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The
ground in our backyard is as hard as concrete - I decided to rent a backhoe to
do the excavating.
I am working on the future water garden - in the background the footers
for the Taj Mahal and just past the backhoe bucket the hole for the telescope
base can be seen.
Another view of the completed excavations.
Here the rebar cage has been put into position, along with the four 1" diameter,
fine tread rods
Prior to pouring the concrete, all surfaces should be wetted to keep them from
drawing the moisture from the concrete.
There was no way for the concrete truck to get to the backyard, so I
rented a "mud buggy" to carry the concrete from the street to the back yard.
It is sort of like a small dump truck.
Once the base had cured for a week, I put the 3/4" steel base in place,
supported by the 1" rods.
On top of the base is 3/4" rods that will secure the concrete column to the
steel plate and on top the telescope base.
The sonotube is in place. Plastic keeps stray concrete off the rest of the
base.
Concrete has been poured.
Top plate in position to align the upper four 3/4" rods.
Panoramic view of excavations in the backyard
 Panoramic view showing all concrete poured
 Panoramic view as of August 10, 2006
 Panoramic view as of early January 2007
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