Jay Sottolano’s Dream Roll-Off Roof Observatory (Observatory Tours #2)

Today we are touring Jay Sottolano's home observatory. Jay is very open with sharing the story of his observatory as well as many tips and tricks for anyone designing their own. The company that built Jay's observatory is Stoltzfus Structures: www.mysheds.com/outdoor-retre...
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[@ryanmichaelhaley]

I like the garage door idea, that is spot on

[@JaySott]

This one is also network enabled so that if I want to take it to a more remote operation from inside the house, I can.. For now, the warm room will suffice and still lets me walk out and look up!

[@jaseastroboy9240]

It really is good. I was thinking that as the wheels run in a C channel type of thing it would also keep the roof from lifting if there was an unexpected strong gust of wind. Of course it would have to be a very strong gust as the roof looks solid and heavy. Curious to know if there was additional locking/securing mechanisms for when it was all stowed/closed? I wonder if getting somebody to roll that C channel into a hoop would allow the same wheel setup to be used for a dome. Giving it the easy wheel change ability? So many benefits in using the garage door mechanism. The easy replacement of wheels as mentioned. But the availability of replacement parts would a big one too. Any big hardware store would have everything you needed to repair or upgrade the setup. Also the roof could be any length as the garage door opener is designed to work with various heights of garage doors. You could also start with a basic door opener and later replace it with a fancier network controllable version or possibly just upgrade the existing one by adding a network control module. Very clever. 😀

[@JaySott]

@@jaseastroboy9240 Hi Jase.. Thanks.. The wheel "housing" does offer protection to the roof lifting but I might add some additional corner mounted steel "brackets" just in case of a crazy Nor'easter or Hurricane or Tropical Storm, etc. coming through the area, so no, not something standard, but easy enough to DIY. Mother Nature can be mean sometimes! Agree, lots of good reasons for the entire Garage Door opener setup.. The one they use is a commercial grade one because of the roof's weight and that's standard with the bldg... It was nice to find out it was also network capable!!

[@user-xu3ud4fl2e]

Roll off roofs are very clever and probably overall going to be the cheapest option. All-sky domes function in a similar way, but obviously the geometry and mechanical fixings are more complicated making them more expensive. The trade off is that all sky domes can lower below the level of the telescope itself, which is a nice feature if you have relatively clear sight-lines all around, but is pretty disadvantageous when it comes to wind.

[@woody5109]

Garage door opener is the way to go, I see so many roofs that are way to complicated, it’s just a roof. This is a dream build, has a warm room, well done.

[@HelenasAstrophotography]

What an awesome design with some superb insight. Absolutely loved this Nico and Jay!

[@JaySott]

Thanks Helena. I got the thought to invite Nico to come do mine after watching you and he at yours! Hope skies are clearing there for you!!!

[@dangraham106]

When I get my property, I am doing this!

[@pattimaclaughlin8059]

Great idea for a video! It’s a dream of mine to make one of these observatories!!!

[@Matty7272]

The use of an automatic garage door opening/closing mechanism for the roof is something I've never thought of before and I will definitely be using that idea when I build my own observatory. Thank you Nico and Jay.

[@JaySott]

I enjoyed having Nico here... I think you can pull the garage door opener model, etc. from the video, but I can provide it if you need.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I love visiting observatories but I have never had one and most of my astronomy is done on the hoof out on my hikes.The history of stellar observation; observatories, telescopes,etc is almost as interesting as the heavens themselves.... almost!

[@justinedward81]

Lol that is so awesome! Good for him....i want one

[@rcdhi1g]

WoW 🤩 nice observatory

[@Homemade-Blurb]

I like the dome shape observatory. "Black Dog observatory" from Astro-backyard and Dylan o'donnell "Nexdome"

[@observatoryretreat]

Great series and so fun to watch! Let me know when you'll be in the Joshua Tree (Southern California) area. Would love to have you over.

[@stephencox3446]

Wow!!!!!!! what a building, it's fantastic.

[@skylinevspec000]

The video aesthetics and warmth of filming is beautiful.

[@robertsipes7391]

I'm so jealous, but happy for you. Thanks for sharing!

[@johnd5244]

What a great looking observatory! Great looking observatory! Wish you had shown the warm room also.

