Our contractor, Greg Staten, had the Pettibone out at the site this past week to put the large steel rafters up on the frame. They have been secured in place, allowing the steel struts that run between the rafters to be put in place. This process was well under way by the weekend.
Here is a shot looking east, showing the shorter and narrower part of the building in in the foreground. This will house the warm room and the pump equipment. The beam over the lower roof supports the larger roof as it rolls off to the west.
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This shot was taken from inside the observatory looking west. You can see the detail of the steel struts on the roof. Wheels will be attached to the inside of the large steel rafters to allow the roof to move. With all the steel up there the name Steelhenge keeps looking better and better. The wall will be framed up to go under the curve of the steel rafter, with weather stripping between the wall and the roof to keep water and dust out.
Click through to see the details, it’s hard to see reduced to this size.
This view looks down the driveway to the observatory. It does look nice in that position on the property.
This shot looks at the front door of the observatory looking to the south. You can see the beam and post in the foreground that supports the roll-off roof. The pump equipment room is on the right, with the warm room between there and the observatory room. The observatory is 4 feet wider than the warm room and equipment rooms. That smaller footprint makes having the roof roll over easier.
Finally, here is a view taken from Lakeshore Boulevard, looking down the hill to the east. I have zoomed in with the camera to show more details on the building. The building is about 350 feet away in this shot.
Things may move more slowly this week. The final struts need to go into place and I believe the wheels will be fixed to the roof rafters. Roof sheeting might be on this week. We’ll see!