The foundations and site selection

Astronomy needs lots and lots of sky. Although objects are best viewed at the zenith, some celestial events are often only at lower declinations. Take into consideration the geographical features, trees and buildings around you. Street lights are a huge factor also. Telescopes and their optics don't like moisture either, so look at your site in relation to ground moisture, i.e. fog. Notice how fog collects at the bottom of hills a long time before it reaches the top of the hills.

Before you start plonking down concrete, (like I did), have a chat with your neighbors. This is just a common courtesy that can save everyone dramas later. An observatory can be pretty imposing, and no-one likes the idea of a mighty big Celestron, Tasco or Meade looking in on them. Make sure you spare some thought for the privacy of others and respect their concerns. If there are concerns and you can't move the site, think about ways you can cater to the streetscape and privacy issues, like putting up a screen, wall, hedge or tree. A couple of other ideas I had were to knock on doors when I am going to observe, or to put a little red light on the side of the building to let neighbors know when the dome is in operation. Oh, and DON'T GO LOOKING IN PEOPLE'S WINDOWS!!!

I started with foundations including a concrete border for a garden bed around the observatory walls about a meter wide. The block to mount the telescope support post is a hole dug in the ground 50cm deep and 1metre x 1metre across, filled with concrete. This will totally isolate the telescope from the rest of the building. The posts that will hold up the walls will be supported by metal post supports concreted a short distance into the ground.