[@JaySott]

Thanks John.. Like I said in the video, a very supportive spouse. 🙂 That's the "next up" area to complete.. All the wiring for power and internet are there, just needed to finish putting up the walls in the telescope area. I can send you a pic if you want. Drop me a message on Facebook.

[@johnstewart579]

Great video, thank you. I'm thinking of rebuilding a new ROR observatory for my 22" f/4 dobsonian telescope

[@Larstronomy]

This series is so much fun to watch, absolutely stunning observatory! I've got a small roll-away observatory in the backyard, it cost me less than $1000 including the pier and it only takes me 2 minutes to get everything ready for the night (take dust caps off, roll the shed away, yes the entire shed is on wheels). In the future I hope I will have the resources to build something like this, but for now it's working great.

[@SheilaMertens]

I'm more into theoretical astronomy myself (stuck in a big light polluted city), but seeing this truly makes my jaw drop in admiration. Thank you for this series, hope there is many more to come. Love & clear skies, Sheila.

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Awesome Nico!

[@NebulaPhotos]

Thanks Ray! Looking forward to seeing yours in person some day.

[@michaelcurtis756]

Love the series! I recently stayed at a hotel in Huntsville Utah that has an observatory attached, perhaps that could be a potential subject for a future video. Its called the Compass Rose.

[@patrickfarley8036]

Hey Nico, Regarding wall hight issues, if you were to use a 2, stage telescopic pier you could raise the scope to any hight you require. Think of the mast in a fork lift that raises and lowers the forks. It's a closed hydraulic system with an electric pump. Ez-pz! These masts come in a plethora of heights, diameters and could easily be applied to an observatory for astrophotography. Even for optical viewing one could just get a ladder to get to the eye piece. Or the stilts drywall mechanics use to install ceilings! But for astrophotography those wouldn't be necessary since no doubt you're viewing from a computer monitor!😉 Hope this helps you or someone else. Clear skies!

[@M31glow]

Great post!

[@joeshmoe7967]

Been dreaming of a personal observatory since I got my C-8 in 1978. No where near close, but still dreaming. Congrats to Jay, what a nice structure. Maybe someday for me....I ain't getting any younger!

[@OzSteve]

Jay is awesome. Really enjoyed listening to him. Great video

[@kevinashley478]

Thank you Nico! Another great video in the bag.

[@georgelabelle8820]

Totally agree about ROR vs dome! I've had both.

[@guyjordan8201]

I’ve seen too many of these being too small but this one does seem sized right for him. Especially worth considering is the bulk of winter clothing, including heavy boots. If there is not enough room to move around freely, or if you tend to clutter up your space over time, then you do run the risk of running into your equipment and disrupting your imaging. Part of that also is if you intend other people to join you… It takes a lot more room for people to avoid each other than just one individual to move around in a space. I’m very glad to see another installment in the series.

[@JaySott]

Guy. I also took into account ANY possibility of two OTAs potentially bumping into one another if I was slewing in opposiite directions. That and the desire to be able to have people in the observatory and not bump into the scopes. ;-)

[@textandtelescope8199]

Nice. Great info.

[@dyode1]

Awesome thanks! Fantastic idea - will become a classic series.

[@woody5109]

Amazing project, very well done.

[@stephen.and.the.huskies3741]

Great video and a great observatory with an awesome host (and with an awesome wife, too)! Thanks, Nico!

[@JaySott]

Thanks Stephen.. I'll let her know and agree totally!!!

[@marcusa3177]

Man, I wonder if anyone has upcycled a small shipping container into a roll-on-roll-off obsy. The kind you can actually lash to a pickup truck via a trailer and deploy to a star party via hydraulic legs(?) for easy leveling. Isolating the pier would be tricky since ultimately it's attached to the container body but maybe you can put a raised floor that's held up by a grid of rebar soldered on the walls and not on the floor. Hmmmmm

[@lukomatico]

Man I'm really loving this series Nico!! Having just built my own observatory it's been especially interesting to hear about other people's experiences and reasoning! :-) Congratulations to Jay and his wife on their wonderful observatory! A truly awesome job my friend, Clear skies!

