been nice. I would stay with the same size if I had to do it all over again, with a warm room just in case I needed it.
• It appears you enclosed the ceiling. Did you add insulation? Has this made an impact on cool down time?
• The contractor add the insulation on the bottom of the metal roof. I added some later (not in the pictures) its an insulation board more like drywall with a pretty high R rating, on the bottom of the rafters. It has helped alot.
• The automated gable vent fan is a great idea. Where did you find it?
• Can you give us some idea as to costs: material and labor?
• I got it a a local hardware store $60. I got the time at walmart $10. Vents and floor register, and screen at the hardware store for around $30. I did the install myself. It took an hour maybe a little longer. The gable vents were installed when I had the shed build. I also had him put doors on them so I could close them if need.

Thanks, and CDS!

Bob

I also added carpet to the floor and pier. I spent $70 on the carpet. It makes it nice in the summer you can take you shoes and relax.

I should note that the shed is anchored to 6 footers. The floor and frame sites on 4x6's and they are anchored to the footers. The roll-off rails are in footers as well. He also tied the roll-off rails into the frame so there wouldnt be the need for adjustments. I did have the contractor adjust the tracks a little to make the roof open and close easier. Now I can open it with one hand.

Total cost comes in some were around $4,000 + $4300.

Brad

Brad

[BradH]

Bud

You should try the fan it does help.

Brad