Looks incredible, I am jealous. A quick note on wind, re: 26:50. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility that wind could move the roof on its own without the turnbuckles. Roofs are big, so wind has a huge area to act on and generate force. It also generates lift, reducing the force needed to get the roof moving. A 30 mph wind perpendicular to a 15 square foot gable would generate about 35 pounds of force. So it's a very good thing you installed the turnbuckles. Even if that kind of wind isn't normal, a bad storm could hit it just right to ruin your day.

Ah yes. The bum shuffle is a well known solution to slippery surfaces 😂

Wow! Paper Birch Observatory! Amazing!

Congratulations on your new observatory! It's an achievement that most astronomers never attain, but yours is very nice indeed. I've been director of my Astronomy Club's Observatory on and off for years, and live in a very similar climate to yours, upstate NY, where snow is a given in the winter, and lots of it. I wanted to make a suggestion concerning your exposed roof rails. We tried the heater tape solution, but ice still managed to be a problem. The only way we were able to completely avoid ice and snow build up on the rails was to cover them. One of our members came up with an ingenious design, using an inverted length of aluminum gutter, mounted on a lightweight frame. You simply place the cover over the rails when you are finished observing, and they remain protected from the elements. The rail covers hang on brackets installed on the rear of the building when not in use, including the summer months. Hope this idea will help you.

Very excited to see this project complete. Can't wait to see what you achieve in the future!

Nice job Niko. I built myself a mini-observatory last summer (very small - room for one telescope) and did everything myself, by hand. Using it throughout this winter has been absolutely worth the effort I put in. Think I last polar aligned and calibrated PHD2 in September or so. Your own observatory will remove so many of the "chores", like setting up, cables, polar aligning etc etc etc. With a setup like this you can go from realizing it's clear outside to be imaging in just a few minutes. Your build was very inspiring to tear down mine, and build myself a bigger one.

Wonderful. I may never build an observatory but it’s fun to watch these videos.

YAY

Awesome! Looking forward to see the first images taked using the observatory!

I am so happy for you, that's a really amazing project !

Hi Nico. I'm a building contractor ( and novice astro photographer ) in the Boston area. Just wanted to say, nice work and great job describing the process as you go.

Get a bit of 3/16ths plywood and trace the contour of your roof panels on it. Cut out the contour and then attach the plywood to a telescopic pole. That way you can get the snow off the roof very effectively after a snow storm.

Nico you've done a amazing job.

27:38 nice name, in my language is, Obserwatorium papierowa brzoza. I wish you many clear skies and wonderful observations. Space connects all of us

Love the name! Paper birch is my favorite tree! New observatory looks fantastic. 👏🏻✨👏🏻

cheers to the Paper Birch Observatory!

Very Nice. I would be proud of that Roll Off.

I'm so proud of you Niko, I have 25 years doing construction so even with my experience but limited tools it would be very hard for me to get it done, the way you did it. Congratulations!

Wow what a beautiful 'garden'. So much work though to build this. Amazing :)

I'm very jealous, looking forward to seeing what you can do with it

I've been looking at personal observatories preparing to modify an unused gazebo. After watching your video, I think the gazebo will be leaving now that I've seen two piers inside! Great job of not only design and construction, your video is fantastic. Congrats!

Looking good Nico and having that dry area sure makes a difference. I had my trusses together and mounted onto the rollers overnight when high-winds hit the area overnight. Without the topping, the skelleton moved very easy and in fact, I found the whole thing laying in the tree off the rails in the morning. I doubt this would have happened with the plywood and shingles on, too much weight for the lift. Opted with this option as the plywood is about 1.12lbs/sqft vs steel roofing at 1lbs/sqft. The shingles is where the weight plays a factor at aprox 2lbs/sqft. While strapping for the steel roof does add weight, its not as much as the shingles in total. I do like the added strength though with the plywood. That being said, I think you made the right call going steel. It's been a while, and I could be wrong, but I think the screws normally go on the ridges so as to let water fall away. You may have to keep an eye on the rubber seals over time once they begin to harden and crack.

Awesome! Clear skies my friend.

Looks GREAT. You might try a hand plan on that wrapped beam to get your siding to ling back up.

Well done! You should be proud of yourself! Looks great!

Cant wait to see it!

Great progress my man! I am excited for you! Such a milestone!

Congrats sir, Its a big job but you made it look simple.

Congratulations, good job. Reminded me when I was building my gazebo using steel roof panels as well.

Bobby dazzler!!!! 🎉❤

"A metal bender thingy"... I burst out laughing at that!! lol Hey... I don't know for sure what it's called either but I assume it's a sheet metal handbrake or something like that. I'm making a lot of mental notes watching these videos as I hope to do this very thing this spring... building my own shed observatory.

Love the name and the build! Awesome job!

Congrats Nico! You did an excellent job. Get some rubber anti-fatigue flooring and cover the entire floor with it. You won't regret it, especially if you ever drop something expensive. Your design is almost identical to my observatory. I used garage door rails as well. 18 years later, and they still work great.

Hello. I enjoyed watching it. Working in the snow was tough. It's safe to have a roof.

Great Job Nico. I would also suggest adding floor and walls to outside structure to make it a cozy debunking place/studio. Walls will also prevent the roof from the under wind that could lift it up.

Great job. What a fun journey.

You are amazing. Not only are you a great astrophotography teacher, but you have made a very useful, dare I say definitive series of videos on constructing an observatory. Your attention to detail and work ethic is inspiring. I also enjoyed meeting you and hearing your talks at Cherry Springs this fall.

Nico, it is awesome to see how far along your Observatory has come and it looks great! Well done and thanks for taking us through the journey!

