WISRD Research & Engineering Journal

3.3 Weatherproofing The garage door was to be mounted at an angle to provide a natural slope for any rainwater or snow that would hit the surface. In addition, a waterproofing membrane and insolation was to be attached to the walled enclosure. The structure could receive additional waterproofing if needed. These elements were to be attached to the exterior surface of the structure. 3.4 Constructing a Prototype The test of this system would take place in a parking lot in Los Angeles. We wanted to ensure the prototype would be constructed efficiently to utilize a semi-prefabricated mode of construction. This would ensure that the actual constructing operation would be successful and would occur in a timely manner before the transport to Big Bear. Unfortunately, the initial test was never undertaken due to issues with obtaining some of the crucial building materials. 4. Challenges/Considerations One of the resources that was going to be utilized in the construction process of the observatory was oak wood. Outside economic forces heavily impacted the construction budget of our project. This caused delays along with ultimately postponing the construction of our observatory structure. 4.1 Material Costs As learned from the article written by G. Cornelis van Kooten and Andrew Schmitz in the Elsevier Journal, the COVID-19 pandemic created a situation where U.S lumber prices skyrocketed 300%. The cause for this increase was created by very high demand and labor shortages. As one can see in figure 6 below, lumber prices reached their peak in the summer of 2021. Unfortunately, the substantial increase in the cost of wood, which was the chosen means to protect the telescope, increased so dramatically that our project was compromised early in the process. Over last couple of months, the prices have gone back to pre-pandemic levels.

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