On Sun, 2 Nov 2003 18:35:45 -0500, "Scott M. Petty"
wrote:

I'm planning to mount a telescope pier (Astro Pier) on a to be poured
concrete slab. The slab would be on a slope (although the slab obviously
would be level) and would vary between 1 and 5 feet in depth, being at least
4 feet deep under the telescope pier. The overall size of slab would be
approximately 8 x 13 feet.

Would NOT isolating the telescope pier from the rest of the slab be a
problem? If my children or dogs walk on the slab am I going to get all
sorts of vibration in the mount or is the mass of the slab such that
vibration shouldn't be a problem?

I'd suggest putting the pier into its own footing and pouring the slab around
that, with a sand gap for isolation. You'd be surprised how much vibration gets
transmitted by solid concrete. It probably wouldn't be an issue for visual work,
but if you image, or ever plan on imaging, the vibration will likely be enough
to cause you no end of headaches.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com