[@CurtBlakeslee]

I'd love a video of Nico touring your observatory! Your EAA setup seems very advanced compared to most Nebula Photos tutorials, which tend to be more aimed at introductory astrophotography. Automatic slewing, plate-solving, and stacking would probably amaze many viewers!

[@JaySott]

Thanks. It is a dream come true..

[@KopLamp]

@@CurtBlakeslee I would like Nico to do that too. Luke has an outstanding obsy. It seems as everyone has got one nowadays... Although I am automated almost entirely myself too, I don't think Nico will visit my "observatory"... You can see on my channel, it is just two tripods which I put in my garden and pre-designated spots :P

[@lukomatico]

So happy for you Jay!! Re: my obsy, aw shucks haha! I'd be more than happy to show off my observatory sometime if ever Nico was around this neck of the woods! Clear skies folks!

[@JaySott]

@@lukomatico Thank you..

[@PatJones82]

Great Video! Man... I would LOVE to have that observatory. Really nice!

[@mihajlofrancic9021]

Your production quality is so good, especially the sound! Great job Nico and thanks for great content. :D

[@buddyguy4723]

what a lovely man

[@fredmercury1314]

Best of both worlds, and something I've never seen, would be a concertina dome; where it's segmented and can fold up to be as small as it's smallest segment. That way you don't need a chunk of wasted landmass that exists only for when you roll the roof off, but you also get 90% of the sky.

[@fofomp723]

Appreciate how he does this with the help of his wife . Thought that was nice to hear.

[@jimangela4589]

I bought a Stoltzfus roll-off a couple of years ago (paid about $7K which included the foundation but not the pier). It is of course a joy to work in. My only issue with it is the 7 foot walls (needed to for the standard size door). I poured my own pier on top of the preset rebar they put in. That came to 48" with 36" above the floor. Then I had a local welder prefab a custom steel pier (about 32"). My mount is as high as I could get it which means the mount and the OTA are parked in a flat configuration so the roof line and the steel bar of the garage opener clear the equipment. Given that, I have to use a step stool to access the equipment. I lined up the roll-off so the peak of the opened roof is just west of Polaris. I was cutting it real close because my polemaster is below the level of the scope. but I do have a very large open sky almost 360 degrees. The roll-off roof and a few pine trees to the north are my only limitation.

[@JaySott]

Jim/Angela.. For me, as I mentioned in the video, the walls pretty much worked with the tree line (at least that was the plan! :-) ) .. The other issue here in PA was the requirements on the roof for the snow load. Would have perhaps like a "flatter" roof, but 50 psf requirement (unless I went with steel truss assembly) set the tone for the roof..

[@alneid2707]

Great vid. I purchased the Skyshed set of plans for a ROR obsy last spring. Similar roof tracks to what Jay used here. Hoping to get moved and start construction next year.

[@JaySott]

Good Luck Al.. Let me know if I can help in any way. 🙂

[@toliscy]

I love this series looking forward to part 3

[@Jasta315]

I like how the piers are completely isolated from the structure. I've tried imaging from inside my house out of a window but any walking around vibrates the camera slightly.

[@afryhover]

Yep, very important to isolate the pier.

[@JaySott]

We used a 1/2" foam pad wrapped around twice to create that spacing. I could jump up and down or drop a bowling bowl (LOL) and the piers would not see it. :-)

[@flyboyu777]

I love the garage door roller idea-I have considered the inline skate wheel option but I like the roller ideas better! Plus there is a built in protection against wind with the channels the wheels they roll in!

[@megthrash4617]

Thanks!

[@rickmavrovich6349]

Keep this series coming. Great job!

[@tallperson9422]

Nico, this is so great and I hope you continue with many more observatories.

[@KopLamp]

What a nice video again Nico. Jay is a very gifted speaker and you let him run the show. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[@JaySott]

Thanks.. Nico gets the credit.. He makes it so conversational that you don't really think about the camera rolling. 🙂

[@beniciocaro4772]

This is unrelated but I think it's awesome that you're in Somerville! I am a freshman at Tufts planning to major in Astrophysics!

[@LogansAstro]

This is an interesting series to see how different observatories are built. No company here in NZ makes observatories so I had to make mine up with the builders as we went along. I also went with high-ish walls for wind protection and a warm room. My only regret is not making the footprint big enough for two piers and as we can never have enough telescopes, that is definitely something to keep in mind if space and cost allows.

