An Observatory Project Update: Success! We Just Bought A Property and Will Be Moving!
Date: November 2, 2023
We just had an offer accepted on a new house with greater access to the skies, so I can now move forward with building my observatory!
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NOTICE:
This post shares my preliminary design thoughts for a Roll-off Roof Observatory. I make no representations regarding the designs and design decisions discussed. Use this information at your own risk! If you decide to build your own version of this project - you do so at your own risk and assume all liability and risks for your effort and its results.
Background
Two years ago, I opened this blog on my observatory development - and since then, there has not been much to post.
My last post was eight months ago when I had the original plans for my observatory drafted up by an architect.
So why the radio silence? Because there was really nothing to report! My wife and I were stuck in limbo as we searched for land to buy.
Believe me - we looked at everything that came onto the market.
We looked at both raw land and we looked at existing properties.
We originally thought that we would build a new house - after all - we would be building an observatory, and to ensure that we got what we wanted in a house, we may as well design one and build it simultaneously.
So, we worked with an architect and developed a preliminary plan for a house. Then, we started interviewing builders in our area. This gave us a chance to determine who we would like to work with - and we also had them price out what the build costs would be so we could get a handle on the costs involved.
In short - build costs were staggering!
Covid supply chain issues combined with inflation have caused the cost of a new build to skyrocket. We were looking at a minimum of $300/sq ft when using only mid-range finishes. And that does not cover the cost of land, land development, or landscaping!
The land we were finding was not really to our liking either. We saw flat farmer's fields with no trees or neighbors - in the middle of nowhere - or it was closer to the city, and the prices were very high.
Clearly - an existing house that would meet our needs was a much better value. That could be had for ~$200/sq ft. But finding an existing house that met our needs and had a land suitable for an observatory was like finding a unicorn.
So we searched for two years!
A Change in What We Were Looking For
At first, we were looking for a larger chunk of land - 5-50 acres - located far south of the city.
But then, in March and April, I ran into a health issue. I've already shared my experience with having a kidney tumor removed in April - so I won’t go into that here. But this wake-up call caused us to question if we had the right search goals.
Suddenly, I was very uncomfortable with what we had been looking for:
If something happened to me, Jan would be living out in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors around her.
A large property that requires a lot of maintenance work is not ideal if you are recovering from surgery or if you are unwell.
Suddenly, I was spending a lot of time seeing doctors and having tests. This will continue. So, the idea that I am adding 15-30 minutes to what is already often a 30-minute drive does not make sense.
As a result, we changed our search goals:
Minimize our drive times to services in Rochester
A smaller - easier to manage property
A real neighborhood, so we were not as isolated
An existing house to enhance purchase value
Reasonable access to reasonably dark skies.
Not a requirement, but it would be nice if we had access to public water/gas ( I decided I did not want to worry about wells and filtration systems as I get older)
Added to these requirements are the requirements for the house:
- First-floor master suite
- First-floor laundry
- An office for Jan
- A large office office for me
- Extra rooms and baths for when the kids visit
- A desire for a move up in terms of finish and features from our current house.
The Search Location Narrows
Jan and I looked at everything. We started looking towards the city's south, but we then expanded our search space to include properties to the East and West of Rochester as well.
The expanded search space - looking and the more rural areas to the West and East, as well as the Southern Zone I had been searching.
I discovered that properties to the east and west of Rochester were not optimal. The light dome from Rochester dominates half of the sky, and other light domes can be seen towards the south from the towns and villages located there.
Here is the view from one property we looked at located on the East side of Rochester - the light dome just dominated the western view.
Moving to the south of the city (but not too far south) seemed to be the best course.
The light dome of Rochester was still there but towards the north. Since this section of sky rotates around Polaris, I can avoid shooting an object when it is low in the sky and below Polaris (and well into the light dome of Rochester) and wait for the time of year when the object appears high in the sky over Polaris and therefore away from the light Dome of Rochester.
