Eat Ye Heart Out , Barney !

[shropshire lad]

Why hasn't the Ministry for Industrial Safety shut your job site down because of a lack of proper fall prevention equipment for the roofers? 

Gluing the tiles to the framing is cheating.  You should be making and using tiny copper nails if the job is to be done right.  When are you going to plant the GM miniature moss on the slates?

But seriously, the project is coming along quite well. 

Prior to the introduction of digital xrays at my dentist, his assistant would save the 3cm squares of lead foil from the film packets for me to model with.  If you can find some you would be able to properly flash the edge of the roof to the brick work; that is until a group of local hoodlums decided to steal the lead and sell it to buy drugs.  If I can find my jar of it in the dungeon, I'll be willing to share with you.

   Lawton ,

  There is no real reason to worry about Health and Safety on this project as we are using white immigrant American labourers on the cheap and it doesn't matter if we lose a few as there are plenty more where they came from .

  You obviously aren't up with the current price of copper as the cost would be prohibitive to use copper nails on this project , especially as it is an agricultural building . Galvanised nails will do .

  As this building doesn't actually need to be watertight because I won't be leaving it out in the rain I decided that I wouldn't need to use lead on the flashings and that coloured paper would do . You probably noticed that I didn't put soakers under each course where the roof butts up to the wall . I won't say anything to the client if you don't !

Nick

[Lawton Maner]

Nick:

The last time I came into Heathrow, the chap at immigration asked me why I was there.  My response was "I'm only here for the beer".

His response was "What?  Warm, flat beer".

My response was "It's better then the ice cold horse p*** called beer in America".

He smiled and replied "Welcome to the UK".

My first stop after arriving at Paddington Station was to walk the four blocks to the Royal Exchange on Sale Street and down a pint of ESB and then go on to to the Victoria on Strathaern Place for another before going to Charing Cross to catch a train to Seven Oaks. 

On the High Street in Sevenoaks where at The Chequers you'll find 16 hand pulled real ales.

I hope you are treating your immigrant labour to real ale and not the fizzy stuff.

Lawton

[k27rgs]

Memories of warm british PINTS    and the morning after 

[shropshire lad]

Lawton ,

  You seem pretty clued up about where the best places to get a decent pint are in England so next time you're over we'll have to explore a few more establishments .

Your assessment of American beer is very accurate but , to be fair , they do have some beers that are worth drinking . The only problem is , finding them .

In days gone by labourers used to receive 4 pints of scrumpy cider a day as part of their wages . I haven't re-introduced this practice with my workforce yet because whilst it is easy enough to replace the drunk ones who fall off the roof it becomes rather costly paying for the damage they do as they are falling . They can be pretty inconsiderate sometimes !

Mario ,

   You obviously forgot that over here we prefer quality over quantity and that it only takes two pints to have the same effect as 10 Aussie pints  !

  Nick

[Andi Little]

Excellent slates Nick, really look the part resulting in a highly commendable roof.

How did you go about actually making them? - Or did I miss that part?

[shropshire lad]

How did you go about actually making them? - Or did I miss that part?

  Yes you did , Andi . You need to pay more attention in class or you will never pass your final exams . And then you will be a failure in life with no prospects for the future . So , in essence you need to be more alert as to what is going on around you !

  Right , I shall go over it all again ,slowly ,  for the benefit of Mr. Little , who's mind is on higher things .

  Are you aware that I have been banging on for the last few weeks about the products of a British company called Diorama Debris http://www.dioramadebris.co.uk/index.asp ?  Well , they produce silicon moulds in various scales for different building materials . Their main focus is on 1/35th scale for the military modellers but over the last couple of months I have been persuading them to branch out into different scales . How successful this will be remains to be seen .

   One of their 1/35th moulds is for 24" x 12" slates . These I have been casting up by the hundreds . I cast them with uncoloured plaster and soak them a couple of times in an Isopropyl alcohol and shoe dye solution to give them a grey or purpley/grey finish . The way that each slate absorbs the fluid differently gives them a varied  finish adding to the character of the roof .

   Phew , all that for a simple innocent question .

   Nick

[Barney]

Ah is that how you do it - could you just go through it again !! It's me age you known and I'm sure Gordon needs more time to put the details in his bus spotters book !
Barney
Lego and Humbrol rules.

[Lawton Maner]

Nick:

One of the things I like about the Royal Exchange is the Publican remembers what I had the last time I was in there, even if it has been 6+ months or more.  And in the Chequers when I sat down at the bar and told the Publican that the only way I was going to survive his 16 taps was to drink by the half pint he just laughed, pulled me a locally brewed mild and over the next 3 hours as I worked up to an Imperial IPA (which was almost as hoppy as some American ones) we discussed each beer in turn.

I still think you need to flash the slate with real lead!

I think that with a little imagination on the part of DD, some of their 1:35 moulds will work in 1:48.  Their 1:35 9" X 9" tiles will be close to 12" X 12" in 1:48, some stones will just be a little larger, and the curb stones are close enough that only those who are truly anal will care.  I just wish they'd ship the coloured casting plaster across the pond.  Maybe the next time I'm through London, I'll have to add a couple of kilos to my baggage.

[artizen]

I just use white casting plaster for my bricks suitably coloured with cement oxides. Although the shoe dye trick needs investigating I must admit. Or ti-tree oil - might just go dark brown?

[LesTindall]

I'm a bit late in comng into this thread but Nick, some lovely stuff.   I've been thinking about the DD slates - now will definately have to order some for the roof of my 1/35th brick and stone workshop. Their cobbles look good too.  Been driving myself barmy carving bricks(interior and exterior - peeling whitwashed on the inside) then glazing windows.  The glass from James-Art is brilliant, cuts like paper, even tricky curves.

On the beer front for Ozzie stuff - try Coopers or Toueys Old,  in the US Sierra Nevada (brewed in Chico in California - maybe availbale in the UK now).

Keep drinking! 

Les
       

[marc_reusser]

Nick,

The work all looks brilliant so far.


But beer!?...come now chaps, lets not be gumbys and behave like pikeys. If your going to imbibe, a good Scotch is the proper way to go about it.

M (trying my best to be a proper toff)

[shropshire lad]

M (trying my best to be a proper toff)

   ....And failing miserably !


  Anyway , thanks for the kind words . Much appreciated .

  I have started tiling the smaller roof with clay plain tiles which should rather good when done . I have also started doing some sample panels for some of their other products including their 9" square terracotta floor tiles , Spanish barrel tiles and their various scales of bricks to take to your former homeland on Thursday . I shall be meeting up with Jacq , Marcel and Alan just outside Zurich for a fun packed weekend of playing trains .

  Nick

[shropshire lad]

Next project ....maybe

[Alan Rees]

Nick,

You've done wonders to your house since I last saw it.

[shropshire lad]

Nick,

You've done wonders to your house since I last saw it.

  I'm glad you like it . I'm particularly proud of the new chimney . It replaced that old one that was all swirly and twisted . The nice straight one looks much better .

  See you on Friday and don't be late as it is your round ,

   Nick