Great Video Niko and congratulations on the new observatory. Well done sir, well done. I also like the name and the sign. Clear skies and thank you for sharing.

Man, just binged the series, love the first video you’re digging with crocs and this video or maybe last you’ve moved on to some good looking work boots, awesome work man keep it up

Great job, dreams are coming true. John Prine would be proud!

Great job Nico! Well done. I admire your attention to the details.

That final screw is such a relief. I just finished building my observatory. Now to wait for clear skies to use it! Some nice pixel led strips give some nice light and give option to choose red light when needed.

It's been amazing watching the build of this. So much that when I buy land, when the last kid is all growed up and move, that I would love to create something similar. Can't wait to start seeing finished works coming from this.

I'm not sure how the bee population is in your area, but you may want to check into carpenter bee nesting ideas around the treeline to lure them away from your observatory. Here in the south, they absolutely love fresh lumber.

Nice, this is looking great! Congrats, Nico!

Congratulations - this episode of the observatory build literally tied everything together! I'm truly impressed at your DIY skills. Clear Skies.

I'm so happy for you Nico. This is great!

Congratulations on a job well done! It was very interesting to follow you through the whole process and great that you highlighted some mistakes you made in the ongoing construction. This kind of feedback is so helpful to others who may avoid making those mistakes during their construction process. It all worked out in the end and you have a wonderful observatory for all your future astrophotography sessions. Bravo!

All your research, planning and hard work paid off. It appears to be a very well built and functional observatory and you should be very proud of your accomplishment and It is going to be an inspiration to others to build their own even if they don't think they have the skills to do it. Well done and clear skies!

Great Job Niko!!

Awesome build!! Love your work Nico!A build is never complete without at least 5 trips to Home Depot or Lowe’s haha, clear skies!

Congratulations on a great job so far !

Congratulations!

👍👍👍Wow, finally! This is amazing news Nico! That plaque is just the cherry on the cake!

The heat tape is a good idea. I hadn't seen anybody else do it, but it seems like a no brainer in snowy areas. I'd imagine the same stuff people use in their gutters would work nicely.

Fantastic job, Nico! Your videos throughout the project have been both very informative and enjoyable to watch. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

Congratulations! Love the name and the design.

Great job Nico! I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labor!

So impressed! Good job man! Looking forward to seeing your accomplishments because of it.

I’m super excited to see this, especially after getting a sneak peak of the observatory in use for the Askar 185 APO review. Great job!

Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations on the milestone! 🎉

Sweet build

You’ve done amazing work! You also look a bit healthier and more in shape now too haha keep up the good work dude!

Woot! Bravo Nico!!! So happy for you. A job well done plus the satisfaction of having done it yourself. Fantastic name too. Cheers!

Great job Nebula Photos. Love your channel and lots of great honest info. Look forward to one day building an observatory too. Greetings from Germany!

Excellent video and commentary - thank you - this video is very helpful. I am a subscriber.

This is amazing Nico! Well done. And seeing the snow was great on a hot summer day down here :-)

Congrats Nico! Thanks for sharing the journey. Can't wait to build my own some day soon.

Great build! 👍🏻

SO SO professional! Congratulations.

WOW !!! That turned out awesome 👍🏽👍🏽. Great job Nico

Proud of you Nico..🎉🎉🎉🎉

What an amazing build Nico, can't wait to see your first images!

What a fantastic job! And you somehow created an engaging documentary single-handed? Amazing!

Very cool!!!!

Nico, this is so inspiring, thanks for documenting your journey! It seems like you learned a ton along the way and probably feel ready to take on other huge projects going forward (after a break to enjoy this one, haha). Great stuff!

Great job Nico this is an amazing observatory, and I love the name you chose. You must be very proud having done the job by yourself.

Nico, you are a cool guy!

Looking forward to the rest of the interior work of your dream! 👍👍

Thanks Nico a dream I would love to fulfill. Just need the house first 😂 alas for now I can live vicariously. Very much appreciate you sharing the journey

Excellent!!!!!!!!! ❤

Always enjoy your videos. Maybe you can go on a hike to a 4000 footer with Taylor the Nahamsha hiker and get some high mountain remote observations. Anyway, about that warped beam. I would take the siding off. Scribe a straight line on top of the beam. Use a circle saw to make a first cut. Then, switch to a small chain saw and follow the first cut but at full depth of the beam. It will be rough, but the siding will then fit and look good. Clear skies!

Sending this video to my architect. We’ll have both hurricanes and high snow load. Lots to consider!

Your project is looking great Nico! It’s obvious you are very proud of it as you should be!! Im looking forward to future videos of the night sky from inside your new observatory! Again, great job!

Dude! This is going so good I really like the love for detail in this build 👌 awesome job

Looks so good! So excited to see what photos you can take since you wont have setup and alignment to worry about. I bet you will double your subs when you can just go out and hit start

Well Done sir!

Congrats Nico, well done.

Superb job, and really impressive for a beginner.

Great job!

Congrats! As a professional builder myself, I’m impressed with your attention to detail. Nice work!

Another fascinating chapter in this epic story

This is just an awesome build Nico!

Congrats on your efforts. An observatory is the next level in AP :). That's the same metal roofing I used on my own. The top cap can be ventilated to let go of the summer heat, and they make some screened vents that fit over the profile of the sheeting cross section underneath. Happy observing!

That is epic! Well done Nico!

Most enjoyable journey you're on!!!! Look forward to the Paper Birch Observatory observations to come!!!

Congratulations on this magnificient build Nico! All the best from Switzerland and once again thank you for your amazing work

Like the John Prine toque!