Telescope Pier Seeded
As expected after all the heavy work yesterday, today has mostly been a day of recovery. I slept most of the day so far but I did manage to get a little bit of clean-up accomplished around the telescope pier.
I was able to backfill around the pier. There was only about a foot to backfill here because the rest was filled with quick setting concrete. After leveling it off, I put down some grass seed. Someday down the road (certainly not this year), I may add stone or concrete pavers to this area. For now, it will be grass.
Those four little stakes in the ground along the timber step (seen in the photo below) are where I will be putting in 4x4 fence posts. I'll have a gate in between the second and third posts and then the fence will turn back toward the house at the end posts.
The grass seed is green in these photos... the areas that appear to be just plain dirt on each side of this telescope pier area are wildflower gardens that we planted yesterday.
I designed a wood top for this pier that can be leveled a little bit in any direction. Plus, it can be rotated slightly so I can always be pointed at the Celestial North Pole. All the wood on this pier will be stained with the same stain as the fence and timber step.
I also designed a metal mounting adapter to mount on top of the wood parts of the pier. I designed this mounting adapter to be adjustable for levelness. I have all the parts for this adapter but I have not yet drilled and tapped holes so it is not yet assembled. After drilling and tapping all the necessary holes, I can then prime it and paint it.
This adapter is where I will actually mount a telescope mount. I have two electronic GoTo mounts that can be used... controlled by either a handheld controller or a tablet or a computer... and I have two manual mounts that I designed and built that can be mounted on this pier. My plan was for this to be a versatile telescope pier and it is looking good so far.
I'm really looking forward to getting this area finished!
I was able to backfill around the pier. There was only about a foot to backfill here because the rest was filled with quick setting concrete. After leveling it off, I put down some grass seed. Someday down the road (certainly not this year), I may add stone or concrete pavers to this area. For now, it will be grass.
Those four little stakes in the ground along the timber step (seen in the photo below) are where I will be putting in 4x4 fence posts. I'll have a gate in between the second and third posts and then the fence will turn back toward the house at the end posts.
The grass seed is green in these photos... the areas that appear to be just plain dirt on each side of this telescope pier area are wildflower gardens that we planted yesterday.
I designed a wood top for this pier that can be leveled a little bit in any direction. Plus, it can be rotated slightly so I can always be pointed at the Celestial North Pole. All the wood on this pier will be stained with the same stain as the fence and timber step.
I also designed a metal mounting adapter to mount on top of the wood parts of the pier. I designed this mounting adapter to be adjustable for levelness. I have all the parts for this adapter but I have not yet drilled and tapped holes so it is not yet assembled. After drilling and tapping all the necessary holes, I can then prime it and paint it.
This adapter is where I will actually mount a telescope mount. I have two electronic GoTo mounts that can be used... controlled by either a handheld controller or a tablet or a computer... and I have two manual mounts that I designed and built that can be mounted on this pier. My plan was for this to be a versatile telescope pier and it is looking good so far.
I'm really looking forward to getting this area finished!
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