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Thursday 4th. Another cold, grey day. My flashings for the cladding plywood have arrived. These fit behind the upper sheet and protect the horizontal joint by overlapping the lower sheet. A drip nose is provided over the lower sheet to prevent wind blown rain from entering.
The octagon was wide open between the joists below the veranda. So rain was blown from the underside of the veranda flooring into the gaps. The theory was to provide maximum ventilation to avoid thermal issues in the dome. However, this had unwanted side effects. The wind was very cold on my feet and legs at times.
The veranda was often a nuisance too. Continuing to drip long after the rain had stopped. Similarly with snow. I shall give serious thought to such drainage problems if I ever add a balcony. It would probably need a roof over a porch.
This time I am taking no chances with rain ingress. The dome is intended to hang over the top of the cladding. I stopped the cladding at building's top ring level instead of carrying it right up to the dome skirt.
There will be very little clearance for wind, or rain, to blow through any gaps in the future arrangement. There will be no wide air slots at floor level. I shall continue to monitor external, deep shade temperatures against those inside the dome. It may prove to be beneficial to have secure, openable shutters in the lower walls on the north side. To obtain a "chimney effect" for scouring warm air out of the dome's observation slit by natural convection.
The observatory's, access door can fulfil a similar, convection role but its orientation is important. The prevailing wind is from the SW. Which often caused the south facing, octagon door to blow open. NO matter however many spring latches I added. There is no obvious [new] wall where a new door does not directly conflict with an existing octagon post.
A SE facing door would be shaded by the nearby shed. Though the wind might be increased by a funnel "Venturi" effect as it whistles between the buildings. An internal door between the two buildings would need a short, covered corridor. Access from within the shed might be more secure but a real nuisance maintaining free movement. Space is at an absolute premium already.
See the next post on a mock-up of a potential new doorway.
Fullerscopes Telescope Mountings
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