Octagon cladding boards completed.

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I did a quick mock-up with a half sheet and it worked out fine with a larch board across the top. The image shows the general effect. There is more to it than this though. The larch boards have to be mitered to exact length to fit neatly end to end. Then they need a notch sawn in their bottom inner edges to carry rain out over the boards. I just hope the hornets don't mind me dragging the miter saw outside!

A trial half sheet on the front wall of the observatory. It is held by a couple of screws but not trimmed to size nor beveled yet. Thundery showers are forecast for this evening. We used some spare lengths of gutter to aim the roof down-pipe run-off at the garden where it will really do some good.  The first rain in months needs to be respected. It has been dry for so long I haven't needed to worry about leaving stuff outside overnight. I had better get the 4' x 8' plywood cladding boards cut in half so they can be stored more easily.

Sunday: Here is a slightly later, candid image, taken by my wife, while I was fitting the front boards. I think it gives a better sense of scale for the building and dome than my usual, rather static, progress shots. 

I can't fit the front and back cladding boards until/unless the tall stepladders ladders are taken down. Which can't happen until I finish the dome. Though I could remove the top stabilizer bars. Which aren't doing much good sticking up in the air. That would at least allow the dome to rotate if needed. Duly done and the dome now rotates without catching on the ladder.

Having brought the ladder bases inboard of the obs. wall I added a trial cladding sheet to the front. Like the ground floor, the sheets need to be beveled on their back edges to meet properly.

With the change to slightly cooler conditions I hope to be able to make more rapid progress. I found the upper 80s F heat really difficult to work in. My brother has suggested I use cardboard templates to shape the top tier of thicker ply panels. An excellent idea which I shall certainly try.

I finished fitting the seven panels to the observatory walls before lunch. The Head Gardener thinks it looks like an unfinished admissions booth or even an ice cream sales counter.

It is only 75F @ 13.00 but still feels very warm working in the sunshine. Next I have to add some mitered larch boards below the top of the walls. I thought I'd add some ply pads behind the boards to add more projection and emphasis. This should also improve run-off. Rather than rainwater wicking inside the wall boards.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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