Base Decking
The Approach Taken
Decking Kit
The next part of my project was to build a base for the observatory. I decided on using a decking kit - this did work out a little bit more expensive than if I had sourced the component parts separately but as I'd never built anything like this before I thought that having a complete kit of parts would give me a better chance of success.
Here's the kit as it arrived.
Here's the kit as it arrived.
Anchoring the Deck
Decking Anchors and main Support Joists
The kit came with 6 4" post anchors which were driven into the ground. After attaching the main support joists, the anchors were concreted in place.
Electric Cable
Electric Cable Trenchworks
I also laid an armoured electrical cable at this stage.
At the house end the cable goes into a fused spur at the back of the garage, then from the spur I have a flex with a normal 13A plug on it that plugs into a socket on the house ring main, so it works like a glorified extension cable.
The cable will subsequently be terminated in the observatory at a 2 way garage consumer unit.
At the house end the cable goes into a fused spur at the back of the garage, then from the spur I have a flex with a normal 13A plug on it that plugs into a socket on the house ring main, so it works like a glorified extension cable.
The cable will subsequently be terminated in the observatory at a 2 way garage consumer unit.
Conduits
Power & Data Cable Conduits
Work then proceeded to fitting the remaining joists and adding noggins in between. As I would be putting a heavy structure on the top of the decking, I decided to supplement the 6 kit anchors with 4 additional ones that were sited at each corner.
After the fitting of the joists I installed 2 cable conduits so that I could route cables underneath the floor between the warm room and the scope room. One conduit would be for power cables and the other for data cables. The conduits were made from 40mm waste pipe.
After the fitting of the joists I installed 2 cable conduits so that I could route cables underneath the floor between the warm room and the scope room. One conduit would be for power cables and the other for data cables. The conduits were made from 40mm waste pipe.
Underfloor Insulation
Warm Room Floor Insulation
I fitted a layer of 50mm Celotex insulating board beneath the floor of the warm room.
Fitting the Decking Boards
Decking Completed
The final part of this phase of the project was the fitting of the decking boards. After completing this I had a very solid base to build upon.