Observatory Pier Support Question

Hello group,
I am in the process of speaking with a contractor to add a room to my house which will have a 3rd Floor observatory using a 10 foot Pro-Dome. We have come up with preliminary drawings. The contractor however, is not familiar with observatory theory and design. I am no expert either. Being that the Pier support needs to be isolated from the observatory floor, I proposed a 20 foot steel I Beam spanning the width of the structure to support the pier. The beam would be in between the ceiling of the 2nd floor ceiling and 3rd floor observatory floor floating in between these 2 structures. I am not sure if this is a good thing to do. I am concerned with vibration of the I Beam and sagging of the beam from the weight of the scope. Right now the scope will be a 14" LX-200GPS. I may decide to re mount it later on an AP-1200.
Can anyone point me in the direction of somone that would be knowledgeable about observatory design an engineering.
One last thing this being Florida, and having had hurricane Charley pass right over our house last year eyewall and all, the entire structure must be able to withstand a 140MPH 3 second gust.(We sustained 155MPH constant. Also the building code here mandates the inside ceiling height me a minimum of 7'8", that would make for a very tall pier!
Thanks,
Mike Broder
Punta Gorda FL

Hi Mike, you are a neighbor part of my time. I am in Pt Charlotte during the winter. I have a 10' ProDome from TI (Home Dome) here in Indianapolis. I recently talked to Jerry Smith of TI and he tells me that the domes have been certified for Florida hurricane weather as stand-alone structures. Probably by now it is ceritified as okay as a part of another structure like your house.

If I were you, I would check their web site and get the literature that discusses adding the dome to another suructure. They have tried it all. Their web site is http://www.homedome.com/

I put mine up as a stand-alone structure in 2002, and it is a wonderful addition to my hobby. BTW the attached picture was taken last fall just before I left for Florida.

With regards,
Ted

Attached Image:

This is a little far fetched- but can a pneumatic/hydraulic platform/column be successfully employed as a dampening interface between the support structure on the floor and the telescope pier? Pier tech I believe has such a column.

Ivan