ATM Observatory Construction

[Bob Grabau <rgrabau@speakeasy.net>]

I am looking at building a roll off roof building for my telescope, and I have 
several questions for people who have built observatory buildings.

I live in eastern PA, and it does freeze and snow here (the President's Day 
storm, we got 2+ feet of the white stuff).  

1) Should I go directly to a pier or can I get away with a just bolts in a 
flat pour?  Initially I want to use the tripod mount, but I would like to use 
a pier to support the telescope.  I figure that I will have to go below the 
frost line (I think it's about 18 inches here).

2) How thick of a pad should I pour?  Obviously I will need a footer around 
the perimeter that extends below the frost line.  All local building codes 
will be observered before observing occurs.

Bob