A roll-off roof observatory with rolling side to the East and a flap-down wall on the South side, resplendent in white HardiePlank cladding.
There’s no doubt about it: white is definitely the most sensible colour for an observatory! With white reflecting and radiating the maximum amount of heat away from your equipment and, let’s face it, looking amazing, why would you choose anything else? This observatory makes use of HardiePlank’s Arctic White cladding, as well as white PVC roof trims and guttering to complete the clean, scientific aesthetic.
Installed over two days in South Yorkshire, the White Observatory features LED strip lighting built-in to the wall, a desk shelf, and our hard-wearing OSB wall lining. An EMC P200 1200mm pier provides the perfect support for our customer’s telescope.
Unusually, we designed this observatory to fit on a concrete pad that was originally installed for a competitor’s design. Whilst we don’t usually advocate for a whole slab such as this, we’re still able to leverage the benefits of our design and our observatories’ impressive longevity by ensuring the observatory fully covers the pad whilst still ensuring good airflow beneath the structure.
You won’t regret investing in a home observatory and you won’t regret having Neil and Jeremy design and build it for you!
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):
2210 (L) x 2165 (W) x 2146 (H)
Observatory Size (Internal, mm):
2000 (L) x 1965 (W) x 1650 (H)
Warm Room Size (Internal, mm):
Not included
Total length including frame (mm):
4410
Roof type:
Flat (Pent) roof with rolling wall
Exterior Cladding:
HardiePlank – “Arctic White”
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 Drop-down flap Desk shelf
Location:
South Yorkshire, UK
Completed:
February 2022
Approximate Project Cost*:
£6,500
* 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.
Built a 6ft x 7ft home observatory for me January 2022. Outstanding service from start to finish. Multiple emails with Neil getting the plans exactly right, right down to modelling various pier heights, scopes, mount types and angles. Neil and Jeremy came and installed it perfectly in the middle of a sheffield winter. Have come back twice free of charge to tweak things for me. Roll off design works brilliantly, no condensation build up. Absolutely the best investment, revolutionised my hobby. Am getting out ten times as many nights as I was before, collecting way more imaging data. No more painful set-up and then cloud rolling in, equipment always ready to go and if the cloud rolls in so does the roof and you’re back on the sofa in 5 minutes. You won’t regret investing in a home observatory and you won’t regret having Neil and Jeremy design and build it for you!
