When I was age 13, I worked side by side with my father and two other adult workers in constructing our family home.  During that time I learned the basics of laying out a building, leveling the foundation using a transit, basic framing techniques, and electrical wiring, to name a few skills.  I had always felt that there was a building "inside of me" that would come out some day.  My observatory turned out to be that building.  All those skills I learned that summer with my father were brought to bear in the construction of OTH.  At each stage of the construction I consulted online sources, engineering friends and my own childhood memory.  The construction is most easily shown using photos that I took during the process. For this website I have divided up the construction into 5 stages: Foundation; Central Pier; Framing; Dome; Finishing Touches.  

The foundation for the building consists of 4 reinforced concrete posts, 12 inches in diameter. I used sonotubes for the forms with a flared base that provides additional support at the bottom of the posts.  The posts extend approximately 2 feet into the ground and approximately 2 feet above the ground.

The central pier consists of a piece of reinforced concrete approximately 4 feet x 4 feet x 3.5 feet into the ground.  From that piece of concrete, a 12 inch diameter post extends upward approximately 2 feet to connect to the telescope support.