The South Side Observatory
A compact and sturdy roll-off roof observatory designed to optimise sight lines to the South with a rolling side wall.
It’s an interesting question: what do you do when the constraints of your site mean the observatory can’t be oriented North-South, with the roof rolling to the North? That was the case here, with the side of the observatory facing south over a neighbour’s hedge. The answer starts with our slim rolling roof (the slimmest in the business, as far as we know) – which retains sight lines to the West – and goes further with our beautifully-engineered rolling wall on the South side.
Installed over two days in Nottinghamshire, the South Side observatory features HardiePlank cladding in ‘Grey Slate’, and our hard-wearing OSB wall lining. An Altair Astro ‘SkyShed’ pier provides the perfect support for our customer’s Meade LX Telescope, with room to add a wedge later if needed for astrophotography.
Highly recommended! Neil at Outsideology did a fantastic job designing, building, and installing my observatory as well as providing brilliant after-sales. Solidly built with materials that will last. First class company and a pleasure to do business with.
Simon Smith via Google Reviews
Rolling Wall
If your best horizons don’t line up with the end wall of the observatory, a rolling wall (essentially part of the wall attached to the rolling roof) is a great way to lower the wall height on one side. These can be on one or both sides of the observatory, and can be combined with a flap on the end wall to provide the best views in more than one direction. Maybe one day, we’ll design one that folds up into a tiny cube, but for now, this is the best way to get “Big Sky” from a roll-off roof observatory!
Hardieplank Cladding
James Hardie’s HardiePlank cladding has proven very popular for our observatories. It’s a fibre-cement cladding designed to have the appearance of painted cedar, and is available in a range of over 30 colours. Its particular qualities of dimensional stability and longevity make it the perfect choice for those wanting a beautifully consistent and long-lasting finish.
Built-In LED Lighting
Our latest observatories feature striking red and white LED light built into the walls! The separately-switched red and white strips are driven by very high quality power supplies and use a Varilight VPro dimmer, allowing them to be dimmed to almost nothing – so you can have as much or as little light as you wish. Building them into the walls means no bulky fittings or obstructions, maximising the space in your observatory.
| Overall Size (mm): | 2100 (L) x 1800 (W) x 2078 (H) |
| Observatory Size (Internal, mm): | 1890 (L) x 1590 (W) x 1650 (H) |
| Warm Room Size (Internal, mm): | Not included |
| Total length including frame (mm): | 3900 |
| Roof type: | Flat (Pent) roof with rolling wall |
| Exterior Cladding: | HardiePlank – “Grey Slate” |
| Interior Wall Lining: | OSB3 |
| Roof Covering: | One-piece EPDM rubber membrane |
| Roof Pitch: | <1 degree |
| Additional Features: | LED strip lighting built into walls Rolling side wall |
| Location: | Nottinghamshire, UK |
| Completed: | January 2022 |
| Approximate Project Cost*: | £5,300 |
* Approximate project cost does not include VAT, haulage, groundworks, telescope or pier, and represents what a similar project might cost if completed now, including any improvements to our base specification.