I finished up final details of my shed permit this afternoon and proceeded home after work to get started on the cgem pier installation for the new observatory.  The hole is dug below the 48″ frostline for the area and includes a tapered footer reinforced with rebar.  The pier extends out of the ground approximately 29 inches and is composed of a 12 inch diameter sonatube with four 3/4″ J bolts to support the baseplate of the pier.

I had some help from a friend Dan with the hole and mixing and pouring concrete.  His help really made the project move along at a good pace and is much appreciated.  The following picture shows the pier in place, before some final touch up work. 

DaltonSkyGazer Pier Installation for Celestron CGEM

 I have waited a bit for this day and proud to say the first part of job is done, official groundbreaking on the new observatory has commenced.  I still have base plate and top plate to drill out and mount to the metal pier which will happen next week.  I had a  bit of issue with template and J-Bolts which after a little bit of work appears to be fixed for the most part.  Any minor errors can be corrected when I finish base plate for the cgem pier.  A few more pictures of the pier are located below. 

CGEM Pier looking to East of South

CGEM Pier looking to the North East

 The first main part of the observatory build is complete for tonight.  I will be posting more progress as I am able over the next week or two.  Please check back to DaltonSkyGazer often over the next week or two for more updates!  The next step will be to finish up on the concrete pier and the metal pier work.  The floor will also be started at the same time frame early next week maybe a bit sooner.