I went through a number of different designs before I found the right one for me. There are two widely used types of amateur observatory, the roll-off roof and dome including a load of different variants on them. v4.0 I used Microsoft Visio to create the plans for the build. I couldn't have created this building without it - I'm just not good enough at measuring and cutting stuff! :-) Here's an example of the control it gave me over things like cutting angles etc.
 I tore down the old observatory in about 3hrs - that was a bit depressing! I started with a clear site and some decent, if cold, weather to work in.
First I created the eight walls:
The edges of each of the uprights on the walls were cut to a 22.5 degree angle
 Having cut all the wood in one step it meant I set up a sort of assembly line and had the walls built in about 4 hours
The next step involved creating the roof. I started by cutting out the floor to use as a template for the foot of the roof
The angles involved were a real Bear! but somehow I got there using MS Visio and moved the completed roof out onto the site for storage while I finished the walls.
The assembly line process of painting all the panels for the walls was a bit tedious and I was really happy when it was over!
Next it was back out into the cold to set up walls. This was pretty straight forward but I was under pressure to get the roof built and in position as there were some high winds on the way.
I had two large wooden discs cut out of 18mm plywood and installed them on the walls. The idea is that they are polished up in use and slide ever more easily. This has proven to work so I eliminated the need for wheels that I'd seen in other observatories.
The spin on the roof was tested (above) and I covered it in "torch felt" which should last about 20 years. The application of that stuff was the experience of a life time!
That is a picture of the "Flame Gun of Death" next to the "Stick of Death"! As you can see the attachment between the handle and nozzle made it too long for the job I was doing but I managed to cover the roof without setting myself on fire. It's amazing how much pain you can endure (my rubber gloves started to melt a few times) if letting go meant ruining a large section of the roof - never again (ish).I had one dance left to do with the FGD (harhar) when I built the hatch or the roof. I originally created a one piece unit the was slid off the front of the building.
I thought the hatch would be light enough but one of my projects became figuring out a way to hinge it in something like a clamshell configuration.
I eventually settled on two sliding halves that I can take out entirely if required (hasn't been required yet :-) You can see details of the construction of this and other modifications on the "Projects" page.
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