Permanent Pier Height for 11" SCT

I'm getting ready to construct a roll-off for my Nexstar 11GPS. Those of you who have your larger SCT's set up on permanent piers - what height above the observatory floor is your mounting plate? Using my standard Celestron tripod (which puts the bottom of the scope mount at about 30") I can sit at about 19-20" with the scope pointed at zenith and at about 31-32" with the scope pointed at the horizon. Based on this, I'm ordering a 30" pier. Can anyone offer opinions on whether this sounds like the right height?

The top of my pier is about 33" from the floor. That's to the top of the pier though, so you'll have to consider something for a pier plate or however you're attaching your scope to your pier. I have a 14" sct. On the wedge the eyepice can be quite low even at that height depending on where the object you're looking at. I've got it in alt/az right now and the height seems to work out better for most visitors that way.

Astromart is a great resource, there's also a number of yahoo groups dedicated to observatory operation and construction. Keep asking around and you'll find the answers to all your questions.

Matthew
http://www.deerrunobservatory.com/