roll off roof mechanism ! idea's/pic's

[Guest june1902]

john here!

it soon became apparent that my idea's about a dome obsy wearn't going to work out,and i decided to prepare plan's for a roll off roof, the obsy will be 12ft x 10ft and flat roofed..obviously i would wish a weathertight option, so most probably ply with suitable coating's, .......but more important is/are the rolling mechanism,ive searched the web and found a good many photo's of homemade obsy's

but non with the rolling system described or pictured any help/advice would be appreciated

[catman161]

Hey John,

If you're a member of astronomy shed you should check out this thread, if not a member just register for free-you can't access the thread without being a member:

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=42759#p42759

The title is Jens Obsy Build and her username is jmfdiver in case you want to ask her any questions.

It's a great read and an interesting design and shows a great way of making a roll off roof. Hope it helps

[Guest june1902]

thank's felix, all advice appreciated and will check it out

[philjay]

Hi John, what do you mean when you say mechanism?

My observatory roof frame has 6 nylon wheels set into it, these run on the top 3x2 horizontals of the roof frame, the external runners are just 3x2 as well and the roof just rolls onto that, no ali rails (angle or channel) to clog with leaves or snow dead simple and dead easy to open. Just a slight push to get it over the draft excluder rain seal I put on the non rail end of the roof and away it goes.

Heres an animation I made just after I did the roof

Please note, the gate is not linked with the opening of the roof, the clouds are though, every time I open the roof the clouds come rolling in like magic

Edited November 4, 2012 by philjay

[philjay]

Heres how I did the roof frame and it shows the 6 wheels, nowt fancy, dead simple.

I chose this method because my last observatory had fancy rails and was a PITA in winter just when you needed the roof to open the most. The only thing I have to clean off the rails is pidgeon poo, they love sitting on the rails

The last photo shows the frame in place, it also shows the old flip open roof. Both halves hinged out with counterweights, it was a novel and quite a good system, except the wife didnt like the north panel hanging over her greenhouse. The greenhosue has now been moved as the obs placed it in shadow so my tomatoes never got to ripen

Edited November 4, 2012 by philjay

[Guest june1902]

that's the jobby phil just what i need method's of rolling and tracking, i was thinking about two C sections of steel one open down carrying rollers and open up as track, also interested in method's of draft/weather sealing when closed.

many thank's for sharing phil

[philjay]

From experience John you dont want to draft proof you only need to weather proof it. My obs is wood and I sealed it tight initially and had damp problems even with a false floor with air flow, I then had to cut vents in and I made the roof sit so there was a gap for air flow. It keeps the damp down but lets spiders in

[Guest june1902]

cheers pat,it's john. i should open my own account stop the confusion!! touble is i am the one that has to solve the problems

and i will be the one opening and closing the roof that is when ive built everything else :lol:

[Guest june1902]

thanks pat sorry thought you had gone off line! no i will try and catch him later im hunting materials at mo!

would very much appreciate the pics thou :)

[Daz Type-R]

Nice water feature as well Pat - is that water on the roof not a worry - could it not drip off into the obsy when you open the roof - being fibre glass it should not come through - still a worry though?

[Guest june1902]

brilliant pat thank you!! two ideas in one there,as i hadnt considered fibreglass was yours fibreglassed over a form then the form removed?? as daz said i wondered why it sagged a little which would make me inclined to fibreglass over the ply and keep it in it's glassfibre coat !!

[Guest june1902]

bless you pat i see you have the V shaped roller's ! any idea where they were purchased ??

iv'e come up with an idea using angle like your's but with the angle iron facing down/ or 90deg to your's ( ^ )

[Guest june1902]

appologies pat i was watching for your reply....but then nipped out to do a quick measurement that ended up taking nearly an hour!!

which may have altered my plan a little i will have a natter with graham when im sure exactly how im going to proceed