Observatorio de la Ballona

Here is a quick update on construction progress. As of last weekend the drywall was complete and paint almost complete. I note that my prior outside shot of the observatory was lightened too much. So here is a shot, looking to the south, that has better color balance.

But the real progress is all inside now. This view looks from the observatory into the warm room. It is a mosaic, and there are artifacts from the merging process. I was considering painting the wall to the warm room white to provide some additional ambient light while observing, but ultimately decided that it would provide too much light.

This view looks to the southeast corner of the observatory. The wall finish is complete, and the molding at the bottom of the wall is partially installed. The molding is white, to provide a contrast around the edge of the floor and some feeling about where the wall is when you are in the dark. On the right next to the window is an opening for an exhaust fan. With the curved roof and the need to fit over the wall, we were unable to find a roof-based fan that would work.

With the excitement of an angioplasty for me and eighth grade graduation for my daughter, we won’t be able to get out to see progress for a couple of weeks. By the time we do get out, the electrical will be complete, the well work done, and we should be ready to install the first telescope. I can’t wait.

The exterior of the observatory is almost complete. The stucco color finish was completed last week. The major addition was the column finish around the steel support beam for the roll off. It is a nice finishing touch. The stucco color looks different from the color chip, but it looks OK with the roof. Here is the observatory last weekend looking to the south.

We’ve reached another milestone in construction. The roof is complete and the base coat of the stucco is on the building. Pictures tell the story.

This shot shows the observatory from a distance looking east. The metal seamed roof looks very nice. As light a color as could be acceptable under home owners’ association rules. The “Ultra-Cool” roof is supposed to reflect heat. I hope it does. Clicking on the picture will bring you to the gallery.

This view looks to the south. The color of the beam matches the roof; the doors will match as well. the missing door on the right side of the image is due to an accident in high wind that damaged the door. It slammed back and bent in the middle. It will be great to see the stucco color coat next week.

Finally, this shot shows the detail of the roof, soffit, and stucco. It is all fitting together very well. We still have all the weather stripping to do, and that’s going to be a challenge. But it’s really looking good so far.

We are getting really close now. I’ve got to start thinking about the desk setup in the warm room, the red rope lights, and network connectivity. Now the work begins!

At our last update, the rough drywall had been completed and we were waiting for the roofers to come out and install the soffit and the metal roof. The wait for the roofers was longer than we expected, and we started on the stucco lathe before the soffit was installed. They finally started last week. It was worth the wait, as the soffit looks very nice. The soffit color is the same as the roof color.

This view is looking east, with the roof open and the soffit mostly installed. Clicking on an image will bring you to the gallery.

Here is an inside shot, looking northwest across the observatory toward the warm room. You can see how the soffit material wraps around the edge of the roof. Good looks and water tight too. The roof is not all the way open. Fully open there is no overhang of the observatory. This image is a Photoshop photomerge, so it has a couple of merge artifacts.

I was able to get up to the roof on the west side. This shot looks east over the lower roof. We painted the rails to match the roof color. The angle iron securing the movable roof is on both rails. There is a gap near the observatory to allow water to flow out and down rather than into the observatory. The wall above the lower roof will be covered with the metal soffit material. This is a photomerge with some artifacts.

Finally, there were some pretty lenticular clouds over Iron Spring and Beauty Mountains. I was able to get them in the background behind the observatory in this view looking southeast.

We are looking forward to lots of progress over the next several weeks. Drywall and lathe nailing inspection is planned for Tuesday, so the next step on exterior and interior finish will get started. And the roof should be complete this week.