[@reidchandler6486]

the thread on cloudy nights of home observatories is always a blast to look through, all sorts of designs!!!

[@roob2u2]

WOW! I have never seen one of these before. Very impressive!

I thought the advantage of roll off roofs with the south (or whatever direction is opposite to the gantry) wall folding down was to be able to have the scopes as high above the wall as possible without any need to park it in a safe position before opening/closing the roof. I've built a small 1-pier RoR on my parents back yard that's about to be fully remote. I decided not to separate the pier from the building because frankly i didn't see the benefit for me personally since i'm not going to spend any significant time around the scope while imaging, even if i walk around during an exposure it is not noticeable anyway. I have to consider significant frost heave where I'm located so a lot of ground work had to be done prior to pouring the slab, i didn't want create any gaps which could compromise the insulation (although I'm no civil engineer, i have no idea if that's a valid concern). Anyways its always very interesting too see other peoples RoR's, looking forward to more videos in the series :)

[@Zealor365]

Bravo!

[@letszoomit365]

Thanks! I know this "serie" will be great, good tips 👍

[@C40V15]

This is high quality content right here. Thanks!

[@thejakefromstatefarm6768]

If you’ve ever done construction for a living and you’ve installed a garage door or two as well then you could build this fairly cheap and fairly easily. For someone that has always wanted an observatory seeing this made me realize it’s actually obtainable.

[@astrokumaon3397]

Thanks for this series Nico. Really fascinating and helpful and I don't think anyone has actually ever done one of these. Will definitely help me plan for my observatory here in India 😊

[@paulvinova]

Proper cool!

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I went for the dome option not by choice as I were hoping to get a roll on roll off roof type observatory but cost was the main factor for me as I don't have a lot of money, the observatory I have came up on eBay dirt cheap so it were a no brainer, sadly as it's a home built one I cannot ever see it being fully automated but I don't mind staying up while capturing data & giving the dome a shove every now & then.

[@afryhover]

I like the idea of welding the bolts together. I'll try and do that when I build a pier.

[@JaySott]

Andrew.. J Bolts bolted to a form will certainly work, but this isn't going ANYWHERE!!! :-)

[@landspide]

I like Jay! Top bloke.

[@JaySott]

Thanks David. 🙂

[@StarlancerAstro]

I hope to own something like this one day.

[@FragEightyfive]

This is interesting. I didn't know these observatory sheds even existed. I have built dozens of sheds and this seems like such a simple design. I think now I might look at a slide over roof with a insulated + heated room for a computer and couch and just hanging out since it would be away from my house. I had been looking at dome observatories, but thought they were too hard core for me, and started thinking of a slide-off (roll off) roof, with the south wall being the long wall, that opens as 2 large doors, or folds down. It all started seeming too complicated so thought I would end up just pouring a concrete pad with a weather sealed shed to store scopes or one outside my garage and just roll them out.... The insight of blocking wind is very important. Living in the northeast in an area with constant breeze, cold nights are that much colder.

[@ProcessedDigitally]

nice info

[@rudolfbenner4802]

Flexible conduit is notorious for being hard to pull through. Go big. Put in a pull box at the bottom. Oversize your electrical feed.

[@JaySott]

Agreed about more difficult to pull, but you can make it work with some spacing. Just one less thing to worry about. I have had friends where small little visitors liked chewing up the subfloor wiring. I also tried to isolate the subfloor as best I could from the outside. Time will tell!

[@michaelpakadronermike8146]

I don't know when or where. But I am starting to plan now.

[@joeshmoe7967]

Yes do start planning now! I have been dreaming since '78, and I still don't have personal observatory. I spent too much time dreaming and not enough time planning. Good Luck! - Cheers

[@gomanastro]

great job on this video, you didnt say what the final total cost/investment was for the pad, and the structure, that would be nice to know as well, although that will vary for each observatory. Great job pointing out the details, and personalization of his building.

