Shadow of the Mountain Observatory

Shadow of the Mountain Observatory - The Build

May 5-8, 2011: Wall Framing and Siding

5/6/11: With gas prices being what they are, I am trying to get as much done as possible on each trip. The goal for this extended weekend is to get the walls framed, siding on, and the control room paneled. This will be quite a challenge since I am working alone. I spent Thursday evening and a good bit of Friday getting the outside walls framed. This wasn't too bad; the real challenge was lifting those 16 foot walls and getting that first one braced without it falling over. I managed, but my nerves are the worse for wear.

5/6/11: The interior wall is framed. About 6 feet is reserved for a control room; The remaining 10 x 10 is the observing area.

5/6/11: The control room will be insulated, so I had to frame up some ceiling joists. Doing this alone was an interesting task. I created a couple extra hands to hold things in place so I could pound some nails (these were toe-nailed in from the sides).

5/7/11: Here are all the ceiling joists in place. My daughter says this is starting to look like the TARDIS from Dr. Who. I am beat and the sun is dropping below the mountain...time for some supper.

5/76/11: I got an early start Saturday morning with hanging the siding. Again, working alone made this pretty tedious. I found that by stacking up scrap lumber, a steel ruler and a couple of priority mail boxes, I could get the panel set pretty darn close to the right spot. Once the corner was nailed in place, getting it lined up with a second nail was a cinch (your knee makes an excellent third hand). You can see the pier tarped over in the foreground. I did manage to get another coat of bedliner on as well as a coat of flat black on the top plate. Another couple pair of hands and strong backs and we are ready to set her in place!

5/7/11: Most of the siding is in place. Like a dunce I went and left my ladder at home, so I was not able to put up three panels in the southwest corner due to their height and my decreasing energy level.

5/8/11: I spent the rest of the evening and part of the morning getting the control room walls and ceiling paneled with OSB sheathing.

5/8/11: How in the world am I gonna be able to nail that ceiling down wihtout a ladder? Easy peasy, I'll just make one, LOL. That one panel is a little proud...I'll bring my router next time and trim that flush, no problem.

5/8/11: Well it's Mother's Day and I promised I would be back home at a reasonable hour, so even though I now had a ladder at my disposal it was time to tarp it over. Of course, this was the windiest part of the weekend and it took a couple of trials to get it on. I used a couple of clamps as extra hands to keep things relatively in place. Not the best tarp job, but working alone I was happy to get the darn thing on. Hopefully this will keep things reasonably dry until I can get back and start working on the roof.

5/8/11: To keep water from pooling up on the tarp in the open area over the observatory, I built this little contraption and braced it against one wall to keep it from falling over. You can never have too much scrap lumber.

Previous Next

Shadow of the Mountain Observatory - The Build

May 5-8, 2011: Wall Framing and Siding

Quick Links