Towards the South, there is very little light since there are few towns or cities located in that direction from Rochester. The ones that do exist tend to be smaller and further south.
So moving towards the South of the city seemed like a good strategy - and as I looked at light pollution map information, it seemed like two areas were kind of a sweet spot for being relatively close to the city and still having relatively dark skies.
One of these was located around Ionia, NY. I know they have nice dark skies because the Astronomy Section of the Rochester Academy of Science has the Farash observatory located here, and they offer pretty nice skies.
So this would be a great target area.
Another possibility seemed to be towards the Mendon area where we currently live because there's a large county park - Mendon Ponds Park - located there, and the area is reasonably dark. The skies at my current location are pretty good - my issue is I don't have sufficient access to it because of all the trees on my property. If I could move somewhere near where I am now - but have more open skies - that would be a win!
So we concentrated on these areas south of the city.
We saw properties where the land was just amazing and when it worked well for an observatory; however, the house did not meet our needs, nor could it be renovated to meet our needs.
We also saw properties where the houses were amazing and would have been perfect for our needs. However, the land associated with the property was unsuitable for an observatory. Often, this was because the entire lot was heavily treed, and an extensive amount of tree removal would be required to clear an area - that didn't seem to make a lot of sense.
Other times, the reason the property wasn't suitable for the observatory was that the area was low and wet. In some neighborhoods, there was just no protection from all of the neighbors and their potential light sources.
Finally, after looking at way too many properties, we came across one that seemed like it just might work!
A Possible Solution!
October is not the busiest season for real estate!
The number of people looking goes down substantially, and the number of new property listings goes down as well. It was getting to be slim pickings, but nevertheless, we looked at everything that came on the market.
Then, we saw a new listing that piqued our interest.
It wasn't perfect. But no listing ever is.
But the house was large and had most of the features we wanted, including some nice upgrades in terms of finishes and features.
It would accommodate most of our needs.
The land associated with the house was about 2.2 acres - about what I have now - with the backyard having a slight rise so that by the time you got to the back of the property, you were higher than the surrounding houses.
This area was also shrouded in a ring of trees that provided a buffer so that you really couldn't see the other houses at all. But enough trees had been cleared that I could see a substantial part of the sky. As I looked at where the property lines fell, it became obvious to me that I could enhance my view of the sky even further with some selective tree removal. This looked doable to me!
The property was located in a lovely neighborhood with sufficient neighbors, so we would not be isolated.
It was located only two miles from our old place!
So, I was familiar with the quality of the skies in this area. We currently live on the western side of Mendon Ponds Park, and the new place would be just one east side of the park. This area is a little bit quieter and probably just a little bit darker as well. The drive time to services would be no different from where we are now.
The current and new locations - one on each side of the large county park
The light pollution map for the same location.
Was it perfect? No!
The house was larger than we wanted and priced higher than we hoped. It was also located in a high-tax area that was not ideal.
This house was a slight compromise on my part, as well as a slight compromise on the things my wife was looking for. But after searching for two years, this is the first one that came close to meeting our needs. Our lives have been in a sort of limbo while on this search, and after two years - we were driven to go for it so we could move on with our lives!
We are currently 66 years old. We did not want to waste more of our lives searching for perfection. This lets us get on with things.
So we put an offer on the house, and the sellers accepted!
The Next Steps
Our closing is supposed to happen in about 60 days. We anticipate moving into the house towards the end of January.
Between now and then, an awful lot has to happen. We have been in our current house for 30 years, so we've accumulated a lot of stuff that we don't need to move to the new house. So, some of this time will be spent clearing the clutter.
We also have to be prepared to pack up the house and move to the new house - and in the process, we will have to change some of our furniture around as the needs will be different in the new place.
Finally, our current house will have to be made ready for the marketplace. This should be straightforward once we've moved out of the house. But we will have to refinish some of the wood floors, paint and replace some carpet. This should allow us to get the house on the market in the March time frame of next year, which is an optimal time to list in this area.
