In and Out Buildings - Thoughts and Research

[Osgood]

The concrete has yet to be poured so still time for another quick tarpaulin diversion?

Yesterday was another China Clay day with two more being pulled off to reveal something from 23 years of deep storage.
This view of the underside shows the central fasteners for the Highbar.
They are still in pretty good usable condition, so have been folded up and (saved for a rainy day.......)
Still another two tarps to go.

 

[Focalplane]

Stories of old tarps are always welcome! After all, there won’t be any stories about the new ones!

I am continuing to clear the site wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. The foundations for the derelict greenhouse are a bit like the Forth Bridge, way too strong for the job!

 

[Focalplane]

More work has been done on the old potting shed, including completion of the fungicide applications, two coats of Cuprinol 5 star and then two coats of Superdec "Jungle Green". Finally I painted the windows and roof edge boards black, using Valspar exterior grade satin over the existing sanded old paintwork.

I thought I must have taken at least one photo along the way, but no. So tomorrow I will snap the finished article and add a couple to the thread.

 

[Focalplane]

 

[Focalplane]

Now that the "Potting Shed" has been finished with the addition of a new staging shelf under the windows, I have moved back to preparing the foundation for the garage/workshop.



I have decided to do this the hard way, with sledge hammer, wrecking bar and cold chisels. These tools are OK for the job but not very efficient. However I have the time and keeping fit is an important part of life these days.

The problem is that the garage/workshop is going where the greenhouse and three raised kitchen garden beds were located. All four structures have incredibly robust concrete foundations. There are also paved paths (on similar foundations) which I want to keep. Having watched the professionals working on the terraced area near the house I have realized that their MO is to get in quick and hard and break up more than is necessary. As I want to preserve the paving at the back of the structure I am carefully breaking up dense concrete with the above defined tools.



The post in the foreground is one corner of the foundation and there will be a small gap between slab and path which will be a French Drain, filled with pea gravel.

After a career as a geologist, often working in the field with "hard" rocks (the ones that ring when hit with a hammer) I am quite competent at the job. My early experiences were with the Carboniferous Limestone in Westmorland and this rock splinters easily. I once had a shard pass straight through my thumb nail after hitting a block to expose the coral fossils. It had to grow out with the nail so was a constant reminder during that field season. In those days HSE didn't exist except when visiting a working quarry when a hard hat would be issued. No protective glasses were ever used back then, you simply shielded your face with the left arm while the right arm wielded the hammer, the idea being to know where you were going to hit the rock.

This all being said, I now refuse to lend such tools out to family and friends and I also stop working if anyone approaches. A lonely job but I enjoy doing it.

 

[Focalplane]

It’s been a while since the last post. The foundation work has progressed well but has been set aside to do other chores. The professional landscapers have been delayed at another job so, with their return next week I have on to another renovation job, an old gazebo with rotting roof.

the good news is that the octagonal structure is sound below the roof. The not so good news is that the roof consists of 8 triangular panels, four large, four small. So the carpentry required is not exactly simple. Some examples of the rot:



Some good news is that timber left over from another project will be used. It would have gone to the tip and as I had paid for it, it stayed behind. I just needed to buy eight rafters.

The repairs and makeover will be finished off with the same Superdec paint as the shed. This time, though the roof will need to be recovered with felt and I plan to match the red felt tiles ordered for the garage workshop.

So there is the tie-in to the real subject of this thread. More photos to be added later. Right now it’s second Covid injection time at the surgery. That’s another story!

 

[Focalplane]

Some photos of the gazebo project, now 70% of the roof carpentry has been done.


Currently spitting rain so I am taking a break.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I always though one spat feathers or venom.

 

[LarryG]

Looks like a nice garden for a railway! However, rather you than me at hedge-trimming time.

 

[Focalplane]

We haven't owned a garden (courtyards and decks don't count) for years, the last being in Houston before 2000. That was 1/3 acre, this is closer to 1/2 acre. So a lot of gardening equipment has been purchased including a hedge trimmer! I find such tasks therapeutic. However, we agree that the garden does need simplifying for when we become incapable of doing some of the more strenuous jobs.

That "spitting rain" has turned into a prolonged shower but then there hasn't been any rain here for weeks so the plants should be enjoying life.

 

[Focalplane]

I should add here what the next jobs will be on the gazebo. First of all, the roof needs to be finished (three more panels of the eight) and then trimmed around the edge with battens to add structure and prevent warping. Then, when dry, the new wood will receive a couple of coats of Cuprinol. Next algicide will be applied to the original structure to kill the verdigris. After that high pressure water will be applied to clean the original wood, including the benches and lattice work. Then Cuprinol will be painted on the original wood, allowed to penetrate and dry before the Superdec (Jungle Green) will be applied. Meantime I will have bought sufficient roofing material (in red mineral felt to match the house's clay tile roof) to weatherproof the roof. To make the whole project a little more exclusive I plan to use the scalloped felt tiles like these.

This plan will take a couple of weeks at least due to the recommended times between treatments (and possibly the weather). All in all, a good trial for when the Motor House is assembled in July.

 

[daifly]

Next algicide will be applied to the original structure to kill the verdigris.

Chemists and biologists will be surprised by that! Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates or the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over time.
Dave

 

[Focalplane]

Dave

You are of course correct about verdigris. I have a mental blank on this, having made the same mistake more than once. It is green algal growth I should be referring to, mostly on the shaded damp areas of the structure.

Thanks, Paul

 

[Dog Star]

How long before the algae return?

 

[LarryG]

Four years ago as a test, I gave two new fencing panels a coat of Creocote, the modern equivalent of creosote. These panels are still like new, so now I will treat all the recently installed panels the same. If I had done this thirty years ago when we moved here, I could have saved a bucket load of money instead of helping fencing companies profits by using DIY fencing 'paint'.

There's a neat whiff of 'railway sleepers' in the air on warm days!

 

[Focalplane]

I have some ancient fence panels (I think there were branded Larch Lap) which have been badly affected by the rampant ivy that covered everything. They will get creocote eventually. If they don’t fall down first.

 

[Focalplane]

How long before the algae return?

Well, the algae will most likely return but not to the same degree as the garden was heavily overgrown but has since been cleared of all the ivy. At least 10 years of neglect has passed since the last serious gardening took place.

 

[Focalplane]

Good news, the foundation concrete will be in place before the Motor House kit arrives in July! The ground worker I am using has confirmed the concrete will be done in good time.

 

[Focalplane]

Reading through the logcabins.co.uk detailed web site I came across a section on the fact that horizontally laid wood log structures tend to shrink due to compaction. This is generally not a problem but I can see that an inside/outside track bed could distort. Typical problems are vertical electrical conduits that are fixed at the top and base of a wall. The plastic conduit can bow out into the room, so shrinkage might be a problem for model layouts. Wall cabinets these days tend to be hung from the top so would not be affected. However a typical staging used for a layout (back screwed to wall, front on posts standing on the floor) might suffer with time.

The shrinkage could affect windows and doors but the design takes this into account. A gap is left above each window and door frame.

 

[Osgood]

Layout can be made free-standing with a little more work on leg / frame design, thus fixed only in relation to the floor - not the building structure.

Any interface between inside and outside layout structure can be designed as a bridge with internal end support being fixed in relation to the floor of the building, the other fixed in relation to the ground outside, with the wall of the building free to float vertically between the two end supports.

Conduit could be steel (or even plastic I guess), firmly fixed to wall at bottom but with a loose (sliding) saddle at top.

Another China Clay tarp was relieved of its protective duty and folded up last week - just one to go now.