[@JaySott]

Greg... there a lot of considerations around cost. (foundation, electric runs, etc., etc.) If you send me a message, I can try to address some of it. Also some things that (if you're able) you can do to mitigate some of it. For me (and given frost lines, etc.) the biggest piece to get right was what the building was going to sit on.

[@bullshitvendor]

I m just guessing, but perhaps a dome with slit would allow for lower walls and still retain superior wind protection? Also, warm room: it need be well insulated to not produce air turbulence around the obsy.

[@NebulaPhotos]

Yes, smaller footprint and better wind protection are the main pros of the dome. The cons seem to be: they break more often due to higher complexity, usually higher cost, and the small ones feel a bit claustrophobic to me as a big guy.

[@afryhover]

At our Astronomy Club's observatory, we have a roll off room with a Celestron C14 and a 15ft dome with a 30" Dobsonian, the roll off room is more practical, never breaks and has a better view of the night sky. Being inside a dome for hours at a time late at night, you can loose your sense of direction just looking through the narrow shutter door, so we put up decals with the directions and AZ degrees around the interior of the dome.

[@Katsjosh]

Hey Nico, wondering if you're going to the night sky festival at Acadia this month?

[@michaelklemm-abraham7298]

Roll of roof is a good option. One you can build yourself and it is easier to motorize and get it remote controled. Unfortunately I still have to say: don’t make it too cheap. I was trying to build mine at a minimal budget. It works but it was not a great choice. Don’t cheap out. It isn’t worth it.

[@JaySott]

True words Michael..

[@TevisC]

Pros cons of having the entire shed roll away? For people with wider horizons. It seems like the walls limit the view.

[@JaySott]

True about having wider horizons, but walls give more protection from wind, and only have to clear the roof when it snows! 🙂. I've seen lots of folks though using whole building roll off designs.

[@4-MinuteMiles]

genius

[@gavin5326]

My observatory roof has the same wheels. Although my observatory is absolutely not worth looking at lol

[@SKYST0RY]

I've been contemplating building one of these, but I worry about wind. The roof is not secured down, right? What are your thought on how it would fare in high wind?

[@STLS]

Jay are you the guy who used to do stuff with Talcott Mountain Science Center? -Marc Dantonio

[@georges3799]

How does it handle snow? Are the tracks that hold the roof in the open position exposed to the elements?

[@michaelallen5505]

I wonder if this structure has a wind rating. I live near the coast where even storage sheds require a 150 mph wind rating.

[@peterleveillee1321]

Hi Nico, have you built your observatory yet? I met you at NEAF this year, I live in RI. I am going to be starting my observatory in the fall. I am wondering how much progress you have made. Thanks, Pete

[@EODHammer]

Great Vid. I'm in the process of starting this very endeavor and I was going to go with a dome but after seeing this particular setup I'm liking this a lot! The only issue is I'm in Fl. Probably an issue as far as getting one here especially at Biden pricing index. I'll check though. I wonder how much he was out of pocket for this.

[@JaySott]

Sorry for the delay.. Don't know if they go to Florida, but check with Mark at the company. They do have different sized ones available, with and without warm room.

[@timwilde4200]

The one thing I couldn't pick up in the clip (unless I missed it) is what kind of roof the structure has over the narrower end section - is it simply flat and slight angled so the main roof can roll over it?

[@NebulaPhotos]

That's correct.

[@rickpaul9858]

One comment: I want one!

[@woody5109]

Question, based on one of your videos I sent my Canon T8i out to be Astro modified at the same store in Vancouver. Now everything is red…really red, am I doing something wrong?

[@NebulaPhotos]

No, you aren't doing anything wrong. Use a custom white balance to see colors more normally. Or just balance the color channels in post processing, the data is there, but the balance of the colors is different and the camera doesn't know how to automatically compensate since it doesn't know you modified the physical filter inside.

[@woody5109]

@@NebulaPhotos , thanks for getting back to me, Of course your right, I shot the whirlpool last night and the data is amazing. Keep up the great work, we appreciate it.

[@johnwest7993]

I'm more of a 'Deteriorata' kinda guy.

[@RijoeDamy6444]

what's your discord link

[@NebulaPhotos]

discord.gg/nebulaphotos there are some public channels, but many more channels open up if you join on patreon

[@RijoeDamy6444]

@@NebulaPhotos thankyou