Of course, during this time, we will also have to deal with Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays.
Once we move into the house, we have to unpack and get settled. This will not be a trivial task.
Changes to the Observatory Design?
Somehow, while all of this is going on, I still need to make progress on the observatory.
I have a stamped set of architectural plans for the observatory now. But this assumed the land I placed it on would be relatively flat while the final location would be on a slight incline.
I measure this slope with my Theotolite iPhone app at about 3 degrees. So, it's not a steep rise.
Perhaps I'll be able to scrape an area flat where I build it, and the plan really doesn't have to change.
On the other hand, I might need to change the foundation to account for the incline. This might also be an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that there is an incline. I was going to have a door cut down shorter to be mounted on the side of the building. But now, with the incline, I might be able to put a full-sized door on the south face. I'll have to look at this.
I also considered having a concrete slab floor isolated from the four piers. However, concrete costs have gone up substantially. It might be possible to create a wood floor that could cut down on the cost of the build. I'll have to investigate this.
My original plan was to have four poured concrete Piers located in the observatory.
But now that we are building in a neighborhood setting, my wife thinks it might be wiser if we could position the observatory so that it could be used as a shed should we try to sell the place in a few years. That might work well, except that these four massive concrete Piers sit in the middle of it, and for it to be used as a shed, they'd have to be demolished.
This would not be a simple task.
Another option we're considering is creating the pier foundation so that it's flush with the floor and then bolting a steel round steel pier into each of the positions. The thinking is that if we were to sell the property, we could unbolt the Piers and take them with us. Thus, the building would be more easily converted to a storage shed, which may be valuable to the new users if they're not astrophotographers.
Using a Pier like this…..
Rather than piers like this….
Assessing the Views from the Proposed Observatory Site
The place where I think I will position the observatory has reasonable access to the sky, but because it is ringed by trees - it is not perfect.
The trees do act as a buffer, shielding from neighboring lights - so that part is good.
But they do block the horizon as well. In some cases, the offending trees are located on my property so that I can remove them. In other cases, the trees are out of my reach, and I must live with them.
I had an opportunity to revisit the site, and again, using my Theodolite application, I measured the altitude angle of the tree lines. I was also able to compare them to my current situation.
North
I was concerned that the trees there would block Polaris and the Northern sky too much, but tree tops are at the 30-degree elevation, so that Polaris will be quite visible. Currently, my tree line is at 60 degrees with a hole cut to access Polaris.
West
Towards the west, I have some trees I can remove as they are on my property, and with these gone, the elevation of the tree line is between 16 and 25 degrees. Currently, my tree line limits me to 43 degrees.
East
The East is the biggest problem, as there are some tall trees there that are not on my property, and the elevation of the tree here is about 40 degrees. This is the worst view at this location - but it gets better as you look towards the south. Currently, my situation is much worse! The trees block up to about 65 degrees!
South
South is my most important direction. Looking south, the tree elevation is looking down the slope, and the elevation at the tree line is about 14 degrees! Currently, the South is my best direction with a tree line elevation of 17 degrees. But the new location is even better still!
So, while it’s not clear from horizon to horizon, it's a huge improvement over what I have.
Here is a quick video overview. It’s done at a wide angle, so the view of the sky is distorted a bit.
The Path Forward
We seem on track to close around Dec 13th or so.
The current hope is that I could start construction on the observatory sometime next summer.
That, of course, assumes that we will be done moving into the new house, selling the old house, and all the prep work for the observatory build has been completed. It also assumes that I'll be able to find the right builder for the observatory and that their schedule won't be so far backloaded into the future that I have that it'll be delayed.
At any rate, now that we have a property and a path forward, I'm excited to start making progress on the project.
As I make progress, I plan on blogging every decision and activity leading up to the building of the observatory. I'm pretty excited to start this phase, and I hope you'll join me as we take this next journey together.
